Skip to main content
Log in

Editor's note for debate Sporadic dementia of Alzheimer type: Role of amyloid in etiology is challenged

  • Full Papers
  • Published:
Journal of Neural Transmission - Parkinson's Disease and Dementia Section

Summary

Alzheimer's disease is a heterogenous neurodegenerative disorder. Whereas only a minority is due to genetic abnormalities and mostly with early onset, the majority of all Alzheimer cases is sporadic and with late onset. Therefore, in the latter, age-related disturbances in cellular metabolism may come into focus with respect to the etiopathogenesis rather than the primary formation of amyloid. In this “Editor's note for debate”, the role of amyloid as a causative factor of sporadic Alzheimer's disease is challenged. Instead, as a possible primary abnormal event in sporadic Alzheimer's disease, the perturbations in neuronal glucose metabolism and the subsequent ATP deficit with its impacts on the secondary amyloid formation are discussed to open a new field of research and another aspect for debate.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  • Beyreuther K, Masters CL (1991) Amyloid precursor protein (APP) and A4 amyloid in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease: precursor-product relationships in the derangement of neuronal function. Brain Pathol 1: 241–251

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burnstock G (1990) Purinergic mechanisms. Ann NY Acad Sci 603: 1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Braakman I, Helenius J, Helenius A (1992) Role of ATP and disulphide bonds during protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum. Nature 356: 260–262

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buxbaum JD, Gandy SE, Cicchetti P, Ehrlich ME, Czernik AJ, Fracasso RP, Ramabhadran TV, Unterbeck AJ, Greengard P (1990) Processing of Alzheimer beta/A4 amyloid precursor protein: modulation by agents that regulate protein phosphorylation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 87: 6003–6006

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buxbaum JD, Oishi M, Chen HI, Pinkas-Kramarski R, Jaffe EA, Gandy SE, Greengard P (1992) Cholinergic agonists and interleukin 1 regulate processing and secretion of the Alzheimer beta/A4 amyloid protein precursor. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89: 10075–10078

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caporaso GL, Gandy SE, Buxbaum JD, Greengard P (1992) Chloroquine inhibits intracellular degradation but not secretion of Alzheimer beta A4 amyloid precursor protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89: 2252–2256

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chiang HL, Terlecky SR, Plant CP, Dice JF (1989) A role for a 70-kilodalton heat shock protein in lysosomal degradation of intracellular proteins. Science 246: 382–385

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark AW, Krekoski CA, Parhad IM, Liston D, Julien JP, Hoar DI (1989) Altered expression of genes for amyloid and cytoskeletal proteins in Alzheimer cortex. Ann Neurol 25: 331–339

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Strooper B, Umans L, van Leuven F, van den Berghe H (1993) Study of the synthesis and secretion of normal and artificial mutants of murine amyloid precursor protein (APP). Cleavage of APP occurs in a late compartment of the default secretion pathway. J Cell Biol 121: 295–304

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards FA, Gibb AJ, Colquhoun D (1992) ATP receptor-mediated synaptic currents in the central nervous system. Nature 359: 144–147

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlich YH, Davis TB, Bock E, Kornecki E, Lenox RH (1986) Ectoprotein kinase activity on the external surface of neural cells. Nature 320: 67–70

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Erecinska M, Silver IA (1989) ATP and brain function. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 9: 2–19

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Evans DA, Funkenstein H, Albert MS, Scherr PA, Cook NR, Chown MJ, Hebert LE, Hennekens CH, Taylor JO (1989) Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in a community population of older persons. Higher than previously reported. J Am Med Assoc 262: 2551–2556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrer LA, Myers RA, Cupples LA, St. George-Hyslop PH, Bird TD, Rossor MN, Mullan MJ, Polinsky R, Nee L, Heston L, van Broeckhoven C, Martin JJ, Crapper McLachlan D, Growdon JH (1990) Transmission and age-at-onset patterns in familial Alzheimer's disease: evidence for heterogeneity. Neurology 40: 395–403

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gething MJ, Sambrook J (1992) Protein folding in the cell. Nature 355: 33–45

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson GE, Blass JP (1976) Impaired synthesis of acetylcholine in brain accompanying mild hypoxia and hypoclycemia. J Neurochem 27: 37–42

