T h e n e w e ngl a nd j o u r na l o f m e dic i n e
n engl j med 362;4 nejm.org january 28, 2010 329
review article
Mechanisms of Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
Henry W. Querfurth, M.D., Ph.D., and Frank M. LaFerla, Ph.D.
From the Department of Neurology, Caritas
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Brighton,
MA (H.W.Q.); the Department of
Neurology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston
(H.W.Q.); the Department of Neurology,
Rhode Island Hospital and the Warren
Alpert Medical School at Brown University,
Providence (H.W.Q.); and the Department
of Neurobiology and Behavior, University
of California, Irvine, Irvine (F.M.L.).
Address reprint requests to Dr. Querfurth
at the Department of Neurology, Rhode
Island Hospital, 563 Eddy St., Providence,
RI 02903-4923, or at henry_querfurth@
brown.edu.
This article (10.1056/NEJMra0909142) was
updated on February 9, 2011, at NEJM.org.
N Engl J Med 2010;362:329-44.
Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society.
More than 35 million people worldwide — 5.5 million in the
United States — have Alzheimer’s disease, a deterioration of memory and
other cognitive domains that leads to death within 3 to 9 years after diagnosis.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for
50 to 56% of cases at autopsy and in clinical series. Alzheimer’s disease combined
with intracerebral vascular disease accounts for another 13 to 17% of cases.
The principal risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is age. The incidence of the
disease doubles every 5 years after 65 years of age, with the diagnosis of 1275 new
cases per year per 100,000 persons older than 65 years of age.1 Data on centenarians
show that Alzheimer’s disease is not necessarily the outcome of aging2; nevertheless,
the odds of receiving the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease after 85 years of
age exceed one in three. As the aging population increases, the prevalence will
approach 13.2 to 16.0 million cases in the United States by mid-century.3
Many molecular lesions have been detected in Alzheimer’s disease, but the overarching
theme to emerge from the data is that an accumulation of misfolded
proteins in the aging brain results in oxidative and inflammatory damage, which
in turn leads to energy failure and synaptic dysfunction.
Pro tein A bnor m a li ties in A l zheimer’s Dise a se
β-Amyloid
Cerebral plaques laden with β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) and dystrophic neurites in
neocortical terminal fields as well as prominent neurofibrillary tangles in medial
temporal-lobe structures are important pathological features of Alzheimer’s disease.
Loss of neurons and white matter, congophilic (amyloid) angiopathy, inflammation,
and oxidative damage are also present.
Aβ peptides are natural products of metabolism consisting of 36 to 43 amino
acids. Monomers of Aβ40 are much more prevalent than the aggregation-prone and
damaging Aβ42 species. β-amyloid peptides originate from proteolysis of the amyloid
precursor protein by the sequential enzymatic actions of beta-site amyloid
precursor protein–cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE-1), a β-secretase, and γ-secretase, a protein
complex with presenilin 1 at its catalytic core4 (Fig. 1). An imbalance between
production and clearance, and aggregation of peptides, causes Aβ to accumulate,
and this excess may be the initiating factor in Alzheimer’s disease. This idea,
called the “amyloid hypothesis,” is based on studies of genetic forms of Alzheimer’s
disease, including Down’s syndrome,5 and evidence that Aβ42 is toxic to cells.6,7
Aβ spontaneously self-aggregates into multiple coexisting physical forms. One
form consists of oligomers (2 to 6 peptides), which coalesce into intermediate assemblies8,9
(Fig. 1). β-amyloid can also grow into fibrils, which arrange themselves
into β-pleated sheets to form the insoluble fibers of advanced amyloid plaques.
Soluble oligomers and intermediate amyloids are the most neurotoxic forms of
The New England Journal of Medicine
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Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.
