Alzheimer's disease--a panorama glimpse.

ABSTRACT: The single-mutation of genes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) increases the production of A? peptides. An elevated concentration of A? peptides is prone to aggregation into oligomers and further deposition as plaque. A? plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are two hallmarks of AD. In this review, we provide a broad overview of the diverses sources that could lead to AD, which include genetic origins, A? peptides and tau protein. We shall discuss on tau protein and tau accumulation, which result in neurofibrillary tangles. We detail the mechanisms of A? aggregation, fibril formation and its polymorphism. We then show the possible links between A? and tau pathology. Furthermore, we summarize the structural data of A? and its precursor protein obtained via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) or X-ray crystallography. At the end, we go through the C-terminal and N-terminal truncated A? variants. We wish to draw reader's attention to two predominant and toxic A? species, namely A?4-42 and pyroglutamate amyloid-beta peptides, which have been neglected for more than a decade and may be crucial in A? pathogenesis due to their dominant presence in the AD brain.

SUBMITTER: Zhao LN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4139864 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature