Study: Protein Associated With Alzheimer's Protects Body from Ultraviolet Rays

A protein associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease appears to play a central role in defending the body against harmful ultraviolet light rays, according to a study reported in the September issue of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal.

The brains of deceased Alzheimer's disease sufferers are regularly found to contain plaque that consist primarily of Abeta peptides, which are thought to trigger the disease by destroying brain cells.

Abeta is split off from a larger protein called APP, which has been detected not only in the nerve cells in areas of the brain, but elsewhere in the body.

The researchers wanted to find out why the body creates APP and more about the protein's biological function.

The team of German and Italian researchers found that APP appears to ensure that the melanin that protects the skin from sunlight is transported properly to skin cells that absorb it for protection. This process when done correctly prevents the formation of the Alzheimer's protein Abeta.

Researcher Volker Herzog, a cell biologist at the University of Bonn in Germany, observed that APP has two extremely different faces: the cause of a threatening disease and the performer of a vital function.

"The Abeta peptide might therefore be a pathogenic remnant of a protein otherwise vital to our well-being," he said.

Other sources: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology