We have investigated the intracellular trafficking of a chimeric molecule consisting of the cytoplasmic domain of the -amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the transmembrane region and external domain of the human transferrin receptor (TR) in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Newly synthesized APP-TR chimeras are selectively targeted to the basolateral surface by a tyrosinedependent sorting signal in the APP cytoplasmic tail. APP-TR chimeras are then rapidly internalized from the basolateral surface and a significant fraction (ϳ20 -30%) are degraded. Morphological studies show that APP-TR chimeras internalized from the basolateral surface are found in tubulo-vesicular endosomal elements, internal membranes of multivesicular bodies, and lysosomes. APP-TR chimeras are also found in 60-nm diameter vesicles previously shown to selectively deliver wild-type TR to the basolateral surface; this result is consistent with the fact that 90% of internalized chimeras that are not degraded are selectively recycled back to the basolateral surface. APP-TR chimeras internalized from the apical surface are selectively transcytosed to the basolateral surface underscoring the importance of basolateral sorting in the endocytic pathway for maintaining the polarized phenotype. Tyr-653, an important element of the YTSI internalization signal in the APP cytoplasmic domain, is required for basolateral sorting in the biosynthetic and endocytic pathways. However, the structural features for basolateral sorting differ from those required for internalization.
Alzheimer's disease (AD)1 is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting ϳ1-6% of people over the age of 65. A characteristic neuropathological feature of AD is the senile plaque, which contains -amyloid (A), a 39 -43 amino acid peptide derived from the -amyloid precursor protein (APP), a type I integral transmembrane protein whose cellular function is unknown (1, 2). Located on chromosome 21, the gene encoding APP is alternatively-spliced, and several isoforms of differing amino acid lengths are expressed. Genetic studies have revealed mutations in the coding region of APP genes isolated from a small minority of affected individuals with early onset familial AD, and it has been shown that one of these mutations, the Swedish double mutation, leads to secretion of elevated levels of A (3, 4). These observations led to the hypothesis that increased or abnormal A production plays a central role in the pathogenesis of AD. While it is clear that generation of A necessarily involves two proteolytic cleavages of APP: one in the extracellular domain and another in the transmembrane region, how APP is converted to A in terms of proteolytic enzymes involved, cellular location of these cleavage events, and factors regulating its production remain to be determined (2). An alternative proteolytic cleavage by another unidentified enzyme (referred to as ␣-secretase) thought to reside on or near the plasma membrane leads to production of a large soluble fragment (APP s ) comprised of most...