Specific functions of Drosophila amyloid precursor-like protein in the development of nervous system and nonneural tissues

Suppression of the synaptic localization of a subset of proteins including APP partially ameliorates phenotypes of the Drosophila Alzheimer's disease model

APP (amyloid precursor protein), the causative molecule of Alzheimer's disease, is synthesized in neuronal cell bodies and subsequently transported to synapses. We previously showed that the yata gene is required for the synaptic transport of the APP orthologue in Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, we examined the effect of a reduction in yata expression in the Drosophila Alzheimer's disease model, in which expression of human mutant APP was induced. The synaptic localization of APP and other synaptic proteins was differentially inhibited by yata knockdown and null mutation. Expression of APP resulted in abnormal synaptic morphology and the premature death of animals. These phenotypes were partially but significantly rescued by yata knockdown, whereas yata knockdown itself caused no abnormality. Moreover, we observed that synaptic transmission accuracy was impaired in our model, and this phenotype was improved by yata knockdown. Thus, our data suggested that the phenotypes caused by APP can be partially prevented by inhibition of the synaptic localization of a subset of synaptic proteins including APP.

Role of Drosophila Amyloid Precursor Protein in Memory Formation

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a membrane protein engaged in complex proteolytic pathways. APP and its derivatives have been shown to play a central role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory decline. Despite a huge effort from the research community, the primary cause of AD remains unclear, making it crucial to better understand the physiological role of the APP pathway in brain plasticity and memory. Drosophila melanogaster is a model system well-suited to address this issue. Although relatively simple, the fly brain is highly organized, sustains several forms of learning and memory, and drives numerous complex behaviors. Importantly, molecules and mechanisms underlying memory processes are conserved from flies to mammals. The fly encodes a single non-essential APP homolog named APP-Like (APPL). Using in vivo inducible RNA interference strategies, it was shown that APPL knockdown in the mushroom bodies (MB)—the central integrative brain structure for olfactory memory—results in loss of memory. Several APPL derivatives, such as secreted and full-length membrane APPL, may play different roles in distinct types of memory phases. Furthermore, overexpression of Drosophila amyloid peptide exacerbates the memory deficit caused by APPL knockdown, thus potentiating memory decline. Data obtained in the fly support the hypothesis that APP acts as a transmembrane receptor, and that disruption of its normal function may contribute to cognitive impairment during early AD.

Analysis of Amyloid Precursor Protein Function in Drosophila melanogaster

The Amyloid precursor protein (APP) has mainly been investigated in connection with its role in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) due to its cleavage resulting in the production of the Aβ peptides that accumulate in the plaques characteristic for this disease. However, APP is an evolutionary conserved protein that is not only found in humans but also in many other species, including Drosophila, suggesting an important physiological function. Besides Aβ, several other fragments are produced by the cleavage of APP; large secreted fragments derived from the N-terminus and a small intracellular C-terminal fragment. Although these fragments have received much less attention than Aβ, a picture about their function is finally emerging. In contrast to mammals, which express three APP family members, Drosophila expresses only one APP protein called APP-like or APPL. Therefore APPL functions can be studied in flies without the complication that other APP family members may have redundant functions. Flies lacking APPL are viable but show defects in neuronal outgrowth in the central and peripheral nervous system (PNS) in addition to synaptic changes. Furthermore, APPL has been connected with axonal transport functions. In the adult nervous system, APPL, and more specifically its secreted fragments, can protect neurons from degeneration. APPL cleavage also prevents glial death. Lastly, APPL was found to be involved in behavioral deficits and in regulating sleep/activity patterns. This review, will describe the role of APPL in neuronal development and maintenance and briefly touch on its emerging function in circadian rhythms while an accompanying review will focus on its role in learning and memory formation.

Transgenic Drosophila model to study apolipoprotein E4-induced neurodegeneration

The ε4 isoform of apolipoprotein E (ApoE4) that is involved in neuron-glial lipid metabolism has been demonstrated as the main genetic risk factor in late-onset of Alzheimer's disease. However, the mechanism underlying ApoE4-mediated neurodegeneration remains unclear. We created a transgenic model of neurodegenerative disorder by expressing ε3 and ε4 isoforms of human ApoE in the Drosophila melanogaster. The genetic models exhibited progressive neurodegeneration, shortened lifespan and memory impairment. Genetic interaction studies between amyloid precursor protein and ApoE in axon pathology of the disease revealed that over expression of hApoE in Appl-expressing neurons of Drosophila brain causes neurodegeneration. Moreover, acute oxidative damage in the hApoE transgenic flies triggered a neuroprotective response of hApoE3 while chronic induction of oxidative damage accelerated the rate of neurodegeneration. This Drosophila model may facilitate analysis of the molecular and cellular events implicated in hApoE4 neurotoxicity.

