Cleavage of amyloid beta peptide during constitutive processing of its precursor.
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.
Esch
F S
FS
Athena Neurosciences, Incorporated, South San Francisco, CA 94080.
Keim
P S
PS
Beattie
E C
EC
Blacher
R W
RW
Culwell
A R
AR
Oltersdorf
T
T
McClure
D
D
Ward
P J
PJ
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
D000682:Amyloid; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011498:Protein Precursors