Docosahexaenoic Acid Reduces Amyloid β Production via Multiple Pleiotropic Mechanisms
There are two main molecular pathways that have to do with amyloid peptide production. DHA activates the non-aymloidogenic pathway and depresses the amyloidogenic pathway. Interestingly, it does so not by „attacking“ one specific molecule, but rather DHA reduces the action of almost all key steps in the amyloidogenic pathway, while at the same time it increases the action of the key steps in the non-amyloidogenic pathway. Altogether there are 11 different steps, which are affect by DHA. Because the DHA mechanism of activity on amyloid generation is build on several parallel actions, each individual effect can be rather small. It is the summery effect that counts and this summary effect on amyloid production is rather strong. A possible advantage of such a pleiotropic mechanism is that it avoids the typical side effects of complete inhibition of e.g. the main amyloidogenic enzyme (gamma-secretase).