Recombinant Mouse BACE-1 Protein, CF

BACE-1 is an aspartic protease and an integral membrane protein (1, 2). It is the major beta secretase, and together with the gamma secretase, is responsible for generating the amyloid beta peptide (A beta) from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) (3, 4). Because A beta is a major component of amyloid plaques, BACE-1 has been implicated in the onset and/or progression of Alzheimer's disease. High levels of BACE-1 activity are sufficient to elicit neurodegeneration and neurological decline in vivo, indicating that inhibiting BACE-1 may block not only A beta-dependent but also A beta-independent pathogenic mechanisms (5). In addition to APP, BACE-1 also cleaves APP-like proteins 1 and 2, the cell adhesion protein P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 and beta-galactoside alpha2,6-sialyltransferase, implying that BACE-1 may have additional functions involving the ectodomain shedding of membrane proteins (6-8). The purified recombinant mouse BACE-1 corresponds to the ectodomain with the activity as described in Activity Assay Protocol.