You are currently viewing the abstract.
View Full TextLog in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
Register for free to read this article
As a service to the community, this article is available for free. Existing users log in.
More options
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
Abstract
The cerebral cortex of Alzheimer's and Down syndrome patients is characterized by the presence of protein deposits in neurofibrillary tangles, neuritic plaques, and neuropil threads. These structures were shown to contain forms of β amyloid precursor protein and ubiquitin-B that are aberrant (+1 proteins) in the carboxyl terminus. The +1 proteins were not found in young control patients, whereas the presence of ubiquitin-B+1 in elderly control patients may indicate early stages of neurodegeneration. The two species of +1 proteins displayed cellular colocalization, suggesting a common origin, operating at the transcriptional level or by posttranscriptional editing of RNA. This type of transcript mutation is likely an important factor in the widely occurring nonfamilial early- and late-onset forms of Alzheimer's disease.
↵* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: f.van.leeuwen{at}nih.knaw.nl
