A protein expressed in many tissues and concentrated in the synapses of neurons. Although its primary function is not known, app is most commonly studied as the precursor molecule whose degradation generates the beta-amyloid that appears to be the main constituent of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients with alzheimer’s disease.
A (collective) set of protein molecules, from which are derived Amyloid β Protein (AβP).
A compound found in cell membranes from which beta amyloid is derived. A mutation of the gene causes early onset Alzheimer’s disease in a few families.
An integral membrane protein concentrated at neuron synapses that is cleaved biochemically into components, one of which is the Alzheimer’s disease associated beta amyloid. Mutations in the gene for APP on chromosome 21 account for less than 5% of early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease.