Amyloid-β-induced chemokine production in primary human macrophages and astrocytes

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), chemotaxis might be responsible for attracting glial cells towards the neuritic plaque. Using primary monocyte-derived macrophages and primary adult astrocytes as a model, amyloid-beta (Aβ) (1–42) was able to stimulate the production, as measured by RT-PCR, of MIP-1α and MIP-1β mRNA in macrophages and MCP-1 in astrocytes. Cocultures showed in unstimulated as well as in Aβ-stimulated cells an increase in MIP-1α, MIP-1β and MCP-1 mRNA. ELISAs of supernatant samples of stimulated macrophages and astrocytes also showed an increase in MIP-1α and MIP-1β in macrophages and MCP-1 in astrocytes. Stimulated cocultures showed an increase in MIP-1α, MIP-1β and MCP-1 protein levels in contrast to unstimulated cocultures.