Lipid rafts are regions of the plasma membrane that are enriched in cholesterol, glycosphingolipids and acylated proteins, and which have been proposed as sites for the proteolytic processing of the Alzheimer's amyloid precursor protein (APP). Lipid rafts can be isolated on the basis of their insolubility in Triton X-100 at 4 °C, with the resulting low-density, detergent-insoluble glycolipid-enriched fraction (DIG) being isolated by flotation through a sucrose density gradient. The detergent-insolubility of APP in mouse cerebral cortex relative to a variety of DIG marker proteins (alkaline phosphatase, flotillin, F3 protein and prion protein) and non-DIG proteins (alkaline phosphodiesterase I, aminopeptidase A and clathrin) has been examined. Alkaline phosphatase, flotillin, F3 protein and the prion protein were present exclusively in the DIG region of the sucrose gradient over a range of protein/detergent ratios used to solubilize the membranes and displayed a characteristic enrichment in the low-density fraction as the protein/detergent ratio was decreased. In contrast, most of the APP, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, aminopeptidase A and clathrin was effectively solubilized at all of the protein/detergent ratios examined. However, a minor proportion of these latter proteins was detected in DIGs at levels which remained constant irrespective of the protein/detergent ratio. When DIGs were isolated from the sucrose gradients and treated with excess Triton X-100, both the DIG marker proteins and APP, alkaline phosphodiesterase I and clathrin were predominantly resistant to detergent extraction at 37 °C. These results show that, although a minor proportion of APP is present in DIGs, where it is detergent-insoluble even at 37 °C, it behaves as an atypical lipid raft protein and raises questions as to whether lipid rafts are a site for its proteolytic processing.
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November 1999
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Research Article|
November 08 1999
Amyloid precursor protein, although partially detergent-insoluble in mouse cerebral cortex, behaves as an atypical lipid raft protein
Edward T. PARKIN
;
Edward T. PARKIN
1School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
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Anthony J. TURNER
;
Anthony J. TURNER
1School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
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Nigel M. HOOPER
Nigel M. HOOPER
1
1School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (e-mail n.m.hooper@leeds.ac.uk).
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Biochem J (1999) 344 (1): 23–30.
Article history
Received:
July 01 1999
Revision Received:
September 10 1999
Accepted:
September 21 1999
Citation
Edward T. PARKIN, Anthony J. TURNER, Nigel M. HOOPER; Amyloid precursor protein, although partially detergent-insoluble in mouse cerebral cortex, behaves as an atypical lipid raft protein. Biochem J 15 November 1999; 344 (1): 23–30. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bj3440023
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