Identification, transmembrane orientation and biogenesis of the amyloid A4 precursor of Alzheimer's disease

Molecular genetic approaches to Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has emerged in the past decade as a major public health problem. Epidemiological and neuropathological studies have revealed AD to be a very frequent disease associated with aging. Already the fourth leading cause of death in the USA and consuming a major component of health care costs, AD will take on even greater importance with the continuous growth of the elderly population. A concerted effort has been made in recent years to attack AD using an arsenal of powerful molecular biological techniques, concentrating on two areas: the characterization of proteins implicated in the pathogenesis of AD and of the genes that encode them; and the use of genetic linkage to approach the primary defect in a familial form of AD (FAD). This review attempts to summarize and interpret the recent molecular, genetic and biochemical findings concerning the pathogenesis of AD.

Immunoreactivity of neuronal lipofuscin with monoclonal antibodies to the amyloid beta-protein

Monoclonal antibodies generated against a synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acids 1 to 24 of cerebrovascular amyloid beta-protein do not only stain amyloidotic blood vessels and the amyloid deposits of the (senile) neuritic plaques, but also the neuronal pigment lipofuscin. Staining of lipofuscin is observed in both cerebral and cerebellar cortices, subcortical nuclei as well as the brain stem, and is identical in Alzheimer and normal control brain. Western blots of a lipofuscin enriched fraction show an anti-beta-protein reactive polypeptide migrating at approximately 31 kDa position on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results suggest that this polypeptide is associated with lipofuscin and is most likely derived from the predicted amyloid precursor protein. This implicates that, unlike in Alzheimer's disease where this protein is also processed extraneuronally in a manner to release an amyloid fiber forming fragment, the end point of its processing in the nerve cell seems to accumulate on a lipopigment characteristic for normal aging.

Cellular and molecular biology of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease results from the degeneration of neurons. Degenerating nerve cells express atypical proteins, and amyloid is deposited. We suggest that some of these events are strongly influenced by genetic factors and age. Animal models should be useful in investigating the pathogenic mechanisms that lead to the brain abnormalities seen in this disease.

Cellular forms of the rat and human beta-amyloid precursor protein (BAPP)

Using synthetic peptide antisera generated against beta-amyloid precursor protein (BAPP) sequences we demonstrate that the newly synthesized BAPP appears as a 94 kDa peptide in rat brain RNA cell-free translates or polysome runoffs, while from similar human brain material we see two bands at 94 and 120 kDa. Immunoblots reveal likely post-translational modification of BAPP, and possibly an age-dependent, endogenous proteolysis of the protein in rat brain. On human brain immunoblots an unusual post-translational modification or possibly oligomerization of BAPP is seen, particularly in cortical regions.

The pathology of the amyloid A4 precursor of Alzheimer's disease

The A4 amyloid protein is the major subunit present in the amyloid of Alzheimer's disease. It is derived by proteolytic cleavage from a larger precursor (PreA4) which is a neuronal membrane glycoprotein. Whereas in Down's syndrome, over-expression of the gene coding for PreA4 is likely to be responsible for the premature development of cerebral amyloidosis, a similar mechanism is yet to be demonstrated in Alzheimer's disease.

About the presence of paired helical filaments in dystrophic neurites participating in the plaque formation

Immunocytochemistry with monoclonal antibodies to the beta-protein and to antigens associated with paired helical filaments (PHF) allows us to selectively stain two major components of neuritic (senile) plaques (NP): PHF and amyloid deposits. Using this method, the structure of NP in the brains of Alzheimer disease victims was compared to their structure in the brains of non-demented aged individuals selected for high numbers of NP. It is demonstrated that the dystrophic neurites participating in the plaque formation contain PHF only when cortical nerve cells in the same brain area form neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). People with many NP and many NFT were always demented, whereas people with many NP but few, if any NFT were not. It is speculated that there is individual susceptibility to the formation of PHF and that their appearance may represent a nonspecific response of the neuronal network to different kinds of injuries, like the deposition of amyloid in Alzheimer disease, or other pathogenic factors associated with various dementive neurodegenerative diseases. It is hypothesized that the deposition of brain amyloid in people resistant to neurofibrillary pathology may induce too little dysfunction for the development of dementia.

