Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals Inc. (fka RCPIQ)

[Buddhahead]

Naturally occurring protein fragment found in brain inhibits key enzyme implicated in Alzheimer's in 'Medical News Today, 29 July 2015

Excerpts:
"For the first time, UCLA researchers have shown that a natural protein fragment produced in the brain can act as an inhibitor of a key enzyme implicated in the onset of Alzheimer's disease, a finding that could lead to the development of new drugs to treat the disease.

The study found that the protein fragment, sAPPa, inhibits the proteolytic enzyme BACE1. Increased BACE1 activity contributes to production of the amyloid beta aggregates and plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's.

"Because sAPPa inhibits the BACE1 enzyme, it may be possible that it can be used to help prevent potentially dangerous increases in BACE1 activity, and thus prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease," said senior study author Varghese John associate professor of neurology and principle investigator of the Drug Discovery Lab in the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research at UCLA.

The findings appear July 28, 2015 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Alzheimer's Disease."

Article at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/297477.php?tw

Reference to Anatabine Citrate in PubMed:

"we show that anatabine lowers NF?B activation at doses that inhibit Aß production in vitro. Since NF?B is known to regulate BACE-1 expression (the rate limiting enzyme responsible for Aß production), we determined the impact of anatabine on BACE-1 transcription. We show that anatabine inhibits BACE-1 transcription and reduces BACE-1 protein levels in human neuronal like SHSY-5Y cells suggesting that the Aß lowering properties of anatabine are mediated via a regulation of BACE-1 expression. In vivo, we show that an acute treatment with anatabine for four days significantly lowers brain soluble Aß1?40 and Aß1?42 levels in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Altogether our data suggest that anatabine may represent an interesting compound for regulating brain Aß accumulation."

PubMed article at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21958873