2. Academic Validation
  3. Apolipoprotein E: structure and function in lipid metabolism, neurobiology, and Alzheimer's diseases

Apolipoprotein E: structure and function in lipid metabolism, neurobiology, and Alzheimer's diseases

  • Neurobiol Dis. 2014 Dec;72 Pt A:3-12. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.08.025.
Yadong Huang 1,  Robert W Mahley 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, University of California, San Francisco 94158, USA; Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, University of California, San Francisco 94158, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco 94158, USA; Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco 94158, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 2 Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, University of California, San Francisco 94158, USA; Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, University of California, San Francisco 94158, USA; Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco 94158, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco 94158, USA.
PMID: 25173806 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.08.025
Abstract

Apolipoprotein (apo) E is a multifunctional protein with central roles in lipid metabolism, neurobiology, and neurodegenerative diseases. It has three major isoforms (apoE2, apoE3, and apoE4) with different effects on lipid and neuronal homeostasis. A major function of apoE is to mediate the binding of lipoproteins or lipid complexes in the plasma or interstitial fluids to specific cell-surface receptors. These receptors internalize apoE-containing lipoprotein particles; thus, apoE participates in the distribution/redistribution of lipids among various tissues and cells of the body. In addition, intracellular apoE may modulate various cellular processes physiologically or pathophysiologically, including cytoskeletal assembly and stability, mitochondrial integrity and function, and dendritic morphology and function. Elucidation of the functional domains within this protein and of the three-dimensional structure of the major isoforms of apoE has contributed significantly to our understanding of its physiological and pathophysiological roles at a molecular level. It is likely that apoE, with its multiple cellular origins and multiple structural and biophysical properties, is involved widely in processes of lipid metabolism and neurobiology, possibly encompassing a variety of disorders of neuronal repair, remodeling, and degeneration by interacting with different factors through various pathways.

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease; ApoE; Lipid metabolism; Mouse model.

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