EGR1 and Alzheimer disease: On the other hand, EGR1 may impair the brain’s cholinergic function in the preclinical stages of AD via the upregulation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE)35, and EGR1 regulates tau phosphorylation and Aβ synthesis in the brain by enhancing activities of Cdk5 and BACE-1, respectively36.