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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Models of Alzheimer's Disease to Screen Genes, Mutations, and Chemicals Affecting Amyloid Beta Production by γ-Secretase
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae Models of Alzheimer's Disease to Screen Genes, Mutations, and Chemicals Affecting Amyloid Beta Production by γ-Secretase

Published on: June 24, 2025

Secretases as targets for drug design in Alzheimer's disease

J V R B Hendriksen1, H S L M Nottet, H A Smits

  • 1University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

European Journal of Clinical Investigation
|February 20, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Alzheimer's disease, a leading cause of dementia, involves amyloid-beta peptide pathology. Recent discoveries in beta- and gamma-secretase identification offer new therapeutic development tools.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Alzheimer's disease is the primary cause of dementia in older adults, affecting millions globally.
  • Currently, no effective treatments exist for Alzheimer's disease.
  • Understanding the molecular underpinnings of Alzheimer's pathology is crucial for drug design.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the significance of amyloid-beta peptide in Alzheimer's disease pathology.
  • To discuss recent advancements in identifying key enzymes involved in amyloid-beta production.
  • To emphasize the potential of these discoveries for developing new Alzheimer's therapeutics.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent scientific literature on Alzheimer's disease.
  • Focus on the biochemical pathways of amyloid precursor protein cleavage.
  • Identification and isolation of beta-secretase and gamma-secretase enzymes.

Main Results:

  • Amyloid-beta peptide is a consistent pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
  • Beta-secretase has been successfully isolated.
  • Significant progress has been made towards identifying gamma-secretase.

Conclusions:

  • The identification of beta- and gamma-secretase provides critical molecular tools.
  • These advancements represent a significant step forward in Alzheimer's disease research.
  • New therapeutic strategies targeting these enzymes are becoming feasible.

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