Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34343610›Full record

ArticleNeuropharmacology2021

Targeting both BDNF/TrkB pathway and delta-secretase for treating Alzheimer's disease.

Jianming Liao, Chun Chen, Eun Hee Ahn, Xia Liu, Hua Li, Laura E Edgington-Mitchell, Zhonghua Lu, Shuping Ming, Keqiang Ye

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neuropharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Disruption of BDNF signalling in neuropathologies.Biochemical Society transactions · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Asparagine endopeptidase (AEP) inhibitor formulation via zein-based nanoparticle improves the therapeutic efficacy toward Alzheimer's disease.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Inhibition of asparagine endopeptidase (AEP) effectively treats sporadic Alzheimer's disease in mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. The Mammalian Cysteine Protease Legumain in Health and Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Jianming LiaoDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei Province, China.
Chun ChenDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Eun Hee AhnDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Xia LiuDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Hua LiSchool of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei Province, China.
Laura E Edgington-MitchellDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, New York University College of Dentistry, Bluestone Center for Clinical Research, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
Zhonghua LuShenzhen Key Laboratory for Molecular Biology of Neural Development, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Shuping MingFirst Clinical College, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei Province, China. Electronic address: msp812@163.com.
Keqiang YeDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Electronic address: kye@emory.edu.
Emory University · USHuazhong University of Science and Technology · CNHubei University of Chinese Medicine · CNShenzhen Institute of Neuroscience · CNThe University of Melbourne · AU

Funding

Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE)UL1TR002378 · NCATS · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI Andres J Garcia, Elizabeth O. Ofili · 2017 to 2026
$92.1M
The Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research CenterP30AG066511 · NIA · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI Amy D Rodriguez · 2020 to 2026
$29.0M
ENNCF - Viral Vector CoreP30NS055077 · NINDS · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI LEVEY, ALLAN I · 2008 to 2018
$6.8M
Molecular Regulation of AEP during AgeingRF1AG051538 · NIA · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI YE, KEQIANG · 2016 to 2016
$3.4M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002378NIA NIH HHS P30 AG066511NIA NIH HHS RF1 AG051538NINDS NIH HHS P30 NS055077
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common dementia, and no disease-modifying therapeutic agents are currently available. BDNF/TrkB signaling is impaired in AD and is associated with prominent delta-secretase (δ-secretase, also known as asparaginyl endopeptidase or legumain) activation, which simultaneously cleaves both APP and Tau and promotes Aβ production and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) pathologies. Here we show that the optimized δ-secretase inhibitor (#11a) or TrkB receptor agonist (CF3CN) robustly blocks δ-secretase activity separately, and their combination synergistically blunts δ-secretase, exhibiting promising therapeutic efficacy in 3xTg AD mouse model. The optimal δ-secretase inhibitor reveals demonstrable brain exposure and oral bioavailability, suppressing APP N585 and Tau N368 cleavage by δ-secretase. Strikingly, CF3CN treatment evidently escalates BDNF levels. Both #11a and CF3CN display strong in vivo PK/PD properties and ability to suppress δ-secretase activity in the brain. Orally administrated CF3CN strongly activates TrkB that triggers active Akt to phosphorylate δ-secretase T322, preventing its proteolytic activation and mitigating AD pathologies. #11a or CF3CN significantly diminishes AD pathogenesis and improves cognitive functions with the combination exhibiting the maximal effect. Thus, our data support that these derivatives are strong pharmaceutical candidates for the treatment of AD.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseAmyloid beta-Protein PrecursorAnimalsAsparaginyl EndopeptidaseBrainBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCognitionCysteine EndopeptidasesEnzyme InhibitorsHumansMaze LearningMembrane GlycoproteinsMiceMice, Inbred C57BLNeuroprotective AgentsRatsAmyloid beta-Protein PrecursorAPP protein, mouseAsparaginyl EndopeptidaseBDNF protein, humanBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCysteine EndopeptidasesEnzyme InhibitorsMapt protein, mouseMembrane GlycoproteinsNeuroprotective AgentsReceptor, trkBtau Proteinstropomyosin-related kinase-B, human#11aAlzheimer's diseaseBDNFCF3CNDelta-secretaseNeuroprotection

Identifiers

PMID34343610
PMCPMC8478860
OpenAlexW3193178485

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.