Physiological Functions of APP Family Proteins
- 1Institute for Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Heidelberg, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- 2Huffington Center on Aging and Departments of Molecular & Human Genetics, Molecular & Cellular Biology and Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030
- Correspondence: u.mueller{at}urz.uni-hd.de; huiz{at}bcm.edu
Abstract
Biochemical and genetic evidence establishes a central role of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) in Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis. Biochemically, deposition of the β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides produced from proteolytic processing of APP forms the defining pathological hallmark of AD; genetically, both point mutations and duplications of wild-type APP are linked to a subset of early onset of familial AD (FAD) and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. As such, the biological functions of APP and its processing products have been the subject of intense investigation, and the past 20+ years of research have met with both excitement and challenges. This article will review the current understanding of the physiological functions of APP in the context of APP family members.
- Copyright © 2012 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved
