Deposition of BACE-1 Protein in the Brains of APP/PS1 Double Transgenic Mice

The main causes of Alzheimer's disease remain elusive. Previous data have implicated the BACE-1 protein as a central player in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. However, many inhibitors of BACE-1 have failed during preclinical and clinical trials for AD treatment. Therefore, uncovering the exact role of BACE-1 in AD may have significant impact on the future development of therapeutic agents. Three- and six-month-old female APP/PS1 double transgenic mice were used to study abnormal accumulation of BACE-1 protein in brains of mice here. Immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and western blot were performed to measure the distributing pattern and expression level of BACE-1. We found obvious BACE-1 protein accumulation in 3-month-old APP/PS1 mice, which had increased by the time of 6 months. Coimmunostaining results showed BACE-1 surrounded amyloid plaques in brain sections. The abnormal protein expression might not be attributable to the upregulation of BACE-1 protein, as no significant difference of protein expression was observed between wild-type and APP/PS1 mice. With antibodies against BACE-1 and CD31, we found a high immunoreactive density of BACE-1 protein on the outer layer of brain blood vessels. The aberrant distribution of BACE-1 in APP/PS1 mice suggests BACE-1 may be involved in the microvascular abnormality of AD.