Isoform-specific knockout ofFE65 leads to impaired learning and memory

Essential roles for the FE65 amyloid precursor protein-interacting proteins in brain development

Targeted deletion of two members of the FE65 family of adaptor proteins, FE65 and FE65L1, results in cortical dysplasia. Heterotopias resembling those found in cobblestone lissencephalies in which neuroepithelial cells migrate into superficial layers of the developing cortex, aberrant cortical projections and loss of infrapyramidal mossy fibers arise in FE65/FE65L1 compound null animals, but not in single gene knockouts. The disruption of pial basal membranes underlying the heterotopias and poor organization of fibrillar laminin by isolated meningeal fibroblasts from double knockouts suggests that FE65 proteins are involved in basement membrane assembly. A similar phenotype is observed in triple mutant mice lacking the APP family members APP, APLP1 and APLP2, all of which interact with FE65 proteins, suggesting that this phenotype may be caused by decreased transmission of an APP-dependent signal through the FE65 proteins. The defects observed in the double knockout may also involve the family of Ena/Vasp proteins, which participate in actin cytoskeleton remodeling and interact with the WW domains of FE65 proteins.

A dominant role for FE65 (APBB1) in nuclear signaling

FE65 has been described as an adaptor protein; its partners include the beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Tip60 (a histone acetyltransferase). Recent evidence suggests that APP may function in a nuclear signaling pathway via formation of APP-FE65-Tip60 complexes. The evidence is largely based on experiments in which APP/Tip60 is fused to the DNA binding domain of a yeast transcriptional factor Gal4 (Gal4DB) that can activate a reporter gene only when FE65 is coexpressed. One interpretation of published experiments has not yet been tested; however, there is the possibility that FE65 itself is the dominant transcriptional activator, whereas APP and Tip60 serve merely as positive/negative modulators or bridges for connecting FE65 to Gal4DB. To test this possibility, we fused Gal4DB directly to either end of FE65 and assessed their nuclear signaling in the presence or absence of exogenous APP/Tip60 or after knockdown of endogenous APP/Tip60. We found that FE65-Gal4DB by itself was able to trigger robust reporter activities. Increasing levels of APP could not further augment the reporter activity, but knocking down endogenous APP or interrupting FE65-APP binding reduced the signaling by up to 2-fold. The magnitudes of the reporter activities did not correlate with relative FE65 affinities for APP. Both overexpression and knockdown experiments showed that Tip60 plays a negative role. The results are consistent with the notion that FE65 is the key agent of Gal4DB-mediated transcriptional transactivation, whereas Tip60 is an FE65-associated repressor. Although APP may have modest stimulating effects, apparently there is no absolute requirement for that molecule for the nuclear signaling pathway.

Expression of human FE65 in amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice is associated with a reduction in beta-amyloid load

FE65 is an adaptor protein that interacts with the cytoplasmic tail of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). In cultured non-neuronal cells, the formation of the FE65-APP complex is a key element for the modulation of APP processing, signalling and beta-amyloid (Abeta) production. The functions of FE65 in vivo, including its role in the metabolism of neuronal APP, remain to be investigated. In this study, transgenic mice expressing human FE65 were generated and crossbred with APP transgenic mice, known to develop Abeta deposits at 6 months of age. Compared with APP mice, APP/FE65 double transgenic mice exhibited a lower Abeta accumulation in the cerebral cortex as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and immunoassay, and a lower level of APP-CTFs. The reduced accumulation of Abeta in APP/FE65 double transgenics, compared with APP mice, could be linked to the low Abeta42 level observed at 4 months of age and to the lower APP-CTFs levels. The present work provides evidence that FE65 plays a role in the regulation of APP processing in an in vivo model.

Presenilin-dependent transcriptional control of the Abeta-degrading enzyme neprilysin by intracellular domains of betaAPP and APLP

Amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta), which plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease, is generated by presenilin-dependent gamma-secretase cleavage of beta-amyloid precursor protein (betaAPP). We report that the presenilins (PS1 and PS2) also regulate Abeta degradation. Presenilin-deficient cells fail to degrade Abeta and have drastic reductions in the transcription, expression, and activity of neprilysin, a key Abeta-degrading enzyme. Neprilysin activity and expression are also lowered by gamma-secretase inhibitors and by PS1/PS2 deficiency in mouse brain. Neprilysin activity is restored by transient expression of PS1 or PS2 and by expression of the amyloid intracellular domain (AICD), which is cogenerated with Abeta, during gamma-secretase cleavage of betaAPP. Neprilysin gene promoters are transactivated by AICDs from APP-like proteins (APP, APLP1, and APLP2), but not by Abeta or by the gamma-secretase cleavage products of Notch, N- or E- cadherins. The presenilin-dependent regulation of neprilysin, mediated by AICDs, provides a physiological means to modulate Abeta levels with varying levels of gamma-secretase activity.

Endoproteolytic Cleavage of FE65 Converts the Adaptor Protein to a Potent Suppressor of the sAPPα Pathway in Primates

Adaptor protein FE65 (APBB1) specifically binds to the intracellular tail of the type I transmembrane protein, beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP). The formation of this complex may be important for modulation of the processing and function of APP. APP is proteolytically cleaved at multiple sites. The cleavages and their regulation are of central importance in the pathogenesis of dementias of the Alzheimer type. In cell cultures and perhaps in vivo, secretion of the alpha-cleaved APP ectodomain (sAPPalpha) is the major pathway in the most cells. Regulation of the process may require extracellular/intracellular cues. Neither extracellular ligands nor intracellular mediators have been identified, however. Here, we show novel evidence that the major isoform of FE65 (97-kDa FE65, p97FE65) can be converted to a 65-kDa N-terminally truncated C-terminal fragment (p65FE65) via endoproteolysis. The cleavage region locates immediately after an acidic residue cluster but before the three major protein-protein binding domains. The cleavage activity is particularly high in human and non-human primate cells and low in rodent cells; the activity appears to be triggered/enhanced by high cell density, presumably via cell-cell/cell-substrate contact cues. As a result, p65FE65 exhibits extraordinarily high affinity for APP (up to 40-fold higher than p97FE65) and potent suppression (up to 90%) of secretion of sAPPalpha. Strong p65FE65-APP binding is required for the suppression. The results suggest that p65FE65 may be an intracellular mediator in a signaling cascade regulating alpha-secretion of APP, particularly in primates.