Crutcher, K. A., Clay, M. A., Scott, S. A., Tian, X., Tolar, M., and Harmony, J. A. (1994). Neurite degeneration elicited by apolipoprotein E peptides. Experimental Neurology,130, (1):120-6.
Abstract
Apolipoprotein E (apoE) has been localized to the neurofibrillary
tangles and beta-amyloid-containing plaques found in the cortex of
patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (14, 28), suggesting that
apoE may play a role in this disorder. Recently, synthetic peptides
containing a sequence within apoE (amino acids 141-155) were found
to be cytotoxic to T lymphocytes in culture. In the present study,
tandem presentation of the apoE sequence E141-155, as well as longer
monomeric peptides that include this domain, was found to cause
extensive and specific degeneration of neurites from embryonic chick
sympathetic ganglia in vitro. These results, together with the
observation of strong beta A4/apoE binding in vitro and the
disproportionate occurrence of the epsilon 4 allele in both familial
and sporadic AD patients, suggest that peptide sequences associated
with apoE may contribute directly to neurodegenerative processes.
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