Inhibition of γ-Secretase Leads to an Increase in Presenilin-1

• DOI: 10.1007/s12035-017-0705-1
• Publication Date: 2017-08-15T23:52:22Z
• Authors: Aitana Sogorb-Esteve; María-Salud Garcí...; Marta Llansola; Vicente Felipo; Kaj Blennow; Javier Sáez-Valero
• Keywords: Male; Neurons; Oxadiazoles; Sulfonamides; γ-Secretase inhibitor; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Behavior, Animal; Dipeptides; Article; Rats; Substrate Specificity; Mice; Neuroblastoma; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Cell Line, Tumor; Presenilin-1; Animals; Humans; Therapy; Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; Rats, Wistar; Alzheimer’s disease

γ-Secretase inhibitors (GSIs) are potential therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, trials have proven disappointing. We addressed the possibility that γ-secretase inhibition can provoke a rebound effect, elevating the levels of the catalytic γ-secretase subunit, presenilin-1 (PS1). Acute treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with the GSI LY-374973 (N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-L-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester, DAPT) augments PS1, in parallel with increases in other γ-secretase subunits nicastrin, presenilin enhancer 2, and anterior pharynx-defective 1, yet with no increase in messenger RNA expression. Over-expression of the C-terminal fragment (CTF) of APP, C99, also triggered an increase in PS1. Similar increases in PS1 were evident in primary neurons treated repeatedly (4 days) with DAPT or with the GSI BMS-708163 (avagacestat). Likewise, rats examined after 21 days administered with avagacestat (40 mg/kg/day) had more brain PS1. Sustained γ-secretase inhibition did not exert a long-term effect on PS1 activity, evident through the decrease in CTFs of APP and ApoER2. Prolonged avagacestat treatment of rats produced a subtle impairment in anxiety-like behavior. The rebound increase in PS1 in response to GSIs must be taken into consideration for future drug development.