Potential new drug candidate found for Alzheimer's disease

A paper detailing the findings has been published as an early online version and is scheduled for publication in the September 6 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

According to lead investigator Vivian Y. H. Hook, PhD, professor of the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and professor of neurosciences, pharmacology and medicine at the UCSD School of Medicine, this is major news for scientists studying Alzheimer's disease.

"The finding is especially exciting because E64d has previously been shown safe for use in humans, so we believe the compound has strong potential as a new therapy for Alzheimer's disease," said Hook.

Increased Aβ levels in the brain are associated with the development of memory loss and amyloid plaque, the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Aβ peptides are "cut" out from a larger protein called the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by an enzymatic "scissor" called β-secretase, and aggregate to form plaques in the brain regions responsible for memory.

E64d reduces Aβ by inhibiting the β-secretase "scissors" from "cutting" the APP chain into smaller toxic Aβ peptides. But in this study, the researchers found that the compound actually increases the activity of a protease called BACE1 which, to date, has been regarded as the primary β-secretase. Instead, E64d appears to lower brain Aβ by inhibiting the β-secretase activity of another protease, Cathepsin B.

"The study indicates Cathepsin B as a new target for therapeutic inhibition of Aβ production and subsequent improved memory function," said Hook. "This is an important finding because we show that β-secretase inhibition can occur with Cathepsin B inhibition and without BACE1 inhibition."

The researchers studied both old and young transgenic Alzheimer's disease mice, and found that memory loss improved in both. In young mice, feeding E64d prevented development of memory loss; in old mice with memory loss, it improved memory.

The study builds upon work published in March 2008 that first demonstrated that inhibitors of Cathepsin B resulted in improved memory and reduction of Aβ and amyloid plaque; but in that study, the drug was administered directly into the brains of AD mice. In the new study, oral administration of the drug was efficacious and could lead the way to clinical trials in humans.

Co-authors of the study were Gregory Hook, PhD, of American Life Science Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, and Mark Kindy of the Medical University of South Carolina, as well as the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, and Applied Neurotechnology, Inc., in Charleston, SD.

G. Hook is an employee and has equity in American Life Science Pharmaceuticals (ALSP); V. Hook is chair of ALSP's scientific advisory board and holds equity in the company, and Kindy holds equity in Applied Neurotechnology, relationships disclosed to their institutions.

The study was supported in part by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer's Drug Development Foundation.