T h e n e w e ngl a nd j o u r na l o f m e dic i n e
330 n engl j med 362;4 nejm.org january 28, 2010
Aβ.10 In brain-slice preparations, dimers and
trimers of Aβ are toxic to synapses.11,12 The severity
of the cognitive defect in Alzheimer’s disease
correlates with levels of oligomers in the
brain, not the total Aβ burden.13 Neuronal activation
rapidly increases Aβ secretion at the synapse,
a process tied to the normal release of vesicles
containing neurotransmitters. Physiologic
COLOR F IG UR E
AUTHOR PLEASE NOTE:
Figure has been redrawn and type has been reset
Please check carefully
Draft 4 01/12/10
1
SBL
Author Querfurth
Fig #
Title
ME
DE
Artist
Issue date
p3
sAPPα
γ-Secretase γ-Secretase
Cellular
membrane
Cytosol
sAPPβ Aβ
Aβ
Aβ
α-Secretase
Nonamyloidogenic Amyloidogenic
BACE-1
GPI Cholesterol
AICD
C49–50 Gene expression
in nucleus
C83 C99
Non-Raft
A
APP
Raft
B
Figure 1. Processing of Amyloid Precursor Protein.
In Panel A, cleavage by α-secretase interior to the β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) sequence initiates nonamyloidogenic processing. A large amyloid
precursor protein (sAPPα) ectodomain is released, leaving behind an 83-residue carboxy-terminal fragment. C83 is then digested by
γ-secretase, liberating extracellular p3 and the amyloid intracellular domain (AICD). Amyloidogenic processing is initiated by β-secretase
beta-site amyloid precursor protein–cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE-1), releasing a shortened sAPPα. The retained C99 is also a γ-secretase
substrate, generating Aβ and AICD. γ-Secretase cleavage occurs within the cell membrane in a unique process termed “regulated intramembranous
proteolysis.” sAPPα and sAPPβ are secreted APP fragments after α-secretase and β-secretase cleavages, respectively. AICD
is a short tail (approximately 50 amino acids) that is released into the cytoplasm after progressive ε-to-γ cleavages by γ-secretase. AICD
is targeted to the nucleus, signaling transcription activation. Lipid rafts are tightly packed membrane micro-environments enriched in
sphingomylelin, cholesterol, and glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)–anchored proteins. Soluble Aβ is prone to aggregation. In Panel B, left
inset, protofibrils (upper) and annular or porelike profiles (lower) are intermediate aggregates. (Photomicrographs courtesy of Hilal
Lashuel, Ph.D.) In the right inset, self-association of 2 to 14 Aβ monomers into oligomers is dependent on concentration (left immunoblot).
In the right immunoblot, oligomerization is promoted by oxidizing conditions (lane 2) and divalent metal conditions (lane 3).
(Immunoblots courtesy of Hongwei Zhou, Ph.D.)
The New England Journal of Medicine
Downloaded from nejm.org on September 5, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission.
Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.
Mechanisms of Disease
n engl j med 362;4 nejm.org january 28, 2010 331
levels of synaptic Aβ may dampen excitatory transmission
and prevent neuronal hyperactivity.14
The proteases neprilysin and insulin-degrading
enzyme regulate steady-state levels of Aβ.
Neprilysin, a membrane-anchored zinc endopeptidase,
degrades Aβ monomers and oligomers.15
A reduction in neprilysin causes accumulation of
cerebral Aβ.16 Insulin-degrading enzyme, a thiol
metalloendopeptidase, degrades small peptides
such as insulin and monomeric Aβ.17 In mice,
deletion of insulin-degrading enzyme reduces Aβ
degradation by more than 50%.18 Conversely,
overexpression of neprilysin or insulin-degrading
enzyme prevents plaque formation.19
Clinical trials of a γ-secretase inhibitor (LY450139)
(ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00765115),20 aggregation
blockers, vaccination with Aβ, and monoclonal
antibodies against various Aβ epitopes are
in progress. The antibodies bind Aβ, thereby triggering
complement and Fc-receptor–mediated
phagocytosis by microglia, or enhance clearance
of Aβ, or both.21 Vaccination in a phase 2a trial
(NCT00021723)22 resulted in encephalitis,23 and
follow-up of immunized patients showed no cognitive
or survival benefit despite diminution of
plaques.24 A phase 2 trial of passive immunization
resulted in vasogenic cerebral edema in some patients
(NCT00112073). Phase 3 trials of two monoclonal
antibodies against Aβ (NCT00574132 and
NCT00904683) and of 10% intravenous immune
globulin are under way (NCT00818662).