Modeling the complex pathology of Alzheimer's disease in Drosophila

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and the most common neurodegenerative disorder. AD is mostly a sporadic disorder and its main risk factor is age, but mutations in three genes that promote the accumulation of the amyloid-β (Aβ42) peptide revealed the critical role of amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing in AD. Neurofibrillary tangles enriched in tau are the other pathological hallmark of AD, but the lack of causative tau mutations still puzzles researchers. Here, we describe the contribution of a powerful invertebrate model, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, to uncover the function and pathogenesis of human APP, Aβ42, and tau. APP and tau participate in many complex cellular processes, although their main function is microtubule stabilization and the to-and-fro transport of axonal vesicles. Additionally, expression of secreted Aβ42 induces prominent neuronal death in Drosophila, a critical feature of AD, making this model a popular choice for identifying intrinsic and extrinsic factors mediating Aβ42 neurotoxicity. Overall, Drosophila has made significant contributions to better understand the complex pathology of AD, although additional insight can be expected from combining multiple transgenes, performing genome-wide loss-of-function screens, and testing anti-tau therapies alone or in combination with Aβ42.

The full-length form of the Drosophila amyloid precursor protein is involved in memory formation

The APP plays a central role in AD, a pathology that first manifests as a memory decline. Understanding the role of APP in normal cognition is fundamental in understanding the progression of AD, and mammalian studies have pointed to a role of secreted APPα in memory. In Drosophila, we recently showed that APPL, the fly APP ortholog, is required for associative memory. In the present study, we aimed to characterize which form of APPL is involved in this process. We show that expression of a secreted-APPL form in the mushroom bodies, the center for olfactory memory, is able to rescue the memory deficit caused by APPL partial loss of function. We next assessed the impact on memory of the Drosophila α-secretase kuzbanian (KUZ), the enzyme initiating the nonamyloidogenic pathway that produces secreted APPLα. Strikingly, KUZ overexpression not only failed to rescue the memory deficit caused by APPL loss of function, it exacerbated this deficit. We further show that in addition to an increase in secreted-APPL forms, KUZ overexpression caused a decrease of membrane-bound full-length species that could explain the memory deficit. Indeed, we observed that transient expression of a constitutive membrane-bound mutant APPL form is sufficient to rescue the memory deficit caused by APPL reduction, revealing for the first time a role of full-length APPL in memory formation. Our data demonstrate that, in addition to secreted APPL, the noncleaved form is involved in memory, raising the possibility that secreted and full-length APPL act together in memory processes.

X11/Mint genes control polarized localization of axonal membrane proteins in vivo

Mislocalization of axonal proteins can result in misassembly and/or miswiring of neural circuits, causing disease. To date, only a handful of genes that control polarized localization of axonal membrane proteins have been identified. Here we report that Drosophila X11/Mint proteins are required for targeting several proteins, including human amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Drosophila APP-like protein (APPL), to axonal membranes and for their exclusion from dendrites of the mushroom body in Drosophila, a brain structure involved in learning and memory. Axonal localization of APP is mediated by an endocytic motif, and loss of X11/Mint results in a dramatic increase in cell-surface levels of APPL, especially on dendrites. Mutations in genes required for endocytosis show similar mislocalization of these proteins to dendrites, and strongly enhance defects seen in X11/Mint mutants. These results suggest that X11/Mint-dependent endocytosis in dendrites may serve to promote the axonal localization of membrane proteins. Since X11/Mint binds to APP, and abnormal trafficking of APP contributes to Alzheimer's disease, deregulation of X11/Mint may be important for Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis.

Ras signal triggers β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) expression

It has recently been discovered that the Drosophila β-amyloid protein precursor like (Appl) gene, the ortholog of the human β-Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) gene, is transcriptionally activated by receptor tyrosine kinase activity that involves Ras/MAPK signaling in vivo. This regulation is specifically controlled in photoreceptor neurons of the Drosophila retina. This suggests that some cases of Alzheimer disease, those which have been associated with high expression of the APP gene, may involve Ras signal transduction.

