title: Involvement of caspases in proteolytic cleavage of Alzheimer's amyloid-beta precursor protein and amyloidogenic A beta peptide formation.
abstract: The amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) is directly and efficiently cleaved by caspases during apoptosis, resulting in elevated amyloid-beta (A beta) peptide formation. The predominant site of caspase-mediated proteolysis is within the cytoplasmic tail of APP, and cleavage at this site occurs in hippocampal neurons in vivo following acute excitotoxic or ischemic brain injury. Caspase-3 is the predominant caspase involved in APP cleavage, consistent with its marked elevation in dying neurons of Alzheimer's disease brains and colocalization of its APP cleavage product with A beta in senile plaques. Caspases thus appear to play a dual role in proteolytic processing of APP and the resulting propensity for A beta peptide formation, as well as in the ultimate apoptotic death of neurons in Alzheimer's disease.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D002166:Camptothecin / Q000494:pharmacology; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D004792:Enzyme Precursors / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D007608:Kainic Acid; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009154:Mutation / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013548:Sweden; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured