RATIONALE The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is increased in people with Down syndrome. The pathology appears much earlier than in the general population, suggesting a predisposition to develop Alzheimer's disease. Down syndrome results from trisomy of human chromosome 21, leading to overexpression of possible Alzheimer's disease candidate genes, such as amyloid precursor protein gene. To be...

β-amyloid hypothesis is the predominant hypothesis in the study of pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. This hypothesis claims that aggregation and neurotoxic effects of amyloid β (Aβ) is the common pathway in a variety of etiological factors for Alzheimer's disease. Aβ peptide derives from amyloid precursor protein (APP). β-sheet breaker peptides can directly prevent and reverse protein misfol...

Pericytes are cells in the blood-brain barrier that degenerate in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurological disorder associated with neurovascular dysfunction, abnormal elevation of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ), tau pathology and neuronal loss. Whether pericyte degeneration can influence AD-like neurodegeneration and contribute to disease pathogenesis remains, however, unknown. Here we show that in mi...

The seven-residue peptide N-acetyl-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-Glu-NH2, called Aβ16-22 and representing residues 16 through 22 of the full-length β-amyloid peptide associated with Alzheimer’s disease, is shown by electron microscopy to form highly ordered fibrils upon incubation of aqueous solutions. X-ray powder diffraction and optical birefringence measurements confirm that these are amyloid fibr...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ginsenoside compound K on β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide clearance in primary astrocytes. Aβ degradation in primary astrocytes was determined using an intracellular Aβ clearance assay. Aggregated LC3 in astrocyte cells, which is a marker for the level of autophagy, was detected using laser scanning confocal microscope. The effect of compound...

Elevated levels of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) in the human brain are linked to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. Recent in vitro studies have demonstrated that extracellular Aβ can bind to exosomes, which are cell-secreted nanovesicles with lipid membranes that are known to transport their cargos intercellularly. Such findings suggest that the exosomes are involved in Aβ metabolism in brain. H...

The differentiation of protein properties and biological functions arises from the variation in the primary and secondary structure. Specifically, in abnormal assemblies of protein, such as amyloid peptide, the secondary structure is closely correlated with the stable ensemble and the cytotoxicity. In this work, the early Aβ33-42 aggregates forming the molecular monolayer at hydrophobic interfa...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and is triggered via abnormal accumulation of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ). Aggregated Aβ is responsible for disrupting calcium homeostasis, inducing neuroinflammation, and promoting neurodegeneration. In this study, we generated curcuminoid submicron particle (CSP), which reduce the average size to ~60 nm in diameter. CSP had ...

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is pathologically defined as the deposition of amyloid protein, most commonly the amyloid β peptide (Aβ), primarily within the media and adventitia of small and medium-sized arteries of the leptomeninges, cerebral and cerebellar cortex. This deposition likely reflects an imbalance between Aβ production and clearance within the brain and leads to weakening of th...