Jens Brodbeck,
Jim McGuire,
Zhaoping Liu,
Anke Meyer-Franke,
Maureen E. Balestra,
Dah-eun Jeong,
Mike Pleiss,
Casey McComas, Fred Hess,
David Witter,
Scott Peterson,
Matthew Childers,
Mark Goulet,
Nigel Liverton,
Richard Hargreaves,
Stephen Freedman,
Karl H. Weisgraber,
Robert W. Mahley,
Yadong Huang
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ABSTRACT: Apolipoprotein (apo) E4 is the major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD) and likely contributes to neuropathology
through various pathways. Here we report that the intracellular trafficking of apoE4 is impaired in Neuro-2a cells and primary
neurons, as shown by measuring fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. In Neuro-2a cells, more apoE4 than apoE3 molecules
remained immobilized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi apparatus, and the lateral motility of apoE4 was significantly
lower in the Golgi apparatus (but not in the ER) than that of apoE3. Likewise, the immobile fraction was larger, and the lateral
motility was lower for apoE4 than apoE3 in mouse primary hippocampal neurons. ApoE4 with the R61T mutation, which abolishes
apoE4 domain interaction, was less immobilized, and its lateral motility was comparable with that of apoE3. The trafficking
impairment of apoE4 was also rescued by disrupting domain interaction with the small-molecule structure correctors GIND25
and PH002. PH002 also rescued apoE4-induced impairments of neurite outgrowth in Neuro-2a cells and dendritic spine development
in primary neurons. ApoE4 did not affect trafficking of amyloid precursor protein, another AD-related protein, through the
secretory pathway. Thus, domain interaction renders more newly synthesized apoE4 molecules immobile and slows their trafficking
along the secretory pathway. Correcting the pathological structure of apoE4 by disrupting domain interaction is a potential
therapeutic approach to treat or prevent AD related to apoE4.
Journal of Biological Chemistry 05/2011; 286(19):17217-17226. · 4.77 Impact Factor