Recombinant human BACE-1 protein

BACE-1, also known as beta-secretase 1 isoform A, is a member of aspartic protease and an integral membrane protein. It is involved in the proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) . This protein cleaves at the N-terminus of the A-beta peptide sequence of APP, and then leads to the generation and extracellular release of beta-cleaved soluble APP, and a corresponding cell-associated C-terminal fragment which is later released by gamma-secretase. It has been implicated in the onset and/or progression of Alzheimer's disease. It is also distantly related to the pathogenic aspartic-acid protease plasmepsin, which is a potential target for future anti-malarial drugs. Recombinant human BACE-1, fused to His-tag at C-terminus, was expressed in insect cell and purified by using conventional chromatography techniques.