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Home > Enalapril Alone or Co-Administered with Losartan Rescues Cerebrovascular Dysfunction, but not Mnemonic Deficits or Amyloidosis in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

TitleEnalapril Alone or Co-Administered with Losartan Rescues Cerebrovascular Dysfunction, but not Mnemonic Deficits or Amyloidosis in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2016
AuthorsOngali, B, Nicolakakis, N, Tong, X-K, Aboulkassim, T, Imboden, H, Hamel, E
JournalJ Alzheimers Dis
Volume51
Issue4
Pagination1183-95
Date Published2016
ISSN1875-8908
KeywordsAlzheimer Disease, Amyloid beta-Peptides, Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor, Amyloidosis, Analysis of Variance, Animals, Antihypertensive Agents, Cerebrovascular Disorders, Cholinesterases, Disease Models, Animal, Drug Combinations, Enalapril, Female, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, Humans, Losartan, Male, Maze Learning, Memory Disorders, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Mutation
Abstract

The co-administration of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin II (AngII) receptor blockers (ARB) that bind angiotensin type 1 receptors (AT1R) may protect from Alzheimer's disease (AD) better than each treatment taken alone. We tested the curative potential of the non brain-penetrant ACEi enalapril (3 mg/kg/day) administered for 3 months either alone or in combination with the brain penetrant ARB losartan (10 mg/kg/day) in aged (∼15 months) transgenic mice overexpressing a mutated form of the human amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP, thereafter APP mice). We studied cerebrovascular function, protein levels of oxidative stress markers (superoxide dismutases SOD1, SOD2 and the NADPH oxidase subunit p67phox), amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology, astrogliosis, cholinergic innervation, AT1R and angiotensin IV receptor (AT4R) levels, together with cognitive performance. Both treatments normalized cerebrovascular reactivity and p67phox protein levels, but they did not reduce the cerebrovascular levels of SOD1. Combined treatment normalized cerebrovascular SOD2 levels, significantly attenuated astrogliosis, but did not reduce the increased levels of cerebrovascular AT1R. Yet, combined therapy enhanced thioflavin-S labeled Aβ plaque burden, a tendency not significant when Aβ1 - 42 plaque load was considered. None of the treatments rescued cognitive deficits, cortical AT4R or cholinergic innervation. We conclude that both treatments normalized cerebrovascular function by inhibiting the AngII-induced oxidative stress cascade, and that the positive effects of the combined therapy on astrogliosis were likely due to the ability of losartan to enter brain parenchyma. However, enalapril did not potentiate, and may even dampen, the reported cognitive benefits of losartan, raising caution when selecting the most appropriate antihypertensive therapy in AD patients.

DOI10.3233/JAD-150868
Alternate JournalJ. Alzheimers Dis.
PubMed ID26923013
Grant ListMOP-126001 / / Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Canada
MOP-84275 / / Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Canada
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Source URL: https://www.j-alz.com/content/enalapril-alone-or-co-administered-losartan-rescues-cerebrovascular-dysfunction-not-mnemonic