Amyloid β-peptide is produced by cultured cells during normal metabolism: A reprise

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Selkoe, Dennis J.

Affiliations: Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Institutes of Medicine, Rm 730, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston MA 02115, USA. Tel.: +1 617 525 5200; Fax: +1 617 525 5252; E-mail: dselkoe@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

Abstract: In the twenty years since George Glenner identified the amyloid β-protein (Aβ), advances in understanding the biochemical pathology, genetics and cell biology of Alzheimer's disease have led to a detailed molecular hypothesis for the genesis of AD and brought us into human trials of anti-amyloid agents. The ability to study Aβ dynamically in cultured cells and in vivo derives from the recognition in 1992 that Aβ is a normal product of cellular metabolism throughout life and circulates as a soluble peptide in biological fluids. Here, I review the background underlying this discovery and then discuss its implications for research on Alzheimer's disease, particularly for the development of disease-modifying therapies.

Keywords: Amyloid β-protein, APP, secretases, Alzheimer's disease, drug discovery

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2006-9S319

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 9, no. s3, pp. 163-168, 2006