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. 2016 Jul 5;8:160. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00160

FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1

Mechanisms of Aβ clearance by glial cells. Astrocytes and microglia can produce Aβ degrading proteases neprilysin (NEP), endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE), insulin degrading enzyme (IDE), matrix metalloproteases (MMPs), cathepsin B (CAT-B) as well as chaperones apolipoprotein E (ApoE), apolipoprotein J (ApoJ), α-2 macroglobulin (α2-M), α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) involved in the clearance of Aβ. Receptors located in the surface of glial cells such as lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP-1), scavenger receptors (SR), formyl peptide receptors (FPR), macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO), receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM-2) are involved in the uptake and clearance of Aβ (receptor mediated endocytosis). Astrocytes are also connected to blood vessels, where they are implicated in the draining of Aβ and other products out of the brain.