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Abstract
The amyloidogenesis occurring in Alzheimer's disease represents a fundamental membrane-related pathology involving a membrane-bound substrate metabolized by integral membrane proteases (secretases). Thus, the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ), which accumulates extracellularly as plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, is derived by sequential proteolytic cleavage of the integral transmembrane amyloid precursor protein (APP). Beta-Secretase or BACE-1 (β-site APP cleaving enzyme) is a transmembrane aspartic protease responsible for the first of these cleavage events, generating the soluble APP ectodomain sAPPβ, and a C-terminal fragment CTFβ. CTFβ is subsequently cleaved by the γ-secretase complex, of which presenilin is the catalytic core, to produce Aβ. A variety of studies indicate that cholesterol is an important factor in the regulation of Aβ production, with high cholesterol levels being linked to increased Aβ generation and deposition. However, the mechanism(s) underlying this effect are unclear at present. Recent evidence suggests that amyloidogenic APP processing may preferentially occur in the cholesterol-rich regions of membranes known as lipid rafts, and that changes in cholesterol levels could exert their effects by altering the distribution of APP-cleaving enzymes within the membrane. Rafts may be involved in the aggregation of Aβ and also in its clearance by amyloid-degrading enzymes such as plasmin or possibly neprilysin (NEP).
| Acronyms | ||
| amyloid-β peptide | = | Aβ |
| angiotensin-converting enzyme | = | ACE |
| Alzheimer's disease | = | AD |
| A disintegrin and metalloprotease | = | ADAM |
| apolipoprotein E | = | ApoE |
| amyloid precursor protein | = | APP |
| β-site APP cleaving enzyme | = | BACE-1 |
| cluster differentiation antigen | = | CD |
| cerebrospinal fluid | = | CSF |
| C-terminal fragment | = | CTF |
| endoplasmic reticulum | = | ER |
| endothelin-converting enzyme | = | ECE |
| fluorescence resonance energy transfer | = | FRET |
| glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol | = | GPI |
| insulysin (insulin-degrading enzyme) | = | IDE |
| low density lipoprotein | = | LDL |
| lipoprotein receptor-related protein | = | LRP |
| neprilysin | = | NEP |
| presenilin | = | PS |
| presenilin | = | PS |
| α-secretase derived soluble APP ectodomain | = | sAPPα |
| β-secretase derived soluble APP ectodomain | = | sAPPβ |
| TNF-α converting enzyme | = | TACE |
| trans-Golgi network | = | TGN |
| tumour necrosis factor | = | TNF |
| Acronyms | ||
| amyloid-β peptide | = | Aβ |
| angiotensin-converting enzyme | = | ACE |
| Alzheimer's disease | = | AD |
| A disintegrin and metalloprotease | = | ADAM |
| apolipoprotein E | = | ApoE |
| amyloid precursor protein | = | APP |
| β-site APP cleaving enzyme | = | BACE-1 |
| cluster differentiation antigen | = | CD |
| cerebrospinal fluid | = | CSF |
| C-terminal fragment | = | CTF |
| endoplasmic reticulum | = | ER |
| endothelin-converting enzyme | = | ECE |
| fluorescence resonance energy transfer | = | FRET |
| glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol | = | GPI |
| insulysin (insulin-degrading enzyme) | = | IDE |
| low density lipoprotein | = | LDL |
| lipoprotein receptor-related protein | = | LRP |
| neprilysin | = | NEP |
| presenilin | = | PS |
| presenilin | = | PS |
| α-secretase derived soluble APP ectodomain | = | sAPPα |
| β-secretase derived soluble APP ectodomain | = | sAPPβ |
| TNF-α converting enzyme | = | TACE |
| trans-Golgi network | = | TGN |
| tumour necrosis factor | = | TNF |