We found that specific neutrophil proteins could cleave amyloid beta peptide. My first thought was that the smaller products were probably less toxic than the full amyloid beta 1-42 peptide. However, I have not seen much literature on what the smaller fragments of the amyloid beta peptide do. I'm specifically interested in Ab1-32, Ab1-31, Ab1-24, Ab1-12, Ab15-31, and Ab12-26, since these are products that were formed by the neutrophil proteins. (I did find one recent article by Mazzitelli et al., indicating the 1-24 might be toxic.) If anyone has any other information on what these peptides do and whether or not they are toxic, that would be very helpful.
Hi Joshua,
Thank you for your useful input on this! I'm really intrigued by the idea that amyloid beta is antimicrobial and that certain pathogens might play a role in AD. I get mixed responses from people when I start bringing this up. Our lab found that the antimicrobial protein, CAP37, is increased in neurons in AD patients so I do think there may be some truth to this theory. Hopefully, further research will shed light on whether there are some other functions of these smaller amyloid beta fragments and whether they are toxic or not. Thanks!
Josh,
You might find this article useful:
http://www.intechopen.com/books/neurochemistry/physiological-role-of-amyloid-beta-in-neural-cells-the-cellular-trophic-activity
It discusses some of the physiological roles of amyloid beta 1-40 and 1-42.
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