PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Anika M. S. Hartz
AU  - David S. Miller
AU  - Björn Bauer
TI  - Restoring Blood-Brain Barrier P-Glycoprotein Reduces Brain Amyloid-β in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease
AID  - 10.1124/mol.109.061754
DP  - 2010 May 01
TA  - Molecular Pharmacology
PG  - 715--723
VI  - 77
IP  - 5
4099  - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/77/5/715.short
4100  - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/77/5/715.full
SO  - Mol Pharmacol2010 May 01; 77
AB  - Reduced clearance of amyloid-β (Aβ) from brain partly underlies increased Aβ brain accumulation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The mechanistic basis for this pathology is unknown, but recent evidence suggests a neurovascular component in AD etiology. We show here that the ATP-driven pump, P-glycoprotein, specifically mediates efflux transport of Aβ from mouse brain capillaries into the vascular space, thus identifying a critical component of the Aβ brain efflux mechanism. We demonstrate in a transgenic mouse model of AD [human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP)-overexpressing mice; Tg2576 strain] that brain capillary P-glycoprotein expression and transport activity are substantially reduced compared with wild-type control mice, suggesting a mechanism by which Aβ accumulates in the brain in AD. It is noteworthy that dosing 12-week-old, asymptomatic hAPP mice over 7 days with pregnenolone-16α-carbonitrile to activate the nuclear receptor pregnane X receptor restores P-glycoprotein expression and transport activity in brain capillaries and significantly reduces brain Aβ levels compared with untreated control mice. Thus, targeting intracellular signals that up-regulate blood-brain barrier P-glycoprotein in the early stages of AD has the potential to increase Aβ clearance from the brain and reduce Aβ brain accumulation. This mechanism suggests a new therapeutic strategy in AD.U.S. Government work not protected by U.S. copyright