Figure 3. Amyloidogenic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP).
APP is processed by subsequent cleavages of two aspartate-proteases: the β-side cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) and the presenilin 1 and 2, which are part of the γ-secretase complex. BACE1 cleavage generates a C-terminal fragment (β-CTF) that is finally processed by presenilin 1 or 2 to liberate the amyloid β peptide, that is prone to aggregate into oligomers.