title: Decreased alpha-secretase-cleaved amyloid precursor protein as a diagnostic marker for Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The neuropathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are extracellular plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. A constituent of senile plaques in AD is beta-amyloid, a hydrophobic peptide of 39-43 amino acids and a fragment of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). APP can be metabolized by at least two pathways, one of which involves generation of soluble APP by an unidentified enzyme named alpha-secretase. This cleavage generates alpha-secretase-cleaved, soluble APP (alpha-sAPP), which in this investigation was measured by a new assay in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from members of a Swedish AD family with a pathogenic mutation at APP670/671 (ref. 2). Family members who carry the mutation and are diagnosed with AD had low levels of alpha-sAPP (160 +/- 48 ng ml-1), with no overlap compared with non-carriers (257 +/- 48 ng ml-1). Carriers of the presymptomatic mutation showed intermediate alpha-sAPP levels. Today there exists no antemortem marker in AD with sufficient sensitivity and specificity, but measurement of alpha-sAPP represents a new and promising diagnostic marker.
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institute, Department of Clinical Neuroscience (Geriatric Medicine), Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lannfelt
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Basun
authors.forename: L O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Wahlund
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D015153:Blotting, Western; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: C545487:APP protein, human; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D015415:Biomarkers; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D010450:Endopeptidases; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C509280:BACE1 protein, human