AβPP/APLP2 Family of Kunitz Serine Proteinase Inhibitors Regulate Cerebral Thrombosis

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Abstract
The amyloid β-protein precursor (AβPP) is best recognized as the precursor to the Aβ peptide that accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, but less is known about its physiological functions. Isoforms of AβPP that contain a Kunitz-type serine proteinase inhibitor (KPI) domain are expressed in brain and, outside the CNS, in circulating blood platelets. Recently, we showed that KPI-containing forms of AβPP regulates cerebral thrombosisin vivo(Xu et al., 2005, 2007). Amyloid precursor like protein-2 (APLP2), a closely related homolog to AβPP, also possesses a highly conserved KPI domain. Virtually nothing is known of its function. Here, we show that APLP2 also regulates cerebral thrombosis risk. Recombinant purified KPI domains of AβPP and APLP2 both inhibit the plasma clottingin vitro. In a carotid artery thrombosis model, both AβPP−/−and APLP2−/−mice exhibit similar significantly shorter times to vessel occlusion compared with wild-type mice indicating a prothrombotic phenotype. Similarly, in an experimental model of intracerebral hemorrhage, both AβPP−/−and APLP2−/−mice produce significantly smaller hematomas with reduced brain hemoglobin content compared with wild-type mice. Together, these results indicate that AβPP and APLP2 share overlapping anticoagulant functions with regard to regulating thrombosis after cerebral vascular injury.
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