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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Rapid Generation of Amyloid from Native Proteins In vitro
Published on: December 5, 2013
Amyloid beta-peptide is produced by cultured cells during normal metabolism: a reprise
1Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Institutes of Medicine, Rm 730, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston MA 02115, USA. dselkoe@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
Abstract:
In the twenty years since George Glenner identified the amyloid beta-protein (Abeta), 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 Abeta dynamically in cultured cells and in vivo derives from the recognition in 1992 that Abeta 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.
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