β-Amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the human diseases

Abstract

Several pathophysiological functions of the human β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) have been recently proposed in different human diseases such as neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders including rare diseases such as autism, fragile X syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Lesch-Nyhan disease; common and complex disorders such as Alzheimer's disease; metabolic disorders such as diabetes; and also cancer. APP as well as all of its proteolytic fragments including the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide, are part of normal physiology. The targeting of the components of APP proteolytic processing as a pharmacologic strategy will not be without consequences. Recent research results highlight the impact of alternative splicing (AS) process on human disease, and may provide new directions for the research on the impact of the human APP on human diseases. The identification of molecules capable of correcting and/or inhibiting pathological splicing events is therefore an important issue for future therapeutic approaches. To this end, the defective APP-mRNA isoform responsible for the disease in cells and tissues appears as an ideal target for epigenetic therapeutic intervention and antisense drugs are potential treatment.

Keywords: alternative splicing; antisense drugs; epigenetics; epistasis; human β-amyloid precursor protein; neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders; rare diseases and common and complex disorders.