Neurodegeneration in a Drosophila model for the function of TMCC2, an amyloid protein precursor-interacting and apolipoprotein E-binding protein

We previously identified TMCC2 as a protein that interacted differentially with normal versus Alzheimer's disease-risk forms of both apolipoprotein E (apoE) and the amyloid protein precursor (APP). We hypothesized that disrupted function of TMCC2 would affect neurodegeneration. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the Drosophila orthologue of TMCC2, that we have named Dementin. We showed that Dementin interacts genetically both with human APP and its Drosophila orthologue, the APP-like protein (APPL). Ectopic expression of Dementin in Drosophila rescued developmental and behavioral defects caused by expression of human APP. Both a hypomorphic lethal mutation in the dementin gene (dmtn¹) and RNAi for Dementin caused the accumulation of fragments derived from APPL. We found that Dementin was required for normal development of the brain, and that glial Dementin was required for development of the Drosophila medulla neuropil. Expression of wild-type Dementin in either the neurons or glia of dmtn¹ flies rescued developmental lethality. Adult dmtn¹ flies rescued by expression of wild-type Dementin in glia, i.e. whose neurons expressed only dmtn¹, showed pathological features resembling early onset Alzheimer's disease, accumulation of abnormal APPL metabolites, synaptic pathology, mis-localized microtubule-binding proteins, neurodegeneration, and early death.

β amyloid protein precursor-like (Appl) is a Ras1/MAPK-regulated gene required for axonal targeting in Drosophila photoreceptor neurons

In a genome-wide expression profile search for genes required for Drosophila R7 photoreceptor development we found β amyloid protein precursor-like (Appl), the ortholog of human APP, which is a key factor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. We analyzed Appl expression in the eye imaginal disc and found that is highly accumulated in R7 photoreceptor cells. The R7 photoreceptor is responsible for UV light detection. To explore the link between high expression of Appl and R7 function, we have analyzed Appl null mutants and found reduced preference for UV light, probably because of mistargeted R7 axons. Moreover, axon mistargeting and inappropriate light discrimination are enhanced in combination with neurotactin mutants. R7 differentiation is triggered by the inductive interaction between R8 and R7 precursors, which results in a burst of Ras1/MAPK, activated by the tyrosine kinase receptor Sevenless. Therefore, we examined whether Ras1/MAPK is responsible for the high Appl expression. Inhibition of Ras1 signaling leads to reduced Appl expression, whereas constitutive activation drives ectopic Appl expression. We show that Appl is directly regulated by the Ras/MAPK pathway through a mechanism mediated by PntP2, an ETS transcription factor that specifically binds ETS sites in the Appl regulatory region. We also found that zebrafish appb expression increased after ectopic fgfr activation in the neural tube of zebrafish embryos, suggesting a conserved regulatory mechanism.

Analysis of amyloid precursor protein function in Drosophila melanogaster

Amyloid precursor proteins (APPs) are evolutionary conserved from nematodes to man (Jacobsen and Iverfeldt in Cell Mol Life Sci 66:2299-2318, 2009) suggesting an important physiological function of these proteins. Human APP is a key factor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease because its proteolytic processing results in the production of the neurotoxic Aβ-peptide, which accumulates in the amyloid plaques characteristic for this disease (Selkoe in Physiol Rev 81(2):741-766, 2001). However, the processing also leads to the production of several other fragments and the role of these products, as well as the function of the full-length protein is so far not well understood. The functional analysis of APP in vertebrates has been hampered by the fact that two close relatives, APLP1 and APLP2, exist and that knock-out mice for APP only show subtle defects. In contrast, invertebrates like Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila express only one APP-like protein but whereas a null mutation in the C. elegans APL-1 protein is lethal, flies lacking APPL (Amyloid Precursor Protein-like) are viable but show synaptic defects and behavioral abnormalities. Together with the analyses of flies that express APP proteins ectoptically or xenotopically, these studies show that APP proteins are involved in neuronal differentiation, neuritic outgrowth, and synapse formation. In addition, they play a role in long-term memory formation and maintaining brain integrity in adult flies.

Drosophila amyloid precursor protein-like is required for long-term memory

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative pathology that first manifests as a decline of memory. While the main hypothesis for AD pathology centers on the proteolytic processing of APP, very little is known about the physiological function of the APP protein in the adult brain. Likewise, whether APP loss of function contributes to AD remains unclear. Drosophila has been used extensively as a model organism to study neuronal function and pathology. In addition, many of the molecular mechanisms underlying memory are thought to be conserved from flies to mammals, prompting us to study the function of APPL, the fly APP ortholog, during associative memory. It was previously shown that APPL expression is highly enriched in the mushroom bodies (MBs), a specialized brain structure involved in olfactory memory. We analyzed memory in flies in which APPL expression has been silenced specifically and transiently in the adult MBs. Our results show that in adult flies, APPL is not required for learning but is specifically involved in long-term memory, a long lasting memory whose formation requires de novo protein synthesis and is thought to require synaptic structural plasticity. These data support the hypothesis that disruption of normal APP function may contribute to early AD cognitive impairment.

