The hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the presence of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brain. The major constituent of senile plaques is β-amyloid (Aβ). Aβ is derived from its precursor; amyloid precursor protein (APP) 1. The amyloidogenic cleavage of APP begins with removal of the ectodomain from APP by β-secretase 2. The remaining 99-residue carboxyl terminal fragment (CTF) can be cleaved by γ-secretase to produce Aβ 3-7. While many experiments have documented the cleavage of cell surface APP after internalization from the cell surface into the endosomal/ lysosomal system, a number of recent studies have suggested that intracellular trafficking of APP is also important in regulating its processing 8-11.
There have been a number of attempts at modulating the levels of Aβ with γ-secretase inhibitors and Aβ immunotherapies. However, recent clinical trials with these therapies showed no benefit, and, in some cases, caused harm 12. An unexploited strategy to modulate Aβ production is to alter the sub-cellular localization of APP and γ-secretase interaction. The Golgi, plasma membrane, and endosomes/lysosomes have all been suggested as possible locales for γ-cleavage of APP. Research from our laboratory suggests that APP and the γ-secretase are resident proteins of the lysosomal membrane 13. Furthermore, we have found that the lysosomal γ-secretase has an acidic optimal pH 13. In addition, alkalization of the endosomal/lysosomal system with chloroquine or NH4Cl, has been shown to decrease the production of Aβ 14. γ-secretase inhibition or knockout or Presenilin leads to APP-CTFs accumulation in the lysosome 15-17. Moreover, disrupting APP endocytosis lowers Aβ production 18-20.
Despite the importance of the Golgi as a sorting station for nascent proteins and proteins recycled from the endosomal/lysosomal system, the intracellular trafficking of APP has not been studied in detail 21. Recent work has shown that APP can be recycled to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) via interaction with the retromer complex. Down regulation of the retromer complex decreases Aβ production 8,22-24. However, the egress of APP from the Golgi has not been well studied.
While following the endocytosis of cell-surface proteins, such as the transferrin receptor, are easily labeled and followed, following the trafficking of intracellular proteins is more challenging. In fact, few proteins have had their intracellular trafficking imaged. The advent of fluorescent protein tags, such as photo-activatable-GFP (paGFP), has provided new tools to examine intracellular trafficking. Photo-activatable-GFP is a form of GFP that is nearly invisible after synthesis, but develops strong green (GFP) fluorescence after being activated by 413 nm laser light and this signal is stable for days 25,26. Constructs using paGFP have been used to demonstrate the intralysosomal trafficking of the Lysosomal Protein membrane protein 1 (LAMP1) 25, the cell surface delivery of the Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Glycoprotein (VSVG, a marker of the secretory pathway) 27, and the turnover of peroxisomes 28 and autophagosomes 29.
In order to visualize the sorting of APP from the TGN in live cells, we designed plasmid expressing the last 112 amino acids of APP coupled to photo-activatable (paGFP) on the C-terminal (referred to as βAPP-paGFP) 30. We have also performed these experiments with full length APP and achieved similar results; the ΒAPP construct is used here because it provides brighter images. We then photo-activate βAPP-paGFP only in the TGN, as demarcated by the TGN marker Galactosyltransferase (GalT). Although APP has been tagged with paGFP to visualize rapid axonal transport of APP and clearance from the perinuclear region, this is the first demonstration of APP trafficking from one carefully defined compartment to another 11,31,32. Here, we demonstrate accurate photo-activation within the TGN and the egress of APP into downstream compartments and subsequent cleavage and clearance from lysosomes 30. The accurate photo-activation within the Golgi is widely applicable to other protein systems.