NEDD9 and neoplasm: Casoli, et al. have proposed that mitochondrial DNA mutations are also important factors in AD.25 The two structural proteins NEDD9 (neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally down-regulated 9) and CASS4 (Cas scaffolding protein family member 4) and the kinase PTK2B (protein tyrosine kinase type 2 beta) apart from their roles in neoplasia, have been found to have a role in inflammation, hypoxia, vascular changes, microtubule stability and calcium signaling, and are relevant in AD.26