Suppression of A beta-induced monocyte neurotoxicity by antiinflammatory compounds

Previous work from this laboratory has demonstrated that prior exposure of peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) to aggregated beta-amyloid peptide (A beta), the major protein comprising the amyloid plaques characteristically present in the brain of Alzheimer disease (AD)-afflicted individuals, activates these cells to a neurotoxic state when co-cultured with brain tissue. In this report we extend these findings to further show that such A beta-induced PBM neurotoxicity can be inhibited by three differentially-acting antiinflammatory drugs, indomethacin, dexamethasone, and colchicine, which are typically used clinically to treat peripheral inflammatory disease. In addition, evidence is presented that these toxic effects an initiated, in large part, by soluble factors released from A beta-stimulated PBM. Our results suggest a rationale for antiinflammatory therapy in the treatment of AD. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.