Amyloidogenic glycoprotein, E2 domain (Amyloid_glyco_E2_domain)
Type: Domain

Amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP, or A4) is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), because one of its breakdown products, amyloid-beta (A-beta), aggregates to form amyloid or senile plaques . Mutations in APP or in proteins that process APP have been linked with early-onset, familial AD. Individuals with Down's syndrome carry an extra copy of chromosome 21, which contains the APP gene, and almost invariably develop amyloid plaques and Alzheimer's symptoms.

APP is important for the neurogenesis and neuronal regeneration, either through the intact protein, or through its many breakdown products . APP consists of a large N-terminal extracellular region containing heparin-binding and copper-binding sites, Kunitz domain, E2 domain, a short hydrophobic transmembrane domain, and a short C-terminal intracellular domain. The N-terminal region is similar in structure to cysteine-rich growth factors and appears to function as a cell surface receptor, contributing to neurite growth, neuronal adhesion, axonogenesis and cell mobility . APP acts as a kinesin I membrane receptor to mediate the axonal transport of beta-secretase and presenilin 1. The N-terminal domain can regulate neurite outgrowth through its binding to heparin and collagen I and IV, which are components of the extracellular matrix. APP is also coupled to apoptosis-inducing pathways, and is involved in copper homeostasis/oxidative stress through copper ion reduction, where copper-metallated APP induces neuronal death . The C-terminal intracellular domain appears to be involved in transcription regulation through protein-protein interactions. APP can promote transcription activation through binding to APBB1/Tip60, and may bind to the adaptor protein FE65 to transactivate a wide variety of different promoters.

APP can be processed by different sets of enzymes:

In the non-amyloidogenic (non-plaque-forming) pathway, APP is cleaved by alpha-secretase to yield a soluble N-terminal sAPP-alpha (neuroprotective) and a membrane-bound CTF-alpha. CTF-alpha is broken-down by presenilin-containing gamma-secretase to yield soluble p3 and membrane-bound AICD (nuclear signalling).

In the amyloidogenic pathway (plaque-forming), APP is broken down by beta-secretase to yield soluble sAPP-beta and membrane-bound CTF-beta. CTF-beta is broken down by gamma-secretase to yield soluble amyloid-beta and membrane-bound AICD. Amyloid-beta is required for neuronal function, but can aggregate to form amyloid plaques that seem to disrupt brain cells by clogging points of cell-cell contact.

The E2 domain is the largest of the conserved domains in the amyloidogenic glycoproteins. The structure of E2 consists of two coiled-coil sub-structures connected through a continuous helix, and bears an unexpected resemblance to the spectrin family of protein structures. E2 can reversibly dimerise in solution, and the dimerisation occurs along the longest dimension of the molecule in an antiparallel orientation, which enables the N-terminal substructure of one monomer to pack against the C-terminal substructure of a second monomer. The high degree of conservation of residues at the putative dimer interface suggests that the E2 dimer observed in the crystal could be physiologically relevant. Heparin sulphate proteoglycans, the putative ligands for the precursor present in extracellular matrix, bind to E2 at a conserved and positively charged site near the dimer interface . The E2 domain is also known as CAPPD (for central APP domain) .