Interaction of amyloid precursor proteins and heme oxygenase

Amyloid precursor protein generates the beta-amyloid peptide and is a member of a multigene family that contains at least two other gene products, known as amyloid precursor-like proteins. Heme oxygenase is an enzyme whose products are antioxidant and neuroprotective. The authors report that amyloid precursor protein and amyloid precursor-like protein bind to heme oxygenase to inhibit its enzymatic activity. Our findings suggest that decreased neuroprotection caused by amyloid precursor protein-heme oxygenase interactions influences neurotoxicity in Alzheimer disease.