Cystatin C modulates cerebral beta-amyloidosis
Stephan A Kaeser1, Martin C Herzig, Janaky Coomaraswamy
1Department of Cellular Neurology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller Strasse 27, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Nature Genetics
|November 21, 2007
Abstract:
The CST3 Thr25 allele of CST3, which encodes cystatin C, leads to reduced cystatin C secretion and conveys susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease. Here we show that overexpression of human cystatin C in brains of APP-transgenic mice reduces cerebral amyloid-beta deposition and that cystatin C binds amyloid-beta and inhibits its fibril formation. Our results suggest that cystatin C concentrations modulate cerebral amyloidosis risk and provide an opportunity for genetic risk assessment and therapeutic interventions.