PI3 kinase signaling is involved in Abeta-induced memory loss in Drosophila

Multiple intracellular signals are altered in Alzheimer's disease brain tissues, including the PI3K/Akt pathway. However, the pathological relevance of such alterations is poorly understood. In vitro studies yield results that seem to be consistent with the conventional perception in which an up-regulation of the cell survival pathway, PI3K pathway, is protective in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. The current in vivo genetic approach, however, reveals that inhibition of the PI3K pathway leads to rescuing of the beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta)-induced memory loss in the Drosophila brain. We began our inquiry into the molecular basis of this memory loss by studying Abeta42-induced enhancement of long-term depression. We found that long-term depression is restored to a normal level through inhibition of PI3K activity. Abeta42-induced PI3K hyperactivity is directly confirmed by immunostaining of the PI3K phosphorylation targets, phospholipids. Such observations lead to the following demonstration that Abeta42-induced memory loss can be rescued through genetic silencing or pharmacological inhibition of PI3K functions. Our data suggest that Abeta42 stimulates PI3K, which in turn causes memory loss in association with an increase in accumulation of Abeta42 aggregates.

Alzheimer's disease and tauopathy studies in flies and worms

Progressive dementias like Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other tauopathies are an increasing threat to human health worldwide. Although significant progress has been made in understanding the pathogenesis of these diseases using cell culture and mouse models, the complexity of these diseases has still prevented a comprehensive understanding of their underlying causes. As with other neurological diseases, invertebrate models have provided novel genetic approaches for investigating the molecular pathways that are affected in tauopathies, including AD. This review focuses on transgenic models that have been established in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate these diseases, and the insights that have been gained from these studies. Also included are a brief description of the endogenous versions of human "disease genes" (like tau and the Amyloid Precursor Protein) that are expressed in invertebrates, and an overview of results that have been obtained from animals lacking or overexpressing these genes. These diverse models can be used to advance our knowledge about how these proteins acquire a pathogenic function and how disrupting their normal functions may contribute to neurological pathologies. They also provide powerful assays for identifying molecular and genetic interactions that are important in developing or preventing the deleterious effects.

Amyloid precursor protein and its homologues: a family of proteolysis-dependent receptors

The Alzheimer's amyloid precursor protein (APP) belongs to a conserved gene family that also includes the mammalian APLP1 and APLP2, the Drosophila APPL, and the C. elegans APL-1. The biological function of APP is still not fully clear. However, it is known that the APP family proteins have redundant and partly overlapping functions, which demonstrates the importance of studying all APP family members to gain a more complete picture. When APP was first cloned, it was speculated that it could function as a receptor. This theory has been further substantiated by studies showing that APP and its homologues bind both extracellular ligands and intracellular adaptor proteins. The APP family proteins undergo regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP), generating secreted and cytoplasmic fragments that have been ascribed different functions. In this review, we will discuss the APP family with focus on biological functions, binding partners, and regulated processing.

Loss of yata, a novel gene regulating the subcellular localization of APPL, induces deterioration of neural tissues and lifespan shortening

Background

The subcellular localization of membrane and secreted proteins is finely and dynamically regulated through intracellular vesicular trafficking for permitting various biological processes. Drosophila Amyloid precursor protein like (APPL) and Hikaru genki (HIG) are examples of proteins that show differential subcellular localization among several developmental stages.

Methodology/Principal Findings

During the study of the localization mechanisms of APPL and HIG, we isolated a novel mutant of the gene, CG1973, which we named yata. This molecule interacted genetically with Appl and is structurally similar to mouse NTKL/SCYL1, whose mutation was reported to cause neurodegeneration. yata null mutants showed phenotypes that included developmental abnormalities, progressive eye vacuolization, brain volume reduction, and lifespan shortening. Exogenous expression of Appl or hig in neurons partially rescued the mutant phenotypes of yata. Conversely, the phenotypes were exacerbated in double null mutants for yata and Appl. We also examined the subcellular localization of endogenous APPL and exogenously pulse-induced APPL tagged with FLAG by immunostaining the pupal brain and larval motor neurons in yata mutants. Our data revealed that yata mutants showed impaired subcellular localization of APPL. Finally, yata mutant pupal brains occasionally showed aberrant accumulation of Sec23p, a component of the COPII coat of secretory vesicles traveling from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi.

