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Updated: May 12, 2026

Selection of Aptamers for Amyloid β-Protein, the Causative Agent of Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: May 14, 2010
LDL receptor-related protein, a multifunctional ApoE receptor, binds secreted beta-amyloid precursor protein and
M Z Kounnas1, R D Moir, G W Rebeck
1Department of Biochemistry, Holland Laboratories, American Red Cross, Rockville, Maryland 20855, USA.
Abstract:
The secreted form of beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) containing the Kunitz proteinase inhibitor (KPI) domain, also called protease nexin II, is internalized and degraded by cells. We show that the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-related protein (LRP) is responsible for the endocytosis of secreted APP. APPs770 degradation is inhibited by an LRP antagonist called the receptor-associated protein (RAP) and by LRP antibodies and is greatly diminished in fibroblasts genetically deficient in LRP. APPs695, which lacks the KPI domain, is a poor LRP ligand. Since LRP also binds apolipoprotein E (apoE)-enriched lipoproteins and inheritance of the epsilon 4 allele of the apoE gene is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), these data link in a single metabolic pathway two molecules strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of AD.
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