Alzheimer's disease: areal and laminar pathology in the occipital isocortex

Sensitive and specific silver methods for demonstration of (1) amyloid and/or precursors of amyloid and (2) neurofibrillary changes were applied to examine the pathology revealed by the occipital isocortex in cases of Alzheimer's disease and age-matched controls. In general, amyloid and/or precursors of amyloid are encountered in plaque-like formations. Large numbers of amyloid plaques occur in layers that only occasionally harbor neuritic plaques. Amyloid deposits can be found in abundance in the occipital cortex of demented individuals exhibiting an only sparse number of neuritic plaques. In demented individuals the striate area contains almost as much amyloid as the parastriate area or the peristriate region. Neurofibrillary changes are encountered in neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuropil threads. Neuritic plaques are predominantly found in layers II and III. Their density changes even within the boundaries of architectonic units. Large numbers of plaques are found in the cortex covering the depth of the sulci. The number of neurofibrillary tangles increases abruptly when passing the striate/parastriate and the parastriate/peristriate boundaries. The neuropil threads may densely fill a layer without the presence of neurofibrillary tangles (layer V of the striate area). Neuropil threads contribute a substantial part to the total amount of the intraneuronally deposited pathological material.

Molecular genetics of Alzheimer's disease and the amyloid beta peptide precursor gene

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by global cognitive decline. An autopsy of the Alzheimer patient's brain reveals two major neuropathological lesions: neurofibrillary tangles, and amyloid deposits in the form of senile plaques and cerebrovascular accumulations. While tangles appear to be a universal hallmark of dying neurons in several neurodegenerative diseases, amyloid plaques occur in only three conditions including Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, and to a limited extent, normal aging. The frequency of senile plaques appears to correlate well with the degree of dementia in the Alzheimer's patient. It remains unclear, however, whether amyloid formation represents one of the final stages of a long neuropathological process in the brain, or initially participates in promoting neuronal dysfunction. To address this question, we have isolated the gene encoding the precursor of the principle component of the plaque, the amyloid beta peptide. We have mapped this gene to chromosome 21, the same chromosome in which we have detected linkage between anonymous DNA markers and the familial form of Alzheimer's disease. Employing direct genetic linkage analysis, we have shown that the amyloid gene and the familial Alzheimer's disease gene represent two separate and distinct genetic loci. Here we present further information on the location of the familial Alzheimer's disease gene on chromosome 21. We also discuss the recent discovery of an alternate form of the amyloid beta peptide precursor gene which encodes a serine protease inhibitor in the Kunitz family. The presence of a protease inhibitor domain within the amyloid beta peptide precursor, itself, has profound implications for its possible role in the process of amyloid formation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The amyloid percursor protein of Alzheimer disease is expressed as a 130 kDa polypeptide in various cultured cell types

The vascular and parenchymal amyloid deposits in Alzheimer disease (AD), normal aging and Down syndrome are mainly composed of a 4 kDa polypeptide (A4), which derives from a larger precursor protein (APP). There is evidence that APP is a transmembrane glycoprotein present in most tissues, but the characteristics of APP in intact cells are not yet known. In order to investigate this issue, we examined the immunoreactivity of fibroblasts of human and nonhuman cell lines with antisera raised to synthetic peptides corresponding to A4 and to two other domains of the APP. All three antisera recognized a 130 kDa polypeptide (APP-130) in immunoblots from all cell lines. In fibroblasts, an additional polypeptide of 228 kDa (APP-228) was recognized by the antiserum to A4. In immunoblots of two dimensional gels, APP-130 showed a pI of 6.2, while APP-228 failed to focus in the pH range of 4.7-7.0. Sequential extractions of cells with buffer and with Triton X-100 indicate that APP-130 is extractable with nonionic detergents at high ionic strength, whereas 228 kDa APP is a cystolic component. Immunofluorescence staining is consistent with an intracellular perinuclear and plasma membrane localization. It is concluded that APP-130 and APP-228 are two forms of the APP which result from extensive posttranslational modifications of a smaller original gene product. It is likely that APP undergoes similar posttranslational modifications in different cell types.