The prolyl isomerase Pin1 regulates amyloid precursor protein processing and amyloid-β production

Neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease are neurofibrillary tangles composed of tau and neuritic plaques comprising amyloid-beta peptides (A beta) derived from amyloid precursor protein (APP), but their exact relationship remains elusive(1-3). Phosphorylation of tau and APP on certain serine or threonine residues preceding proline affects tangle formation and A beta production in vitro(3-5). Phosphorylated Ser/Thr-Pro motifs in peptides can exist in cis or trans conformations, the conversion of which is catalysed by the Pin1 prolyl isomerase(6,7). Pin1 has been proposed to regulate protein function by accelerating conformational changes(7-10), but such activity has never been visualized and the biological and pathological significance of Pin1 substrate conformations is unknown(7). Notably, Pin1 is downregulated and/or inhibited by oxidation in Alzheimer's disease neurons, Pin1 knockout causes tauopathy and neurodegeneration(8,9,11,12), and Pin1 promoter polymorphisms appear to associate with reduced Pin1 levels and increased risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease(13,14). However, the role of Pin1 in APP processing and A beta production is unknown. Here we show that Pin1 has profound effects on APP processing and A beta production. We find that Pin1 binds to the phosphorylated Thr 668-Pro motif in APP and accelerates its isomerization by over 1,000-fold, regulating the APP intracellular domain between two conformations, as visualized by NMR. Whereas Pin1 overexpression reduces A beta secretion from cell cultures, knockout of Pin1 increases its secretion. Pin1 knockout alone or in combination with overexpression of mutant APP in mice increases amyloidogenic APP processing and selectively elevates insoluble A beta 42 (a major toxic species) in brains in an age-dependent manner, with A beta 42 being prominently localized to multivesicular bodies of neurons, as shown in Alzheimer's disease before plaque pathology(15). Thus, Pin1-catalysed prolyl isomerization is a novel mechanism to regulate APP processing and A beta production, and its deregulation may link both tangle and plaque pathologies. These findings provide new insight into the pathogenesis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.