Tau
Neurofibrillary tangles, which are filamentous inclusions
in pyramidal neurons, occur in Alzheimer’s
disease and other neurodegenerative disorders
termed tauopathies.25 The number of
neurofibrillary tangles is a pathologic marker of
the severity of Alzheimer’s disease. The major
component of the tangles is an abnormally hyperphosphorylated
and aggregated form of tau.
Normally an abundant soluble protein in axons,
tau promotes assembly and stability of microtubules
and vesicle transport. Hyperphosphorylated
tau is insoluble, lacks affinity for microtubules,
and self-associates into paired helical filament
structures (Fig. 2). Enzymes that add and those
that remove phosphate residues regulate the extent
of tau phosphorylation.26
Like Aβ oligomers, intermediate aggregates of
abnormal tau molecules are cytotoxic27 and impair
cognition.28,29 Insoluble helical filaments
may be inert, however, since decreases in axonal
transport and neuron number are independent
of the burden of neurofibrillary tangles.30 These
helical filaments sequester toxic intermediate tau
species, a process that may be protective.31
More than 30 mutations of Tau on chromosome
17 have been detected in frontotemporal
dementia with parkinsonism.32 By contrast, Tau
mutations do not occur in Alzheimer’s disease,
and the extent of neuron loss is out of proportion
to the number of neurofibrillary tangles.33
Nevertheless, increased levels of phosphorylated
and total tau in the cerebrospinal fluid correlate
T h e e n w e ngl o j nd จะนา l o f m e ดิ๊กสฉัน n eม.อ. n j med 362; 4 nejm.org 28 มกราคม 2010 329ตรวจทานบทความกลไกของโรคโรคอัลไซเมอร์เฮนรีปริมาณ Querfurth นพ., ปริญญาเอก และ Frank M. LaFerla ปริญญาเอกจากแผนกประสาทวิทยา โรงแรมคาริตัสศูนย์การแพทย์เซนต์อลิซาเบธ ไบรท์ตันMA (H.W.Q.); ภาควิชาประสาทวิทยา ศูนย์การแพทย์ทัฟส์ บอสตัน(H.W.Q.); แผนกประสาทวิทยาโรงพยาบาลโรดไอส์แลนด์และการวอร์เรนโรงเรียนแพทย์ Alpert มหาวิทยาลัย Brownจัดเตรียม (H.W.Q.); และแผนกNeurobiology และพฤติกรรม มหาวิทยาลัยของแคลิฟอร์เนีย เออร์วิน เออร์วิน (F.M.L.)พิมพ์คำขอที่อยู่กับดร. Querfurthที่แผนกประสาทวิทยา โรดโรงพยาบาลเกาะ 563 เอ็ดดี้เซนต์ จัดเตรียมRI 02903-4923 หรือ ที่ henry_querfurth @brown.eduบทความนี้ (10.1056 NEJMra0909142) ได้ปรับปรุงเมื่อ 9 กุมภาพันธ์ 2011 ที่ NEJM.orgม.อ. N J Med 2010; 362:329-44ลิขสิทธิ์ © 2010 แมสซาชูเซตส์แพทย์สังคมมากกว่า 35 ล้านคนทั่วโลก – 5.5 ล้านตัวสหรัฐอเมริกาซึ่งมีโรคอัลไซเมอร์ การเสื่อมสภาพของหน่วยความจำ และโดเมนอื่นรับรู้ที่นำไปสู่การตายภายใน 3-9 ปีหลังการวินิจฉัยโรคอัลไซเมอร์เป็นแบบทั่วไปของสมองเสื่อม การบัญชีสำหรับ50-56% ของกรณี ที่ชันสูตรพลิกศพ และในทางคลินิก โรคอัลไซเมอร์รวมมีโรคของหลอดเลือด intracerebral บัญชีอื่น 13-17% ของกรณีและปัญหาปัจจัยเสี่ยงสำคัญสำหรับโรคอัลไซเมอร์เป็นอายุ อุบัติการณ์ของการdisease doubles every 5 years after 65 years of age, with the diagnosis of 1275 newcases per year per 100,000 persons older than 65 years of age.1 Data on centenariansshow that Alzheimer’s disease is not necessarily the outcome of aging2; nevertheless,the odds of receiving the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease after 85 years ofage exceed one in three. As the aging population increases, the prevalence willapproach 13.2 to 16.0 million cases in the United States by mid-century.3Many molecular lesions have been detected in Alzheimer’s disease, but the overarchingtheme to emerge from the data is that an accumulation of misfoldedproteins in the aging brain results in oxidative and inflammatory damage, whichin turn leads to energy failure and synaptic dysfunction.Pro tein A bnor m a li ties in A l zheimer’s Dise a seβ-AmyloidCerebral plaques laden with β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) and dystrophic neurites inneocortical terminal fields as well as