Genetics and pathology of alpha-secretase site AβPP mutations in the understanding of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Development of therapeutics begins with delineating the precise disease pathology along with a reasonable understanding of the sequence of events responsible for the development of disease, or disease pathogenesis. For Alzheimer's disease (AD), the classical pathology is now known for quite some time; however, the disease pathogenesis has eluded our understanding for a complete century. This review, in addition to providing a brief overview of all primary events, will highlight those aspects of AD genetics and novel pathological descriptions linked to unique mutations within AβPP that have led to our better understanding of the pathogenesis of AD. Specifically, we will discuss how pathologies linked to the Dutch (E693Q) and Flemish AβPP (A692G) mutations have helped in understanding the role of CAA in dementia and in the development of dense-core plaques. In addition, this review will also point directions that warrant additional studies.