Conclusion/Significance

We identified a novel gene, yata, which is essential for the normal development and survival of tissues. Loss of yata resulted in the progressive deterioration of the nervous system and premature lethality. Our genetic data showed a functional relationship between yata and Appl. As a candidate mechanism of the abnormalities, we found that yata regulates the subcellular localization of APPL and possibly other proteins.

Beta-secretase: structure, function, and evolution

The most popular current hypothesis is that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is caused by aggregates of the amyloid peptide (Abeta), which is generated by cleavage of the Abeta protein precursor (APP) by beta-secretase (BACE-1) followed by gamma-secretase. BACE-1 cleavage is limiting for the production of Abeta, making it a particularly good drug target for the generation of inhibitors that lower Abeta. A landmark discovery in AD was the identification of BACE-1 (a.k.a. Memapsin-2) as a novel class of type I transmembrane aspartic protease. Although BACE-2, a homologue of BACE-1, was quickly identified, follow up studies using knockout mice demonstrated that BACE-1 was necessary and sufficient for most neuronal Abeta generation. Despite the importance of BACE-1 as a drug target, development has been slow due to the incomplete understanding of its function and regulation and the difficulties in developing a brain penetrant drug that can specifically block its large catalytic pocket. This review summarizes the biological properties of BACE-1 and attempts to use phylogenetic perspectives to understand its function. The article also addresses the challenges in discovering a selective drug-like molecule targeting novel mechanisms of BACE-1 regulation.

Study of tauopathies by comparing Drosophila and human tau in Drosophila

The microtubule-binding protein tau has been investigated for its contribution to various neurodegenerative disorders. However, the findings from transgenic studies, using the same tau transgene, vary widely among different laboratories. Here, we have investigated the potential mechanisms underlying tauopathies by comparing Drosophila (d-tau) and human (h-tau) tau in a Drosophila model. Overexpression of a single copy of either tau isoform in the retina results in a similar rough eye phenotype. However, co-expression of Par-1 with d-tau leads to lethality, whereas co-expression of Par-1 with h-tau has little effect on the rough eye phenotype. We have found analogous results by comparing larval proteomes. Through genetic screening and proteomic analysis, we have identified some important potential modifiers and tau-associated proteins. These results suggest that the two tau genes differ significantly. This comparison between species-specific isoforms may help to clarify whether the homologous tau genes are conserved.

Drosophila homolog of APP-BP1 (dAPP-BP1) interacts antagonistically with APPL during Drosophila development

beta-Amyloid precursor protein binding protein 1 (APP-BP1) was previously identified based on its binding to the carboxyl terminal of beta-amyloid precursor protein. In this report, we have discovered that a mutation of dAPP-BP1 (Drosophila ortholog of APP-BP1) hinders tissue development, causes apoptosis in imaginal disc cells, and blocks the NEDD8 conjugation pathway. We show that dAPP-BP1 specifically binds the intracellular domain of APP-like protein (APPL). The dAPP-BP1 mutation partially suppresses the abnormal macrochaete phenotype of Appl(d), while overexpression of dAPP-BP1 causes abnormal macrochaetes. When APPL is overexpressed, the normal bristle pattern in the fly thorax is disturbed and apoptosis is induced in wing imaginal discs. APPL overexpression phenotypes are enhanced by reducing the level of dAPP-BP1. APPL overexpression is shown to inhibit the NEDD8 conjugation pathway. APPL-induced apoptosis is rescued by overexpression of dAPP-BP1. Our data suggest that APPL and dAPP-BP1 interact antagonistically during Drosophila development.

The insect homologue of the amyloid precursor protein interacts with the heterotrimeric G protein Go alpha in an identified population of migratory neurons

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) is the source of Abeta fragments implicated in the formation of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD). APP-related proteins are also expressed at high levels in the embryonic nervous system and may serve a variety of developmental functions, including the regulation of neuronal migration. To investigate this issue, we have cloned an orthologue of APP (msAPPL) from the moth, Manduca sexta, a preparation that permits in vivo manipulations of an identified set of migratory neurons (EP cells) within the developing enteric nervous system. Previously, we found that EP cell migration is regulated by the heterotrimeric G protein Goalpha: when activated by unknown receptors, Goalpha induces the onset of Ca2+ spiking in these neurons, which in turn down-regulates neuronal motility. We have now shown that msAPPL is first expressed by the EP cells shortly before the onset of migration and that this protein undergoes a sequence of trafficking, processing, and glycosylation events that correspond to discrete phases of neuronal migration and differentiation. We also show that msAPPL interacts with Goalpha in the EP cells, suggesting that msAPPL may serve as a novel G-protein-coupled receptor capable of modulating specific aspects of migration via Goalpha-dependent signal transduction.