Figure 6. Effect of compound 7 on NEP mRNA and protein levels and Aβ clearance in vivo.

APP_swe/PS₁dE₉ mice were fed vehicle (control) or compound 7 (10 mg/kg BW) six times per week for 6.5 months by gavage. (a) NEP mRNA levels in the cortex and hippocampus using β-actin as the reference gene, with the value for the cortex of the vehicle-fed control group set as 1. The results are presented as the mean ± SEM (n = 5). (b) Neprilysin western blot. Protein samples of 12 μg extracted from the hippocampus of eight APP_swe/PS₁dE₉ mice fed with vehicle or compound 7 were resolved on an 8% Bis-Tris gel and immunoblotted with rat monoclonal anti-mouse NEP antibody. (c) ELISA results for formic acid-extracted (insoluble) Aβ40 (top panel) and Aβ42 (bottom panel) in the cortex and hippocampus; the data for each mouse are indicated and the mean is indicated by the line (n = 5). The heavy black line indicates the sets of data showing a significant difference; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01 compared to the control by Student’s t-test.