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标题：Dimerization of the transmembrane domain of amyloid precursor proteins and familial Alzheimer's disease mutants
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作者：Paul M Gorman ; Sanguk Kim ; Meng Guo 等
期刊名称：BMC Neuroscience
印刷版ISSN：1471-2202
电子版ISSN：1471-2202
出版年度：2008
卷号：9
期号：1
页码：1
DOI：10.1186/1471-2202-9-17
语种：English
出版社：BioMed Central
摘要：Background Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is enzymatically cleaved by γ-secretase to form two peptide products, either Aβ40 or the more neurotoxic Aβ42. The Aβ42/40 ratio is increased in many cases of familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). The transmembrane domain (TM) of APP contains the known dimerization motif GXXXA. We have investigated the dimerization of both wild type and FAD mutant APP transmembrane domains. Results Using synthetic peptides derived from the APP-TM domain, we show that this segment is capable of forming stable transmembrane dimers. A model of a dimeric APP-TM domain reveals a putative dimerization interface, and interestingly, majority of FAD mutations in APP are localized to this interface region. We find that FAD-APP mutations destabilize the APP-TM dimer and increase the population of APP peptide monomers. Conclusion The dissociation constants are correlated to both the Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio and the mean age of disease onset in AD patients. We also show that these TM-peptides reduce Aβ production and Aβ42/Aβ40 ratios when added to HEK293 cells overexpressing the Swedish FAD mutation and γ-secretase components, potentially revealing a new class of γ-secretase inhibitors.