Methods and Compositions for Reducing Amyloid Beta Levels

摘要

The present invention provides a method of increasing cathepsin B-induced cleavage of amyloid-&bgr; (A&bgr;) peptide in a cell or tissue, the method generally involving contacting the cell or tissue with an agent that increases the level of cathepsin B in the cell or tissue. The present invention further provides variant cathepsin B polypeptides that are resistant to inhibition by a cysteine protease inhibitor; as well as nucleic acids encoding the variants, and host cells comprising the nucleic acids.