The cell biology of β-amyloid precursor protein and presenilin in Alzheimer's disease

• Published in: Trends in Cell Biology Vol. 8; no. 11; pp. 447 - 453
• Main Author: Selkoe, Dennis J
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.11.1998
• Subjects: Alzheimer; Alzheimer Disease - metabolism; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; amyloid; Amyloid beta-Peptides - biosynthesis; Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor - metabolism; Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; Animals; Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; Biological Transport; endocytosis; Endopeptidases - metabolism; endoplasmic reticulum; glycoprotein; Golgi; Humans; membrane protein; Membrane Proteins - metabolism; neuron; Neurons; Presenilin-2; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Subcellular Fractions; amyloid; neuron; membrane protein; endocytosis; glycoprotein; Golgi; Alzheimer; endoplasmic reticulum
• ISSN: 0962-8924; 1879-3088
• DOI: 10.1016/S0962-8924(98)01363-4

It is a truism of modern biomedical science that the development of therapies expected to slow or arrest the progression of a disease requires as detailed an understanding of its molecular and cellular pathogenesis as possible. In turn, the cloning of novel gene products implicated in a disease often leads to new insights about fundamental features of protein structure and function. A particularly compelling example of this beneficial interplay between basic and applied cell biology arises from the exciting recent progress in deciphering Alzheimer's disease (AD). This review discusses the current understanding of the cell biology of two proteins crucial for the pathogenesis of AD, the β-amyloid precursor protein and presenilin.