Up-regulation of kinesin light-chain 1 gene expression by acetyl-L-carnitine: therapeutic possibility in Alzheimer's disease.

We investigated the effects of acetyl-l-carnitine on gene expression by means of the suppression subtractive hybridization method. The approach gives the generation of subtracted cDNA libraries and the subsequent identification of differentially expressed transcripts after treatment of rats with acetyl-l-carnitine for 21 days. We observed that acetyl-l-carnitine increases the light-chain subunit of kinesin-1 gene expression. Recent evidences reported a link between kinesin-1 light-chain and Alzheimer's disease. Pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease are potentially linked to alterations of the axonal compartments. Amyloid-beta peptide is a principal component of senile plaques and is considered to be central in the pathogenesis of the disease. The fast anterograde axonal transport of amyloid-beta peptide is mediated by direct binding to the light-chain subunit of kinesin-1. In this scenario, our results are of relevant importance for possible therapeutic intervention, suggesting a pathway for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.