title: Splice variants of the beta-site APP-cleaving enzyme BACE1 in human brain and pancreas.
abstract: BACE is the beta-secretase responsible for the first step in amyloidogenic processing of the amyloid precursor protein APP. We have identified two BACE isoforms, BACE1B and BACE1C, lacking 25 and 44 amino acids, respectively. Whereas the BACE1B transcript is present in human pancreas and brain, the BACE1C transcript is found in pancreas only. In transfected cells both BACE1A, which encodes the originally described full-length BACE1 protein and the close homolog BACE2 localized mainly to post-Golgi membranes. In contrast, the two shorter isoforms were found in the endoplasmic reticulum only, and they did not display beta-secretase activity. Using RNase protection we in addition show that the major pancreatic transcript is BACE1A. This suggests that the known absence of beta-secretase activity in the pancreas is not due to a missing BACE1A transcript.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, D-01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ehehalt
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Pietri Tonelli
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zacchetti
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D010450:Endopeptidases; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010179:Pancreas / Q000201:enzymology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D007527:Isoenzymes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D010450:Endopeptidases; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C509284:BACE2 protein, human; C509280:BACE1 protein, human