title: Cleavage of amyloid beta peptide during constitutive processing of its precursor.
abstract: The amyloid beta peptide (A beta P) is a small fragment of the much larger, broadly distributed amyloid precursor protein (APP). Abundant A beta P deposition in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease suggests that altered APP processing may represent a key pathogenic event. Direct protein structural analyses showed that constitutive processing in human embryonic kidney 293 cells cleaves APP in the interior of the A beta P, thus preventing A beta P deposition. A deficiency of this processing event may ultimately prove to be the etiological event in Alzheimer's disease that gives rise to senile plaque formation.
authors.affiliation: Athena Neurosciences, Incorporated, South San Francisco, CA 94080.
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Esch
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Keim
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Blacher
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Culwell
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oltersdorf
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McClure
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000682:Amyloid / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational / Q000502:physiology*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011498:Protein Precursors