Does making new HDL particles affect Alzheimer’s disease?

In this collaboration with Artery Therapeutics, Sasan Noveir, Bilal Kerman and the team show that a peptide that makes HDL promotes the clearance of amyloid from the brain in cynomolgus monkeys. The study looked at the effects of a synthetic peptide (CS-6253) on biomarkers relevant to Alzheimer’s Disease in cynomolgus monkeys, a species that shares remarkable homology with humans. We found that this peptide was not only able to induce HDL production but also promote the clearance of amyloid from the brain. In the figure shown, the ratio of plasma abeta 42 over abeta 40 increases 4 hours after CS-6253 injection (* indicate significant changes). A greater plasma abeta 42/40 ratio is indicative of lower brain amyloid deposition, a key feature of Alzheimer’s disease. The plasma abeta 42/40 ratio is a promising biomarker to guide the drug development of CS-6253. Our findings are an exciting step toward starting early-phase clinical trials in humans.