prominent neurofibrillary tangles in medialtemporal-lobe structures are important pathological features of Alzheimer’s disease.Loss of neurons and white matter, congophilic (amyloid) angiopathy, inflammation,and oxidative damage are also present.Aβ peptides are natural products of metabolism consisting of 36 to 43 aminoacids. Monomers of Aβ40 are much more prevalent than the aggregation-prone anddamaging Aβ42 species. β-amyloid peptides originate from proteolysis of the amyloidprecursor protein by the sequential enzymatic actions of beta-site amyloidprecursor protein–cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE-1), a β-secretase, and γ-secretase, a proteincomplex with presenilin 1 at its catalytic core4 (Fig. 1). An imbalance betweenproduction and clearance, and aggregation of peptides, causes Aβ to accumulate,and this excess may be the initiating factor in Alzheimer’s disease. This idea,called the “amyloid hypothesis,” is based on studies of genetic forms of Alzheimer’sdisease, including Down’s syndrome,5 and evidence that Aβ42 is toxic to cells.6,7Aβ spontaneously self-aggregates into multiple coexisting physical forms. Oneform consists of oligomers (2 to 6 peptides), which coalesce into intermediate assemblies8,9(Fig. 1). β-amyloid can also grow into fibrils, which arrange themselvesinto β-pleated sheets to form the insoluble fibers of advanced amyloid plaques.Soluble oligomers and intermediate amyloids are the most neurotoxic forms ofThe New England Journal of MedicineDownloaded from nejm.org on September 5, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. T h e n e w e ngl a nd j o u r na l o f m e dic i n e330 n engl j med 362;4 nejm.org january 28, 2010Aβ.10 In brain-slice preparations, dimers andtrimers of Aβ are toxic to synapses.11,12 The severityof the cognitive defect in Alzheimer’s diseasecorrelates with levels of oligomers in thebrain, not the total Aβ burden.13 Neuronal activationrapidly increases Aβ secretion at the synapse,a process tied to the normal release of vesiclescontaining neurotransmitters. PhysiologicCOLOR F IG UR EAUTHOR PLEASE NOTE:Figure has been redrawn and type has been resetPlease check carefullyDraft 4 01/12/101SBLAuthor QuerfurthFig #TitleMEDEArtistIssue datep3sAPPαγ-Secretase γ-SecretaseCellularmembraneCytosolsAPPβ AβAβAβα-SecretaseNonamyloidogenic AmyloidogenicBACE-1GPI CholesterolAICDC49–50 Gene expressionin nucleusC83 C99Non-RaftAAPPRaftBFigure 1. Processing of Amyloid Precursor Protein.In Panel A, cleavage by α-secretase interior to the β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) sequence initiates nonamyloidogenic processing. A large amyloidprecursor protein (sAPPα) ectodomain is released, leaving behind an 83-residue carboxy-terminal fragment. C83 is then digested byγ-secretase, liberating extracellular p3 and the amyloid intracellular domain (AICD). Amyloidogenic processing is initiated by β-secretasebeta-site amyloid precursor protein–cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE-1), releasing a shortened sAPPα. The retained C99 is also a γ-secretasesubstrate, generating Aβ and AICD. γ-Secretase cleavage occurs within the cell membrane in a unique process termed “regulated intramembranousproteolysis.” sAPPα and sAPPβ are secreted APP fragments after α-secretase and β-secretase cleavages, respectively. AICDis a short tail (approximately 50 amino acids) that is released into the cytoplasm after progressive ε-to-γ cleavages by γ-secretase. AICDis targeted to the nucleus, signaling transcription activation. Lipid rafts are tightly packed membrane micro-environments enriched insphingomylelin, cholesterol, and glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)–anchored proteins. Soluble Aβ is prone to aggregation. In Panel B, leftinset, protofibrils (upper) and annular or porelike profiles (lower) are intermediate aggregates. (Photomicrographs courtesy of HilalLashuel, Ph.D.) In the right inset, self-association of 2 to 14 Aβ monomers into oligomers is dependent on concentration (left immunoblot).In the right immunoblot, oligomerization is promoted by oxidizing conditions (lane 2) and divalent metal conditions (lane 3).(Immunoblots courtesy of Hongwei Zhou, Ph.D.)The New England Journal of MedicineDownloaded from nejm.org on September 5, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. Mechanisms of Diseasen engl j med 362;4 nejm.org january 28, 2010 331levels of synaptic Aβ may dampen excitatory transmissionand prevent neuronal hyperactivity.14The proteases neprilysin and insulin-degradingenzyme regulate steady-state levels of Aβ.
Neprilysin, a membrane-anchored zinc endopeptidase,
degrades Aβ monomers and oligomers.15
A reduction in neprilysin causes accumulation of
cerebral Aβ.16 Insulin-degrading enzyme, a thiol
metalloendopeptidase, degrades small peptides
such as insulin and monomeric Aβ.17 In mice,
deletion of insulin-degrading enzyme reduces Aβ
degradation by more than 50%.18 Conversely,
overexpression of neprilysin or insulin-degrading
enzyme prevents plaque formation.19
Clinical trials of a γ-secretase inhibitor (LY450139)
(ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00765115),20 aggregation
blockers, vaccination with Aβ, and monoclonal
antibodies against various Aβ epitopes are
in progress. The antibodies bind Aβ, thereby triggering
complement and Fc-receptor–mediated
phagocytosis by microglia, or enhance clearance
of Aβ, or both.21 Vaccination in a phase 2a trial
(NCT00021723)22 resulted in encephalitis,23 and
follow-up of immunized patients showed no cognitive
or survival benefit despite diminution of
plaques.24 A phase 2 trial of passive immunization
resulted in vasogenic cerebral edema in some patients
(NCT00112073). Phase 3 trials of two monoclonal
antibodies against Aβ (NCT00574132 and
NCT00904683) and of 10% intravenous immune
globulin are under way (NCT00818662).
Tau
Neurofibrillary tangles, which are filamentous inclusions
in pyramidal neurons, occur in Alzheimer’s
disease and other neurodegenerative disorders
termed tauopathies.25 The number of
neurofibrillary tangles is a pathologic marker of
the severity of Alzheimer’s disease. The major
component of the tangles is an abnormally hyperphosphorylated
and aggregated form of tau.
Normally an abundant soluble protein in axons,
tau promotes assembly and stability of microtubules
and vesicle transport. Hyperphosphorylated
tau is insoluble, lacks affinity for microtubules,
and self-associates into paired helical filament
structures (Fig. 2). Enzymes that add and those
that remove phosphate residues regulate the extent
of tau phosphorylation.26
Like Aβ oligomers, intermediate aggregates of
abnormal tau molecules are cytotoxic27 and impair
cognition.28,29 Insoluble helical filaments
may be inert, however, since decreases in axonal
transport and neuron number are independent
of the burden of neurofibrillary tangles.30 These
helical filaments sequester toxic intermediate tau
species, a process that may be protective.31
More than 30 mutations of Tau on chromosome
17 have been detected in frontotemporal
dementia with parkinsonism.32 By contrast, Tau
mutations do not occur in Alzheimer’s disease,
and the extent of neuron loss is out of proportion
to the number of neurofibrillary tangles.33
Nevertheless, increased levels of phosphorylated
and total tau in the cerebrospinal fluid correlate
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