[5] It also degrades the amyloid beta peptide whose abnormal folding and aggregation in neural tissue has been implicated as a cause of Alzheimer's disease.

Synthesized as a membrane-bound protein, the neprilysin ectodomain is released into the extracellular domain after it has been transported from the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface.

[6] CD10 is of use in hematological diagnosis since it is expressed by early B, pro-B and pre-B lymphocytes, and by lymph node germinal centers.

[8] Neprilysin-deficient knockout mice show both Alzheimer's-like behavioral impairment and amyloid-beta deposition in the brain,[9] providing strong evidence for the protein's association with the Alzheimer's disease process.

Because neprilysin is thought to be the rate-limiting step in amyloid beta degradation,[10] it has been considered a potential therapeutic target; compounds such as the peptide hormone somatostatin have been identified that increase the enzyme's activity level.