The cytosolic domain of APP and its possible role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

APP is a type I membrane protein of unknown function, whose proteolytic processing, driven by beta- and gamma-secretases, generates the beta-amyloid peptides, one of the hallmarks of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. The short cytosolic domain of APP is the center of a complex network of protein-protein interactions. This network appears to play a crucial role in the regulation of the APP processing and in turn in the generation of the amyloid peptides, thus suggesting candidate targets for new therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, some possible functions of APP could just emerge from the study of this cytodomain and its partners.