BACE is an aspartic-acid protease important in the formation of myelin sheaths in peripheral nerve cells. The transmembrane protein contains two active site aspartate residues in its extracellular protein domain and may function as a dimer. BACE is an attractive target for inhibitors in AD therapy since it catalyses the first and rate limiting step in amyloidogenic APP processing. BACE is distantly related to the pathogenic aspartic-acid protease plasmepsin, which is a potential target for future anti-malarial drugs.
