Expression of APP in brains of transgenic mice containing the entire human APP gene.

A major component of amyloid deposits found in Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome is the beta/A4 peptide, which is derived from the Alzheimer amyloid protein precursor (APP). Recent evidence indicates that increases in APP expression and/or beta/A4 peptide accumulation may underlie the amyloidosis characteristic of these diseases. In the present study, transgenic mice carrying the entire human APP gene were studied for expression of human APP. Significant expression of human APP protein was observed in these animals, and this expression paralleled the expression of endogenous APP. These results, which represent a first demonstration of significant human APP expression in transgenic animals, support the use of such animals to study human APP expression and processing in vivo and possibly as models for the amyloidosis associated with Alzheimer disease.