Anti-Caspase 3 (activated) Antibody (A447)

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a transmembrane protein whose abnormal processing is associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we examined the expression and role of cell-associated APP in primary dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. When dissociated DRG cells prepared from mouse embryos were treated with nerve growth factor (NGF), neuronal APP levels were transiently elevated. DRG neurons treated with an antibody against cell surface APP failed to mature and underwent apoptosis. When NGF was withdrawn from the cultures after a 36-h NGF treatment, virtually all neurons underwent apoptosis by 48 h. During the course of apoptosis, some neurons with intact morphology contained increased levels of APP immunoreactivity, whereas the APP levels were greatly reduced in apoptotic neurons. Furthermore, affected neurons contained immunoreactivities for activated caspase-3, a caspase-cleaved APP fragment (APPDeltaC31), and Abeta. Downregulation of endogenous APP expression by treatment with an APP antisense oligodeoxynucleotide significantly increased the number of apoptotic neurons in NGF-deprived DRG cultures. Furthermore, overexpression of APP by adenovirus vector-mediated gene transfer reduced the number of apoptotic neurons deprived of NGF. These results suggest that endogenous APP is upregulated to exert an antiapoptotic effect on neurotrophin-deprived DRG neurons and subsequently undergoes caspase-dependent proteolysis.

The Alzheimer amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a transmembrane protein whose abnormal processing is associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Activated caspases cleave APP and generate its carboxyl-terminally truncated fragment (APPdeltaC31). We have previously reported that overexpression of wild-type APP induces caspase-3 activation and apoptosis in postmitotic neurons. We now report that APPdeltaC31 potentially plays pathophysiological roles in neuronal death. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of wild-type APP695 induced activation of caspase-3 and accumulation of APPdeltaC31 in postmitotic neurons derived from human NT2 embryonal carcinoma cells, whereas an APP mutant lacking the Abeta(1-20) region induced neither caspase-3 activation nor APPdeltaC31 generation. Inhibition of caspase-3 suppressed the generation of APPdeltaC31 in APP-overexpressing neurons. Forced expression of APPdeltaC31 induced apoptotic changes of neurons and non-neuronal cells, but failed to activate caspase-3. The cytotoxicity of APPdeltaC31 was also dependent on the Abeta(1-20) region. These results suggest that accumulation of wild-type APP activates neuronal caspase-3 to generate APPdeltaC31 that mediates caspase-3-independent cell death.