RESUMEN
Obesity is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but underlying mechanisms are not clear. We analyzed peripheral clearance of amyloid ß (Aß) in overweight mice because its systemic elimination may impact brain Aß load, a major landmark of AD pathology. We also analyzed whether circulating insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) intervenes in the effects of overweight as this growth factor modulates brain Aß clearance and is increased in the serum of overweight mice. Overweight mice showed increased Aß accumulation by the liver, the major site of elimination of systemic Aß, but unaltered brain Aß levels. We also found that Aß accumulation by hepatocytes is stimulated by IGF-I, and that mice with low serum IGF-I levels show reduced liver Aß accumulation-ameliorated by IGF-I administration, and unchanged brain Aß levels. In the brain, IGF-I favored the association of its receptor (IGF-IR) with the Aß precursor protein (APP), and at the same time, stimulated non-amyloidogenic processing of APP in astrocytes, as indicated by an increased sAPPα/sAPPß ratio after IGF-I treatment. Since serum IGF-I enters into the brain in an activity-dependent manner, we analyzed in overweight mice the effect of brain activation by environmental enrichment (EE) on brain IGF-IR phosphorylation and its association to APP, as a readout of IGF-I activity. After EE, significantly reduced brain IGF-IR phosphorylation and APP/IGF-IR association were found in overweight mice as compared to lean controls. Collectively, these results indicate that a high-fat diet influences peripheral clearance of Aß without affecting brain Aß load. Increased serum IGF-I likely contributes to enhanced peripheral Aß clearance in overweight mice, without affecting brain Aß load probably because its brain entrance is reduced.