Evidence mapPaperPMID 42210401Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's research & therapy2026

Meprin-β levels are increased in the brain and the cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Sergio Escamilla, Carlos Avilés-Granados, Carmen Márquez-Marco, Maximilian Keller, Irene Sánchez-Domínguez, Inmaculada Cuchillo-Ibáñez, Fernando Aguado, Henrik Zetterberg, Claus U Pietrzik, Javier Sáez-Valero

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. The Role of Meprins on the Brain Extracellular Matrix and Perineuronal Nets.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Sergio EscamillaInstituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Av. Ramón y Cajal S/N, 03550, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Carlos Avilés-GranadosInstituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Av. Ramón y Cajal S/N, 03550, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Carmen Márquez-MarcoInstituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Av. Ramón y Cajal S/N, 03550, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Maximilian KellerMolecular Neurodegeneration, Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Irene Sánchez-DomínguezDepartment of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Inmaculada Cuchillo-IbáñezInstituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Av. Ramón y Cajal S/N, 03550, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Fernando AguadoDepartment of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Henrik ZetterbergDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Claus U PietrzikMolecular Neurodegeneration, Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Javier Sáez-ValeroInstituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Av. Ramón y Cajal S/N, 03550, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain. j.saez@umh.es.

Funding

CIBERNED CIAICO/2024/313Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias PI22/01329"Severo Ochoa" Program for Centers of Excellence in R&D CEX2021-001165-SSpanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities MICINN/FEDER PID2022-142187OB-I00
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the levels of meprin-β, an alternative β-secretase in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid of subjects suffering Alzheimer's disease. The full-length zymogen and the active species of meprin-β were characterized by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation using ectodomain N-terminal and C-terminal antibodies. We examined meprin-β changes in extracts from Alzheimer's frontal cortex (n = 13, Braak stages I-II; n = 12, Braak stages III-IV; n = 12, Braak stages V-VI) compared with controls (n = 14), as well as in cerebrospinal fluid samples from Alzheimer's patients (n = 15) or non-Alzheimer's controls (n = 15). Cerebrospinal fluid meprin-β levels were also determined in 19-month old TgF344-AD and wild-type rats. Brain and cerebrospinal fluid from a Mep1b-null mouse served to characterize the specificity of the immunoreactive bands for meprin-β. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neuronal cultures were treated with 2 μM Aβ42 for 24 h. We found that meprin-β is present in human brain extracts and cerebrospinal fluid as several distinct species, attributed to the zymogen and the mature species. These species were absent in brain and cerebrospinal fluid from a Mep1b-null mouse. No fragments of meprin-β were detected in brain extract, either in cerebrospinal fluid. Only the mature forms of meprin-β are increased in frontal cortex extracts (from Braak V-VI), but not the zymogen. The MEP1-B mRNA levels are increased in Braaks III-IV and V-VI compared with controls. The meprin-β species are increased in human neuronal cultures treated with Aβ42. Finally, we demonstrated elevated levels of the mature meprin-β in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's disease and in TgF344-AD rats. Our data support a role of meprin-β in Alzheimer's pathology.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseBrainAgedAged, 80 and overAmyloid beta-PeptidesAnimalsCells, CulturedFemaleHumansInduced Pluripotent Stem CellsMaleMetalloendopeptidasesMiceMice, KnockoutMiddle AgedNeuronsAmyloid beta-Peptidesmeprin Ameprin BMetalloendopeptidasesPeptide FragmentsAlternative β-secretaseBiomarkerCSFMeprin-β

Identifiers

PMID42210401
PMCPMC13425949

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.