Thus, PREP inhibitors may offer a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders with an inflammatory component including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
Lactoferrin (LF)-derived peptides (PKHs) and a set of six rationally-designed tryptophan (W)-containing heptapeptides (PACEIs) were characterized as prolyl endopeptidase (PEP) inhibitors, and their effect on β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) toxicity in a <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was evaluated.
Among them, inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, and prolyl oligopeptidase can be beneficial targets in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Moreover, POP has also been proposed as a regulator of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate signaling and several other functions such as cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as signal transduction in the central nervous system, and it is suspected to be involved in pathological conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases and cancer.
Here we studied the expression, enzymatic activity and subcellular localization of PEP in adult and aged mouse brain as well as in brains of age-matched APP transgenic Tg2576 mice and in brains of Alzheimer's disease patients.