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Angiotensin type 1a receptor deficiency decreases amyloid ?-protein generation and ameliorates brain amyloid pathology.

ABSTRACT: Alzheimer's disease is characterized by neuronal loss and cerebral accumulation of amyloid-? protein (A?) and lowering the generation of A? is a pivotal approach in the strategy of Alzheimer's disease treatment. Midlife hypertension is a major risk factor for the future onset of sporadic Alzheimer's disease and the use of some antihypertensive drugs may decrease the incidence of Alzheimer's disease. However, it is largely unknown how the blood pressure regulation system is associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Here we found that the deficiency of angiotensin type 1a receptor (AT1a), a key receptor for regulating blood pressure, significantly decreased A? generation and amyloid plaque formation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. The lack of AT1a inhibited the endocleavage of presenilin-1 (PS1), which is essential for ?-secretase complex formation and A? generation. Notably, the ligand of AT1a, angiotensin II, enhanced A? generation, PS1 endocleavage and ?-secretase complex formation. Our results suggest that AT1a activation is closely associated with A? generation and brain amyloid accumulation by regulating ?-secretase complex formation. Thus, removal of life style factors or stresses that stimulate AT1a to elevate blood pressure may decrease A? generation and brain amyloid accumulation, thereby preventing the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

SUBMITTER: Liu J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4495558 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Angiotensin type 1a receptor deficiency decreases amyloid β-protein generation and ameliorates brain amyloid pathology.

Liu Junjun J Liu Shuyu S Matsumoto Yukino Y Murakami Saki S Sugakawa Yusuke Y Kami Ayako A Tanabe Chiaki C Maeda Tomoji T Michikawa Makoto M Komano Hiroto H Zou Kun K

Scientific reports 20150708

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by neuronal loss and cerebral accumulation of amyloid-β protein (Aβ) and lowering the generation of Aβ is a pivotal approach in the strategy of Alzheimer's disease treatment. Midlife hypertension is a major risk factor for the future onset of sporadic Alzheimer's disease and the use of some antihypertensive drugs may decrease the incidence of Alzheimer's disease. However, it is largely unknown how the blood pressure regulation system is associated with the pa ...[more]

PMID: 26154270

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Project description:IntroductionAlzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) associated with brain atrophy and cognitive decline. The functional form to model the association between Aβ and regional brain atrophy has not been well defined. To determine the relationship between Aβ and atrophy, we compared the performance of the usual dichotomization of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ to identify subjects as Aβ+ and Aβ- with a trilinear spline model of CSF Aβ.MethodsOne hundred and eighty-three subjects with mild cognitive impairment and 108 cognitively normal controls with baseline CSF Aβ and up to 4 years of longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were analyzed using mixed-effects regression. Piecewise-linear splines were used to evaluate the nonlinear nature of the association between CSF Aβ and regional atrophy and to identify points of acceleration of atrophy with respect to Aβ. Several parameterizations of CSF Aβ were compared using likelihood ratio tests and the Akaike information criterion. Periods of acceleration of atrophy in which subjects transition from CSF Aβ negativity to CSF Aβ positivity were estimated from the spline models and tested for significance.ResultsSpline models resulted in better fits for many temporal and parietal regions compared with the dichotomous models. The trilinear model showed that periods of acceleration of atrophy varied greatly by region with early changes seen in the insula, amygdala, precuneus, hippocampus, and other temporal regions, occurring before the clinical threshold for CSF Aβ positivity.DiscussionThe use of piecewise-linear splines provides an improved model of the nonlinear association between CSF Aβ and regional atrophy in regions implicated in the progression of AD. The important biological finding of this work is that some brain regions show periods of accelerated volume loss well before the CSF Aβ42 threshold. This implies that signs of brain atrophy develop before the current conventional definition of "preclinical AD".

Project description:Down syndrome (DS, trisomy 21) is the most common chromosomal disorder and the leading genetic cause of intellectual disability in humans. In DS, triplication of chromosome 21 invariably includes the APP gene (21q21) encoding the Alzheimer's disease (AD) amyloid precursor protein (APP). Triplication of the APP gene accelerates APP expression leading to cerebral accumulation of APP-derived amyloid-beta peptides (Abeta), early-onset AD neuropathology, and age-dependent cognitive sequelae. The DS phenotype complex also includes distinctive early-onset cerulean cataracts of unknown etiology. Previously, we reported increased Abeta accumulation, co-localizing amyloid pathology, and disease-linked supranuclear cataracts in the ocular lenses of subjects with AD. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that related AD-linked Abeta pathology underlies the distinctive lens phenotype associated with DS. Ophthalmological examinations of DS subjects were correlated with phenotypic, histochemical, and biochemical analyses of lenses obtained from DS, AD, and normal control subjects. Evaluation of DS lenses revealed a characteristic pattern of supranuclear opacification accompanied by accelerated supranuclear Abeta accumulation, co-localizing amyloid pathology, and fiber cell cytoplasmic Abeta aggregates (approximately 5 to 50 nm) identical to the lens pathology identified in AD. Peptide sequencing, immunoblot analysis, and ELISA confirmed the identity and increased accumulation of Abeta in DS lenses. Incubation of synthetic Abeta with human lens protein promoted protein aggregation, amyloid formation, and light scattering that recapitulated the molecular pathology and clinical features observed in DS lenses. These results establish the genetic etiology of the distinctive lens phenotype in DS and identify the molecular origin and pathogenic mechanism by which lens pathology is expressed in this common chromosomal disorder. Moreover, these findings confirm increased Abeta accumulation as a key pathogenic determinant linking lens and brain pathology in both DS and AD.

Project description:BackgroundHyperactivity of the classical axis of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), mediated by angiotensin II (Ang II) activation of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R), is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) degrades Ang II to angiotensin 1-7 (Ang (1-7)) and counter-regulates the classical axis of RAS. We have investigated the expression and distribution of ACE-2 in post-mortem human brain tissue in relation to AD pathology and classical RAS axis activity.MethodsWe measured ACE-2 activity by fluorogenic peptide substrate assay in mid-frontal cortex (Brodmann area 9) in a cohort of AD (n = 90) and age-matched non-demented controls (n = 59) for which we have previous data on ACE-1 activity, amyloid β (Aβ) level and tau pathology, as well as known ACE1 (rs1799752) indel polymorphism, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy severity scores.ResultsACE-2 activity was significantly reduced in AD compared with age-matched controls (P < 0.0001) and correlated inversely with levels of Aβ (r = -0.267, P < 0.001) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) pathology (r = -0.327, P < 0.01). ACE-2 was reduced in individuals possessing an APOE ε4 allele (P < 0.05) and was associated with ACE1 indel polymorphism (P < 0.05), with lower ACE-2 activity in individuals homozygous for the ACE1 insertion AD risk allele. ACE-2 activity correlated inversely with ACE-1 activity (r = -0.453, P < 0.0001), and the ratio of ACE-1 to ACE-2 was significantly elevated in AD (P < 0.0001). Finally, we show that the ratio of Ang II to Ang (1-7) (a proxy measure of ACE-2 activity indicating conversion of Ang II to Ang (1-7)) is reduced in AD.ConclusionsTogether, our findings indicate that ACE-2 activity is reduced in AD and is an important regulator of the central classical ACE-1/Ang II/AT1R axis of RAS, and also that dysregulation of this pathway likely plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of AD.

Dataset Information

Angiotensin type 1a receptor deficiency decreases amyloid ?-protein generation and ameliorates brain amyloid pathology.

Publications

Angiotensin type 1a receptor deficiency decreases amyloid β-protein generation and ameliorates brain amyloid pathology.

Similar Datasets

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