Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-1 (LRP1) C4408R Mutant Promotes Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) α-Cleavage in Vitro

Previous studies have demonstrated that the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP1) plays conflicting roles in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis, clearing β-amyloid (Aβ) from the brain while also enhancing APP endocytosis and resultant amyloidogenic processing. We have recently discovered that co-expression of mutant LRP1 C-terminal domain (LRP1-CT C4408R) with Swedish mutant amyloid precursor protein (APPswe) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells decreases Aβ production, while also increasing sAPPα and APP α-C-terminal fragment (α-CTF), compared with CHO cells expressing APPswe alone. Surprisingly, the location of this mutation on LRP1 corresponded with the α-secretase cleavage site of APP. Further experimentation confirmed that in CHO cells expressing APPswe or wild-type APP (APPwt), co-expression of LRP1-CT C4408R decreases Aβ and increases sAPPα and α-CTF compared with co-expression of wild-type LRP1-CT. In addition, LRP1-CT C4408R enhanced the unglycosylated form of LRP1-CT and reduced APP endocytosis as determined by flow cytometry. This finding identifies a point mutation in LRP1 which slows LRP1-CT-mediated APP endocytosis and amyloidogenic processing, while enhancing APP α-secretase cleavage, thus demonstrating a potential novel target for slowing AD pathogenesis.