ApoE, ApoE Receptors, and the Synapse in Alzheimer's Disease

Publication date: Available online 2 January 2017
Source:Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism
Author(s): Courtney Lane-Donovan, Joachim Herz
As the population ages, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) are becoming a significant burden on patients, their families, and health-care systems. Neurodegenerative processes may start up to 15 years before outward signs and symptoms of AD, as evidenced by data from AD patients and mouse models. A major genetic risk factor for late-onset AD is the ɛ4 isoform of apolipoprotein E (ApoE4), which is present in almost 20% of the population. In this review we discuss the contribution of ApoE receptor signaling to the function of each component of the tripartite synapse – the axon terminal, the postsynaptic dendritic spine, and the astrocyte – and examine how these systems fail in the context of ApoE4 and AD.



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