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson GE, Jope R, Blass JP (1975) Decreased synthesis of acetylcholine accompaying impaired oxidation of pyruvic acid in rat brain minces. Biochem J 148: 17–23

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goate A, Chartier Harlin MC, Mullan M, Brown J, Crawford F, Fidani L, Giuffra L, Haynes A, Irving N, James L, et al (1991) Segregation of a missense mutation in the amyloid precursor protein gene with familial Alzheimer's disease. Nature 349: 704–706

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greengard P (1978) Phosphorylated proteins as physiological effectors. Science 199: 146–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Haass C, Hung AY, Selkoe DJ (1991) Processing of beta-amyloid precursor protein in microglia and astrocytes favors an internal localization over constitutive secretion. J Neurosci 11: 3783–3793

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haass C, Schlossmacher MG, Hung A, Vigo-Pelfrey C, Mellon A, Ostaszewski B, Lieberburg I, Koo E, Schenk D, Teplow D, Selkoe D (1992) Amyloid beta-peptide is produced by cultured cells during normal metabolism. Nature 359: 322–325

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy J, Allsop D (1991) Amyloid deposition as the central event in the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. Trends Pharmacol Sci 12: 383–388

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy JA, Higgins GA (1992) Alzheimer's disease: the amyloid cascade hypothesis. Science 256: 184–185

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy J, Mullan M, Chartier Harlin MC, Brown J, Goate A, Rossor M, Collinge J, Roberts G, Luthert P, Lantos P, et al (1991) Molecular classification of Alzheimer's disease. Lancet 337: 1342–1343

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins GA, Lewis DA, Bahmanyar S, Goldgaber D, Gajdusek DC, Young WG, Morrison JH, Wilson MC (1988) Differential regulation of amyloid-beta-protein mRNA expression within hippocampal neuronal subpopulations in Alzheimer disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 85: 1297–1301

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoyer S (1970) Der Aminosäurenstoffwechsel des normalen menschlichen Gehirns. Klin Wochenschr 48: 1239–1243

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoyer S (1988) Glucose and related brain metabolism in dementia of Alzheimer type and its morphological significance. Age 11: 158–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyer S (1992) Oxidative energy metabolism in Alzheimer brain. Studies in early-onset and late-onset cases. Mol Chem Neuropathol 16: 207–224

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoyer S, Nitsch R, Oesterreich K (1991) Predominant abnormality in cerebral glucose utilization in late-onset dementia of the Alzheimer type: a cross-sectional comparison against advanced late-onset and incipient early-onset cases. J Neural Transm [P-D Sect] 3: 1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huganir RL, Greengard P (1990) Regulation of neurotransmitter receptor desensitization by protein phosphorylation. Neuron 5: 555–567

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kadokaro M, Crane AM, Sokoloff L (1985) Differential effects of electric stimulation of sciatic nerve on metabolic activity in spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion in the rat. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 82: 6010–6013

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koo EH, Sisodia SS, Cork LC, Unterbeck A, Bayney RM, Price DL (1990) Differential expression of amyloid precursor protein mRNA in cases of Alzheimer's disease and in aged nonhuman primates. Neuron 2: 97–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mattson MP, Rydel RE (1992) Beta-amyloid precursor protein and Alzheimer's disease: the peptide plot thickens. Neurobiol Aging 13: 617–621

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mielke R, Herholz K, Grond M, Kessler J, Heiss WD (1992) Differences of regional cerebral glucose metabolism between presenile and senile dementia of Alzheimer type. Neurobiol Aging 13: 93–98

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murrell J, Farlow M, Ghetti B, Benson M (1991) A mutation in the amyloid precursor protein associated with hereditary Alzheimer's disease. Science 254: 97–99

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nitsch RM, Farber SA, Growdon JH, Wurtman RJ (1993) Release of amyloid betaprotein precursor derivatives by electrical depolarization of rat hippocampal slices. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA

  • Nitsch RM, Wurtman RJ (1993) Regulation of Alzheimer amyloid precursor processing: possible involvement of neurotransmitters. FASEB J (in press)

