19 In regard to the mechanism(s) through which E2 modulates neural Aβ, scientific evidence supports E2 influence of both Aβ deposition and Aβ clearance. Along these lines, E2 is purported to regulate expression of at least two major proteins responsible for removal of neurotoxic Aβ: insulin degrading enzyme

Selleckchem BMS-777607 and neprilysin. 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 With respect to Aβ deposition, several studies suggest that E2 may regulate APP processing at several steps, thereby promoting the non-amyloidogenic pathway. As evidence, BACE1, the rate-limiting enzyme for Aβ formation, has several estrogen response elements (EREs) within its promoter region, 25 and E2 has been shown to decrease BACE1 expression both in mixed neuronal cultures and in neurons in vivo. 15, 20, 26 and 27 Conversely, E2 has also been hypothesized to regulate two putative α-secretases ADAM

10 4, 27, 28, 29 and 30 and ADAM 17, 26 and 31 which is also known as TNFα-converting enzyme (TACE). While E2′s neuroprotective role in AD has been well studied in vitro, E2′s neuroprotection from AD has not been completely characterized in vivo, particularly considering the development of AD-like neuropathology following GCI. Furthermore, aside from a single observed decrease of neprilysin expression in the brain 45 days post-ovariectomy, 24 and our lab’s recent finding of a switch to amyloidogenic APP processing Pregnenolone in the hippocampal CA3 region following GCI in selleck long-term ovariectomized females, 4 the effect of LTED (surgical menopause) on critical pathways affecting Aβ load in non-transgenic rodents is largely unknown. Along these lines, the current study attempted to determine whether surgical menopause enhanced amyloidogenesis in the hippocampal CA1 following a stressor (GCI). Furthermore, the current study also aimed to definitively

characterize acute E2 regulation of APP processing (ADAM 10, ADAM 17, and BACE1 expression) in the hippocampal CA1 following GCI and to determine whether E2 regulation of APP processing is lost following long-term ovariectomy, as these events could mechanistically explain the enhanced risk of dementia and mortality from neurological disorders observed in prematurely menopausal women. All procedures were approved by the Georgia Regents University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Animal Use Protocols: 09-03-174 and 2012-0474) and were conducted in accordance with the National Institutes of Health guidelines for animal research. Young adult (3-month-old) female Sprague–Dawley rats were utilized for these studies. All animals were group housed on a 10 h/14 h light–dark cycle and fed ad libitum using Harlan’s 8604 Teklad Rodent Diet. To induce surgical menopause, all female rats were bilaterally ovariectomized under isoflurane anesthesia.