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Review
. 2004 Oct 5;101 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):14657-62.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0404866101. Epub 2004 Aug 5.

Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease

David S Gelinas  1 , Kevin DaSilva, Daniela Fenili, Peter St George-Hyslop, Joanne McLaurin
Affiliations
Review

Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease

David S Gelinas et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

The utility of vaccine strategies to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) may still hold promise. Both active and passive immunization strategies reduced AD-like pathology and restored cognitive deficits in transgenic mice. These results were initially met with considerable optimism; however, phase IIa clinical trials were halted because of a small but significant occurrence of meningoencephalitis. Knowledge gained from studies on amyloid-beta peptide (A beta) immunotherapy will allow optimization of new-generation vaccines, targeting highly specific epitopes while reducing undesired side effects. In harnessing and steering the immune system, an effective response can be generated against A beta. If this proves successful, A beta vaccination could provide the first definitive treatment for AD.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Aβ42-immunized TgCRND8 mice have a 50% reduction in plaque burden than untreated TgCRND8 mice. Representative pictures of the distribution of Aβ plaques labeled by Dako 6F/3D anti-Aβ antibody in the hippocampus (A and B) and cortex (C and D) of control peptide-immunized (A and C) and Aβ42-immunized TgCRND8 mice (B and D). (Scale bars = 100 μm.)
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Aβ42-immnized TgCRND8 mice have reduced microglial activation in comparison with control peptide-immunized TgCRND8 mice. Representative pictures of the distribution of activated microglia as labeled by anti-CD68 IgG in the hippocampus (A and B) of control peptide-immunized (A and C) and Aβ42-immunized TgCRND8 mice (B and D). Higher magnification reveals that activated microglia have similar morphology under both immunization paradigms (C and D). [Scale bars = 75 μm (A and B) and 5 μm (C and D).]
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
The sequence of B and T cell epitopes within the Aβ1–42 amino acid sequence as determined by mathematical algorithms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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