Cleavage of amyloid beta peptide during constitutive processing of its precursor |
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| Authors: | F S Esch P S Keim E C Beattie R W Blacher A R Culwell T Oltersdorf D McClure P J Ward |
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| Institution: | Athena Neurosciences, Incorporated, South San Francisco, CA 94080. |
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| Abstract: | The amyloid beta peptide (A beta P) is a small fragment of the much larger, broadly distributed amyloid precursor protein (APP). Abundant A beta P deposition in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease suggests that altered APP processing may represent a key pathogenic event. Direct protein structural analyses showed that constitutive processing in human embryonic kidney 293 cells cleaves APP in the interior of the A beta P, thus preventing A beta P deposition. A deficiency of this processing event may ultimately prove to be the etiological event in Alzheimer's disease that gives rise to senile plaque formation. |
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