Amyloid-like protein 1, also known as APLP1, is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 that in humans is encoded by the APLP1 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

. APLP1 along with APLP2

APLP2

Amyloid beta precursor-like protein 2, also known as APLP2, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the APLP2 gene. APLP2 along with APLP1 are important modulators of glucose and insulin homeostasis.- Function :...

 are important modulators of glucose

Glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...

 and insulin

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....

 homeostasis

Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties like temperature or pH...

.

Function

This gene encodes a member of the highly conserved amyloid precursor protein

Amyloid precursor protein

Amyloid precursor protein is an integral membrane protein expressed in many tissues and concentrated in the synapses of neurons. Its primary function is not known, though it has been implicated as a regulator of synapse formation, neural plasticity and iron export...

 gene family. The encoded protein is a membrane-associated glycoprotein that is cleaved by secretase

Secretase

Secretases are enzymes that "snip" pieces off a longer protein that is embedded in the cell membrane.thumb|300px|right|Processing of the amyloid precursor protein Among other roles in the cell, secretases act on the amyloid precursor protein to cleave the protein into three fragments...

s in a manner similar to amyloid beta A4 precursor protein cleavage. This cleavage liberates an intracellular cytoplasmic fragment that may act as a transcriptional activator. The encoded protein may also play a role in synaptic maturation during cortical development. Alternatively spliced

Alternative splicing

Alternative splicing is a process by which the exons of the RNA produced by transcription of a gene are reconnected in multiple ways during RNA splicing...

 transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described.

APLP1 and APLP2

APLP2

Amyloid beta precursor-like protein 2, also known as APLP2, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the APLP2 gene. APLP2 along with APLP1 are important modulators of glucose and insulin homeostasis.- Function :...

 double knockout mice

Knockout mouse

A knockout mouse is a genetically engineered mouse in which researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out," an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA...

 display hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia or hypoglycæmia is the medical term for a state produced by a lower than normal level of blood glucose. The term literally means "under-sweet blood"...

 and hyperinsulinemia

Hyperinsulinemia

Hyperinsulinemia, or hyperinsulinaemiais a condition which there is excess levels of insulin circulating in the blood than expected relative to the level of glucose. While it is often mistaken for diabetes or hypoglycaemia, hyperinsulinemia can result from a variety of metabolic diseases and...

indicating that these two proteins are important modulators of glucose and insulin homeostasis.