RESUMO
Amyloid-ß proteins (A ß), including Aß42 and A ß 43, are known pathogenesis factors of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Unwanted substances in the brain, including A ß, are generally removed by microglia, astrocytes, or neurons via a phagocytosis receptor. We observed that neurons and astrocytes engulfed A ß 42 and A ß 43, which are more neurotoxic than A ß 40. We previously showed that multiple-EGF like domains 10 (MEGF10) plays an important role in apoptotic cell elimination and is expressed in mammalian neurons and astrocytes. Therefore, we assessed whether MEGF10 is involved in A ß42 and A ß43 engulfment in MEGF10-expressing neurons and astrocytes. We found that MEGF10-expressing astrocytes and neurons engulfed A ß42 and A ß43 but not A ß40. Furthermore, incubation of the neurons and astrocytes with A ß42 and A ß43a ugmented MEGF10 phosphorylation; however, incubation with A ß40 did not have this augmenting effect. Our findings suggest that MEGF10 plays a phagocytosis receptor function for A ß42 and A ß43 in neurons and astrocytes.