Herpes simplex virus RNAi and neprilysin gene transfer vectors reduce accumulation of Alzheimer's disease-related amyloid-beta peptide in vivo.

Accumulation of insoluble aggregates of amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta), a cleavage product of amyloid precursor protein (APP), is thought to be central to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Consequently, downregulation of APP, or enhanced clearance of Abeta, represent possible therapeutic strategies for AD. We generated replication-defective herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors that inhibit Abeta accumulation, both in vitro and in vivo. In cell culture, HSV vectors expressing either (i) short hairpin RNA directed to the APP transcript (HSV-APP/shRNA), or (ii) neprilysin, an endopeptidase that degrades Abeta (HSV-neprilysin), substantially inhibited accumulation of Abeta. To determine whether these vectors showed similar activity in vivo, we developed a novel mouse model, in which overexpression of a mutant form of APP in the hippocampus, using a lentiviral vector (LV-APP(Sw)), resulted in rapid Abeta accumulation. Co-inoculation of LV-APP(Sw) with each of the HSV vectors showed that either HSV-APP/shRNA or HSV-neprilysin inhibited Abeta accumulation in this model, whereas an HSV control vector did not. These studies demonstrate the utility of HSV vectors for reducing Abeta accumulation in the brain, thus providing useful tools to clarify the role of Abeta in AD that may facilitate the development of novel therapies for this important disease.