It all sticks together--the APP-related family of proteins and Alzheimer's disease.
In the present review, we shall discuss the pros and cons of a possible functional relationship and contribution of the APP family members (APP, APLP1 and APLP2) to the development of Alzheimer's disease: (1) APP, APLP1 and APLP2 are highly homologous proteins with similar protein domain organization. (2) All APP family proteins have been found to be aggregated in typical Alzheimer's disease lesions. (3) Several other proteins have been implied to provide a functional link among the APP-related proteins. In normal adult brain APP, APLP1 and APLP2 are involved in synaptic processes important for memory function. We hypothesize that the functional loss of members of the APP family contributes to the gradual cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease patients.
Bayer
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TA
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany. bayer@uni-bonn.de
Cappai
R
R
Masters
C L
CL
Beyreuther
K
K
Multhaup
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
C489697:APLP1 protein, human; C084104:APLP2 protein, human; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins