Similarly, cathepsin B gene knockout and cathepsin B inhibitor treatment studies in traumatic brain injury mouse models have shown that cathepsin B to be key to causing the resulting neuromuscular dysfunction, memory loss, neuronal cell death and increased production of pro-necrotic and pro-apoptotic cell death peptides. In ischemic non-human primate and rodent models, cathepsin B inhibitor treatment prevented a significant loss of brain neurons, especially in the hippocampus. In a Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis rodent model, cathepsin B inhibitor treatment greatly improved the clinical course of the infection and reduced brain inflammation and inflammatory Interleukin-1β (IL1-β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). In a transgenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) animal model expressing human amyloid precursor protein (APP) containing the wild-type beta-secretase site sequence found in most AD patients or in guinea pigs, which are a natural model of human wild-type APP processing, genetically deleting the cathepsin B gene or chemically inhibiting cathepsin B brain activity resulted in a significant improvement in the memory deficits that develop in such mice and reduces levels of neurotoxic full-length Abeta(1-40/42) and the particularly pernicious pyroglutamate Abeta(3-40/42), which are thought to cause the disease. In a non-transgenic senescence-accelerated mouse strain, which also has APP containing the wild-type beta-secretase site sequence, treatment with bilobalide, which is an extract of Gingko biloba leaves, also lowered brain Abeta by inhibiting cathepsin B. Moreover, siRNA silencing or chemically inhibiting cathepsin B in primary rodent hippocampal cells or bovine chromaffin cells, which have human wild-type beta-secretase activity, reduces secretion of Abeta by the regulated secretory pathway. Mutations in the CTSB gene have been linked to tropical pancreatitis, a form of chronic pancreatitis. Interactions Cathepsin B has been shown to interact with: CTSD CSTA, CSTB, and S100A10. Cathepsin B is inhibited by: Nitroxoline CA-074 See also Cathepsins References Further reading External links The MEROPS online database for peptidases and their inhibitors: C01.060 EC 3.4.22 Proteases Extracellular matrix remodeling enzymes Cathepsins