These results indicate that Bace1 inhibitors, currently in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease, may be useful agents for the treatment of obesity and associated diabetes.
BACE1 expression was increased in subcutaneous adipose tissue of obese and type 2 diabetic patients and this was accompanied by a decrease in PGC-1α mRNA levels and by an increase in sAPPβ plasma levels of obese type 2 diabetic patients compared to obese non-diabetic subjects.
Recently, global Bace1 deletion was shown to protect against diet-induced obesity and diabetes, suggesting that BACE1 is a potential regulator of glucose homeostasis.