title: Biochemistry of Alzheimer's disease amyloid plaques.
abstract: One of the principal identifying features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the extracellular deposition of fibrous protein aggregates in the form of amyloid plaques. The major component of these deposits is the amyloid beta (A beta) protein that is a proteolytic fragment of the integral membrane amyloid precursor protein (APP). Understanding the pathways responsible for A beta formation and the mechanism by which it accumulates within the brain could provide key answers to AD pathogenesis. This review will explore the biochemistry of A beta and its precursor, the possible causal relationship between amyloid and AD-associated neuronal death, the role of additional cellular elements in amyloid formation, and the potential application of these components in clinical diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lévesque
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: McLachlan
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor