Jin Hong

Bio: Jin Hong is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: P3 peptide & Durability. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 1738 citations.

Purification and cloning of amyloid precursor protein beta-secretase from human brain.

Abstract: Proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) generates amyloid β (Aβ) peptide, which is thought to be causal for the pathology and subsequent cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease Cleavage by β-secretase at the amino terminus of the Aβ peptide sequence, between residues 671 and 672 of APP, leads to the generation and extracellular release of β-cleaved soluble APP1, and a corresponding cell-associated carboxy-terminal fragment Cleavage of the C-terminal fragment by γ-secretase(s) leads to the formation of Aβ The pathogenic mutation K670M671 → N670L671 at the β-secretase cleavage site in APP2, which was discovered in a Swedish family with familial Alzheimer's disease, leads to increased β-secretase cleavage of the mutant substrate3 Here we describe a membrane-bound enzyme activity that cleaves full-length APP at the β-secretase cleavage site, and find it to be the predominant β-cleavage activity in human brain We have purified this enzyme activity to homogeneity from human brain using a new substrate analogue inhibitor of the enzyme activity, and show that the purified enzyme has all the properties predicted for β-secretase Cloning and expression of the enzyme reveals that human brain β-secretase is a new membrane-bound aspartic proteinase

Alzheimer's Disease: Genes, Proteins, and Therapy

Abstract: Rapid progress in deciphering the biological mechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has arisen from the application of molecular and cell biology to this complex disorder of the limbic and association cortices. In turn, new insights into fundamental aspects of protein biology have resulted from research on the disease. This beneficial interplay between basic and applied cell biology is well illustrated by advances in understanding the genotype-to-phenotype relationships of familial Alzheimer's disease. All four genes definitively linked to inherited forms of the disease to date have been shown to increase the production and/or deposition of amyloid β-protein in the brain. In particular, evidence that the presenilin proteins, mutations in which cause the most aggressive form of inherited AD, lead to altered intramembranous cleavage of the β-amyloid precursor protein by the protease called γ-secretase has spurred progress toward novel therapeutics. The finding that presenilin itself may be the long-sought γ-...

The amyloid cascade hypothesis for Alzheimer's disease: an appraisal for the development of therapeutics.

Abstract: The amyloid cascade hypothesis, which posits that the deposition of the amyloid-β peptide in the brain is a central event in Alzheimer's disease pathology, has dominated research for the past twenty years. Several therapeutics that were purported to reduce amyloid-β production or aggregation have failed in Phase III clinical testing, and many others are in various stages of development. Therefore, it is timely to review the science underpinning the amyloid cascade hypothesis, consider what type of clinical trials will constitute a valid test of this hypothesis and explore whether amyloid-β-directed therapeutics will provide the medicines that are urgently needed by society for treating this devastating disease.

Intracellular amyloid-β in Alzheimer's disease

Abstract: The primal role that the amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide has in the development of Alzheimer's disease is now almost universally accepted. It is also well recognized that Abeta exists in multiple assembly states, which have different physiological or pathophysiological effects. Although the classical view is that Abeta is deposited extracellularly, emerging evidence from transgenic mice and human patients indicates that this peptide can also accumulate intraneuronally, which may contribute to disease progression.

A mutation in APP protects against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive decline

Abstract: The prevalence of dementia in the Western world in people over the age of 60 has been estimated to be greater than 5%, about two-thirds of which are due to Alzheimer's disease. The age-specific prevalence of Alzheimer's disease nearly doubles every 5 years after age 65, leading to a prevalence of greater than 25% in those over the age of 90 (ref. 3). Here, to search for low-frequency variants in the amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) gene with a significant effect on the risk of Alzheimer's disease, we studied coding variants in APP in a set of whole-genome sequence data from 1,795 Icelanders. We found a coding mutation (A673T) in the APP gene that protects against Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline in the elderly without Alzheimer's disease. This substitution is adjacent to the aspartyl protease β-site in APP, and results in an approximately 40% reduction in the formation of amyloidogenic peptides in vitro. The strong protective effect of the A673T substitution against Alzheimer's disease provides proof of principle for the hypothesis that reducing the β-cleavage of APP may protect against the disease. Furthermore, as the A673T allele also protects against cognitive decline in the elderly without Alzheimer's disease, the two may be mediated through the same or similar mechanisms.