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Serum beta-secretase 1 (BACE1) activity as candidate biomarker for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

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Abstract

Beta-secretase (BACE1) is a key enzyme in the formation of amyloid-β; its activity/concentration is increased in brain and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). Since BACE1 was found also in blood, we evaluated its potential as peripheral biomarker. To this aim, serum BACE1 activity was assessed in 115 subjects with LOAD and 151 controls. We found that BACE1 changed across groups (p < 0.001) with a 25% increase in LOAD versus controls. High levels of BACE1 (IV quartile) were independently associated with the diagnosis of LOAD (OR 2.8; 1.4–5.7). Diagnostic accuracy was 76% for LOAD. Our data suggest that increased BACE1 activity in serum may represent a potential biomarker for LOAD. Additional studies are needed to confirm the usefulness of BACE1, alone or in combination with other markers, in discriminating patients and predicting LOAD onset and progression.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr Arianna Romani for helping in the assay optimization.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical and Specialist Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy

    Carlo Cervellati, Alessandro Trentini, Valentina Rosta & Giuseppe Valacchi

  2. Department of Morphology, Surgery, and Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy

    Angelina Passaro, Cristina Bosi, Juana Maria Sanz, Stefania Bonazzi & Giovanni Zuliani

  3. Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy

    Salvatore Pacifico & Remo Guerini

  4. Research Laboratory, Complex Structure of Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, Viale Cappuccini, 1, 71013, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy

    Davide Seripa

  5. Plants for Human Health Institute, Animal Science Department, NC State University, 600 Laureate Way, Kannapolis, NC, 28081, USA

    Giuseppe Valacchi

  6. Department of Food and Nutrition, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea

    Giuseppe Valacchi

Authors
  1. Carlo Cervellati
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  2. Alessandro Trentini
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  3. Valentina Rosta
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  4. Angelina Passaro
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  5. Cristina Bosi
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  6. Juana Maria Sanz
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  7. Stefania Bonazzi
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  8. Salvatore Pacifico
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  9. Davide Seripa
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  10. Giuseppe Valacchi
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  11. Remo Guerini
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  12. Giovanni Zuliani
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Correspondence to Carlo Cervellati.

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Cervellati, C., Trentini, A., Rosta, V. et al. Serum beta-secretase 1 (BACE1) activity as candidate biomarker for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. GeroScience 42, 159–167 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-019-00127-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-019-00127-6

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