I don't know if someone posted the actual abstract from Athena Neuro. This news broke while I was on vacation. So, here's the abstract, relevant to BMY/SIBI collaboration........
Nature 1999 Jul 8;400(6740):173-7
Immunization with amyloid-beta attenuates Alzheimer-disease-like pathology
in the PDAPP mouse.
Schenk D, Barbour R, Dunn W, Gordon G, Grajeda H, Guido T, Hu K, Huang J, Johnson-Wood K, Khan K,
Kholodenko D, Lee M, Liao Z, Lieberburg I, Motter R, Mutter L, Soriano F, Shopp G, Vasquez N, Vandevert C,
Walker S, Wogulis M, Yednock T, Games D, Seubert P
Elan Pharmaceuticals, South San Francisco, California 94080, USA. dschenk@elanpharma.com
Amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) seems to have a central role in the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Familial forms
of the disease have been linked to mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the presenilin genes. Disease-linked
mutations in these genes result in increased production of the 42-amino-acid form of the peptide (Abeta42), which is the
predominant form found in the amyloid plaques of Alzheimer's disease. The PDAPP transgenic mouse, which overexpresses
mutant human APP (in which the amino acid at position 717 is phenylalanine instead of the normal valine), progressively
develops many of the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in an age- and brain-region-dependent manner. In the
present study, transgenic animals were immunized with Abeta42, either before the onset of AD-type neuropathologies (at 6
weeks of age) or at an older age (11 months), when amyloid-beta deposition and several of the subsequent neuropathological
changes were well established. We report that immunization of the young animals essentially prevented the development of
beta-amyloid-plaque formation, neuritic dystrophy and astrogliosis. Treatment of the older animals also markedly reduced the
extent and progression of these AD-like neuropathologies. Our results raise the possibility that immunization with amyloid-beta
may be effective in preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease. |
