Cited by 837Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsLipoproteins and Cardiovascular HealthCholesterol and Lipid Metabolism

Apolipoprotein E: from cardiovascular disease to neurodegenerative disorders

Open access
Mahley, Robert W.·2016·Journal of Molecular Medicine

Abstract

Apolipoprotein (apo) E was initially described as a lipid transport protein and major ligand for low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors with a role in cholesterol metabolism and cardiovascular disease. It has since emerged as a major risk factor (causative gene) for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Detailed understanding of the structural features of the three isoforms (apoE2, apoE3, and apoE4), which differ by only a single amino acid interchange, has elucidated their unique functions. ApoE2 and apoE4 increase the risk for heart disease: apoE2 increases atherogenic lipoprotein levels (it binds poorly to LDL receptors), and apoE4 increases LDL levels (it binds preferentially to triglyceride-rich, very low density lipoproteins, leading to downregulation of LDL receptors). ApoE4 also increases the risk for neurodegenerative diseases, decreases their age of onset, or alters their progression. ApoE4 likely causes neurodegeneration secondary to its abnormal structure, caused by an interaction between its carboxyl- and amino-terminal domains, called domain interaction. When neurons are stressed or injured, they synthesize apoE to redistribute cholesterol for neuronal repair or remodeling. However, because of its altered structure, neuronal apoE4 undergoes neuron-specific proteolysis, generating neurotoxic fragments (12-29 kDa) that escape the secretory pathway and cause mitochondrial dysfunction and cytoskeletal alterations, including tau phosphorylation. ApoE4-associated pathology can be prevented by small-molecule structure correctors that block domain interaction by converting apoE4 to a molecule that resembles apoE3 both structurally and functionally. Structure correctors are a potential therapeutic approach to reduce apoE4 pathology in both cardiovascular and neurological disorders.

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Crossref · 10.1007/s00109-016-1427-y

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  • APOE variants modulate other inflammation-associated pathologies, including atherosclerosis.

    “In addition, APOE variants modulate other inflammation-associated pathologies, including atherosclerosis3.”

    From Common germline variants of the human APOE gene modulate melanoma progression and survival (2020) · cites this paper as [3]

    The “ApoE and cardiovascular disease” sections on ApoE2 and ApoE4 state that these variants increase the risk of atherosclerosis. The passages explain this through lipoprotein and cholesterol metabolism; they do not address the claim’s characterization of atherosclerosis or other pathologies as inflammation-associated. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • ApoE is classically considered to play a critical role in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders.

    “ApoE is classically considered to play a critical role in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders [63, 64];”
  • The apoE3 and apoE4 amino acid sequences differ only at position 112, where apoE4 has an arginine instead of a cysteine.

    “The apoE3 and apoE4 amino acid sequences differ only at position 112 where apoE4 has an Arg instead of a Cys.”
  • ApoE plays major roles in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis in both an amyloid-β-dependent and independent manner.

    “Overall, it has been demonstrated, both in vivo and in vitro, that apoE plays major roles in AD pathogenesis in both an Aβ-dependent and independent manner, and different cellular sources of apoE4 may contribute in distinct ways to AD pathogenesis [4–8, 12–14, 21, 22].”

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. [5]Mahley RW Weisgraber KH Innerarity T Canine lipoproteins and atherosclerosis. II. Characterization of the plasma lipoproteins associated with atherogenic and nonatherogenic hyperlipidemia Circ Res 1974 35 722 733 4138629
  2. [18]Wernette-Hammond ME Lauer SJ Corsini A Walker D Taylor JM Rall SC Glycosylation of human apolipoprotein E. The carbohydrate attachment site is threonine 194 J Biol Chem 1989 264 9094 9101 2498325
  3. [21]Mahley RW Rall SC Jr Scriver CR Beauded AL Sly W Valle D Childs B Kinzler KW Vogelstein B Type III hyperlipoproteinemia (dysbetalipoproteinemia): the role of apolipoprotein E in normal and abnormal lipoprotein metabolism The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease 2001 New York McGraw-Hill 2835 2862
  4. [23]Dong L-M Weisgraber KH Human apolipoprotein E4 domain interaction. Arginine 61 and glutamic acid 255 interact to direct the preference for very low density lipoproteins J Biol Chem 1996 271 19053 19057 8702576
  5. [33]Hatters DM Budamagunta MS Voss JC Weisgraber KH Modulation of apolipoprotein E structure by domain interaction. Differences in lipid-bound and lipid-free forms J Biol Chem 2005 280 34288 34295 16076841

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Authors
Mahley, R. W.
Affiliations
Gladstone Institutes (US)
Corresponding author
Mahley, Robert W.
Venue
Journal of Molecular Medicine
Published
2016-06-09
Volume
94
Issue
7
Pages
739-746
ISSN
  • 0946-2716 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-1440
OpenAlex
W2416854880
Cited by
837
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 47 · 2025: 67 · 2024: 58 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 340 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2
FWCI
16.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Molecular Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Wellcome Trust (GB) (101786)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Cholesterol and Lipid Metabolism
Keywords
apolipoprotein E, APOE ε4, APOE2, APOE3, Alzheimer's disease, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, LDL receptor binding, cholesterol metabolism, domain interactions, tau phosphorylation, mitochondrial dysfunction, cytoskeletal alterations, atherosclerosis
MeSH terms
Cardiovascular Diseases, Cholesterol, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Lipoproteins, HDL, Lipoproteins, LDL, Models, Molecular, Phosphorylation, Receptors, LDL, Signal Transduction, tau Proteins, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Apolipoprotein E3, Apolipoprotein E4, Apolipoprotein E2, Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs

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