siRNA targeted against amyloid precursor protein impairs synaptic activity in vivo

International audienceThe amyloid precursor protein (APP) plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis through its cleavage leading to the accumulation of the peptide ␤A4. Diffusible oligomeric assemblies of amyloid beta peptide are thought to induce synaptic dysfunction, an early change in AD. We tested the hypothesis that a reduction in presynaptic APP could itself lead to a decrease in synaptic efficacy in vivo. Twenty-four hours after intraocular injection, siRNA targeted against APP accumulated in retinal cells and the APP in retinal terminals in the superior colliculus was significantly reduced. Surprisingly, the amyloid precursor-like protein 2 (APLP2) was reduced as well. Functional imaging experiments in rats during visual stimulation showed that knockdown of presynaptic APP/APLP2 significantly reduced the stimulation-induced glucose utilization in the superior colliculus. Our results suggest that perturbations in the amount of APP/APLP2 axonally transported to, and/or in their turnover in the nerve terminal alter synaptic function and could be a pathogenic mechanism in AD

3'-Deoxy-3'-[(18)F]Fluorothymidine uptake is related to thymidine phosphorylase expression in various experimental tumor models

PURPOSE: We recently reported that high thymidine phosphorylase (TP) expression is accompanied by low tumor thymidine concentration and high 3'-deoxy-3'-[(18)F]fluorothymidine ([(18)F]FLT) uptake in four untreated lung cancer xenografts. Here, we investigated whether this relationship also holds true for a broader range of tumor models. PROCEDURES: Lysates from n = 15 different tumor models originating from n = 6 institutions were tested for TP and thymidylate synthase (TS) expression using western blots. Results were correlated to [(18)F]FLT accumulation in the tumors as determined by positron emission tomography (PET) measurements in the different institutions and to previously published thymidine concentrations. RESULTS: Expression of TP correlated positively with [(18)F]FLT SUVmax (ρ = 0.549, P < 0.05). Furthermore, tumors with high TP levels possessed lower levels of thymidine (ρ = - 0.939, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In a broad range of tumors, [(18)F]FLT uptake as measured by PET is substantially influenced by TP expression and tumor thymidine concentrations. These data strengthen the role of TP as factor confounding [(18)F]FLT uptake