Fragments of Amyloid β Induce Apoptosis in Vascular Endothelial Cells

Injury to cells that was triggered by fragments of amyloid beta protein (A beta) was studied in human vascular endothelial cells. A fragment of A beta containing amino acids 25-35 promoted cell death, but fragments of A beta containing amino acids 31-35 and 35-25 did not have such an effect. The fragment of A beta containing amino acids 25-35 induced cell death that was characterized as programmed cell death (apoptosis) in view of the accompanying morphological changes, the fragmentation of DNA, and the requirement for protein synthesis.