Alzheimer's disease culture cell. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a cell used in Alzheimer's disease research. This cell has been genetically engineered to produce amyloid precursor protein (APP), which in turn forms the protein amyloid. Plaques of amyloid in the brain are a major pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease. This cell was cultured from a nerve cancer (neuroblastoma), and has shorter and more numerous processes (dendrites and axons) than a healthy nerve cell. Alzheimer's is a brain-wasting disease common in the elderly. It causes confusion, memory loss, personality changes and eventually death. Magnification unknown.