CLU and Alzheimer disease: Despite the role of CLU as a risk gene in AD being largely considered to be linked to inflammation or cholesterol metabolism (the Aβ-independent pathways in AD), as a glycoprotein with some chaperone properties it has been found to bind Aβ, and therefore one potential role of clusterin is in the clearance pathway of Aβ fibrils and peptides (Ghiso et al., 1993; Zlokovic et al., 1996).