Reducing CETP activity prevents memory decline in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.

While small molecule CETP inhibitors like evacetrapib have previously been assessed for cardiovascular diseases, their involvement in AD has not been investigated. Here, we establish CETP as a novel pharmacological target for AD treatment.

Using CETP transgenic mice crossed to a mouse model of amyloidosis and administering evacetrapib, we provide evidence that CETP inhibition maintained memory independent of classic AD markers, increased hippocampal cholesterol, altered plasma lipoproteins, and changed transcription of genes linked to brain barriers. Using proteomic data of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from cognitively unimpaired at-risk individuals at risk for AD in the PResymptomatic EValuation of Experimental or Novel Treatments for AD (PREVENT-AD) cohort, we confirm that our mouse model reflects physiological changes in pre-symptomatic human subjects.