Amyloid-beta (25-35) peptide induces the release of pro-matrix metalloprotease 9 (pro-MMP-9) from human neutrophils.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative process of the brain, leading to increasing impairment of cognitive functions, and is associated with accumulation in the brain of several amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides (as amyloid plaques), including Aβ. Neutrophils, the most abundant immune cell type infiltrated in the brain of AD patients, accumulate behind amyloid plaques. Aβ peptides can trigger activation of chemotaxis and oxidative burst in neutrophils, suggesting a role in modulating the neuroinflammation process. We have shown that Aβ can induce the release from human neutrophils of pro-MMP-9, a metalloprotease involved in the onset of inflammation, corroborating the hypothesis of the involvement of infiltrated neutrophils in the inflammatory processes, which occur in the AD brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]