  • Nitsch RM, Slack BE, Wurtman RJ, Growdon JH (1992) Release of Alzheimer amyloid precurosr derivates stimulated by activation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Science 258: 304–307

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Okada M, Ishikawa M, Mizushima Y (1991) Identification of a ubiquitin- and ATP-dependent protein degradation pathway in rat cerebral cortex. Biochim Biophys Acta 1073: 514–520

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pericak-Vance MA, Bebout JL, Gaskell jr PC, Yamaoka LH, Hung WY, Alberts MJ, Walker AP, Bartlett RJ, Haynes CA, Welsh KA, Earl NL, Heyman A, Clark CM, Roses AD (1991) Linkage studies in familial Alzheimer disease: evidence for chromosome 19 linkage. Am J Hum Genet 48: 1034–1050

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers J, Cooper NR, Webster S, Schultz J, McGeer PL, Styren SD, Civin WH, Brachova L, Bradt B, Ward P, Lieberburg I (1992) Complement activation by beta-amyloid in Alzheimer disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89: 10016–10020

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roher AE, Lowenson JD, Clarke S, Wolkow C, Wang R, Cotter RJ, Reardon IM, Zürcher-Neely HA, Heinrikson RL, Ball MJ, Greenberg BD (1993) Structural alterations in the peptide backbone of beta-amyloid core protein may account for its deposition and stability in Alzheimer's disease. J Biol Chem 268: 3072–3083

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schellenberg GD, Bird TD, Wijsman EM, Orr HT, Anderson L, Nemens E, White JA, Bonnycastle L, Weber JL, Alonso ME, Potter H, Heston LL, Martin GM (1992) Genetic linkage evidence for a familial Alzheimer's disease locus on chromosome 14. Science 258: 668–671

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shoji M, Golde TE, Ghiso J, Cheung TT, Estus S, Shaffer LM, Cai XD, McKay DM, Tintner R, Frangione B, Younkin SG (1992) Production of the Alzheimer amyloid beta protein by normal proteolytic processing. Science 58: 126–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Sims NR, Bowen DM, Davison AN (1981) (14C) acetylcholine synthesis and (14C) carbon dioxide production from (U-14C) glucose by tissue prims from human neocortex. Biochem J 196: 867–876

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • St. George-Hyslop PH, Haines JL, Farrer LA, Polinsky R, van Broeckhoven C, Goate A, Crapper McLachlan DR, Orr H, Bruni AC, Sorbi S, et al (1990) Genetic linkage studies suggest that Alzheimer's disease is not a single homogenous disorder. Nature 347: 194–197

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suzuki T, Nairn C, Gandy SE, Greengard P (1992) Phosphorylation of Alzheimer amyloid precursor protein by protein kinase C. Neuroscience 48: 755–761

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tanzi RE, St. George-Hyslop P, Gusella JF (1991) Moleculargenetics of Alzheimer disease amyloid. J Biol Chem 266: 20579–20582

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tanzi RE, Vaula G, Romano DM, Mortilla M, Huang TL, Tupler RG, Wasco W, Hyman BT, Haines JL, Jenkins BJ, et al (1992) Assessment of amyloid beta-protein precursor gene mutations in a large set of familial and sporadic Alzheimer diseases cases. Am J Hum Genet 51: 273–282

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tissari AH, Schönhöfer PS, Bogdanski F, Brodie BB (1969) Mechanism of biogenic amine transport. II. Relationship between sodium and the mechanism of ouabain blockade and the accumulation of serotonin and norepinephrine by synaptosomes. Mol Pharmacol 5: 593–604

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weidemann A, König G, Bunke D, Fischer P, Salbaum JM, Masters CL, Beyreuther K (1989) Identification, biogenesis, and localization of precursors of Alzheimer's disease A4 amyloid protein. Cell 57: 115–126

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang H, Sternberger NH, Rubinstein LJ, Herman MM, Binder LI, Sternberger LA (1989) Abnormal processing of multiple proteins in Alzheimer disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86: 8045–8049

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hoyer, S. Editor's note for debate Sporadic dementia of Alzheimer type: Role of amyloid in etiology is challenged. J Neural Transm Gen Sect 6, 159–165 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02260918

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02260918

Keywords

Navigation