Fragments of amyloid beta induce apoptosis in vascular endothelial cells

Injury to cells that was triggered by fragments of amyloid beta protein (A beta) was studied in human vascular endothelial cells. A fragment of A beta containing amino acids 25-35 promoted cell death, but fragments of A beta containing amino acids 31-35 and 35-25 did not have such an effect. The fragment of A beta containing amino acids 25-35 induced cell death that was characterized as programmed cell death (apoptosis) in view of the accompanying morphological changes, the fragmentation of DNA, and the requirement for protein synthesis.