ADAMTS-4 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) is transcriptionally induced in beta-amyloid treated rat astrocytes.

Beta-amyloid (Abeta) deposition is considered to be of the most crucial events in the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To identify factors involved in the exacerbation of AD, we investigated transcriptionally Abeta-induced genes using a cDNA subtraction technique in rat astrocytes as previously reported. One subtracted gene that showed the Abeta-induced expression was rat ADAMTS-4 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs). In this report, we present the deduced sequence for the mature form of rat ADAMTS-4 and demonstrate the induction of its mRNA by treatment of cells with Abeta. Our results suggest a degradation of the extracellular matrix occurring in the brain of AD patients and a possibly significant role of this enzyme in the progression of AD.