The metabolism of amyloid  peptide (A) in the brain is crucial to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. A body of evidence suggests that A is actively transported from brain parenchyma to blood across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), although the precise mechanism remains unclear. To unravel the cellular and molecular mechanism of A transport across the BBB, we established a new in vitro model of the initial internalization step of A transport using TR-BBB cells, a conditionally immortalized endothelial cell line from rat brain. We show that TR-BBB cells rapidly internalize A through a receptor-mediated mechanism. We also provide evidence that A internalization is mediated by LRP1 (low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1), since administration of LRP1 antagonist, receptorassociated protein, neutralizing antibody, or small interference RNAs all reduced A uptake. Despite the requirement of LRP1-dependent internalization, A does not directly bind to LRP1 in an in vitro binding assay. Unlike TR-BBB cells, mouse embryonic fibroblasts endogenously expressing functional LRP1 and exhibiting the authentic LRP1-mediated endocytosis (e.g. of tissue plasminogen activator) did not show rapid A uptake. Based on these data, we propose that the rapid LRP1-dependent internalization of A occurs under the BBB-specific cellular context and that TR-BBB is a useful tool for analyzing the molecular mechanism of the rapid transport of A across BBB.
Aggregation and deposition of amyloid -peptide (A)2 in the brain are crucial events in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD) (1). A is produced from -amyloid precursor protein through sequential proteolytic cleavages by -and ␥-secretases. Missense mutations as well as duplication of the -amyloid precursor protein gene have been identified in pedigrees of early onset familial AD (2-4), some of which have been shown to alter the -amyloid precursor protein processing in such a way as to increase the level of A, especially that of the more aggregable species A42, leading to formation of A fibrils (5-7). Cognitive deficits in transgenic mice overexpressing familial AD mutant form -amyloid precursor protein, as well as alteration in synaptic plasticity and synapse loss induced by A oligomers implicate aggregated species of A in the neuronal dysfunction and death in AD brains (8 -10).A, secreted from neurons in the brain, is thought to be catabolized by specific proteases (e.g. NEP and insulin-degrading enzyme) (11, 12); phagocytotic cells in brains (i.e. microglia and astrocytes) (13, 14) take up and clear soluble or aggregated A. Notably, in vivo observations that A injected into rodent brains is rapidly effluxed from brains (15, 16) suggest the presence of a novel pathway for A clearance across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is considered as a three-cell archetype composed of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), astrocytes, and supporting pericytes. It does not normally allow a free exchange of macromolecules between brain and blood, ...