Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with an inherited form of the disease carry mutations in the presenilin proteins (PSEN1; PSEN2) or the amyloid precursor protein (APP). These disease-linked mutations result in increased production of the longer form of amyloid-beta (main component of amyloid deposits found in AD brains). Presenilins are postulated to regulate APP processing through their effects on gamma-secretase, an enzyme that cleaves APP. Also, it is thought that the presenilins are involved in the cleavage of the Notch receptor, such that they either directly regulate gamma-secretase activity or themselves are protease enzymes. Two alternative transcripts of PSEN2 have been identified.[2]
In melanocytic cells PSEN2 gene expression may be regulated by MITF.[3]
↑Hoek KS, Schlegel NC, Eichhoff OM, Widmer DS, Praetorius C, Einarsson SO, Valgeirsdottir S, Bergsteinsdottir K, Schepsky A, Dummer R, Steingrimsson E (2008). "Novel MITF targets identified using a two-step DNA microarray strategy". Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 21 (6): 665–676. doi:10.1111/j.1755-148X.2008.00505.x. PMID19067971.
↑Passer BJ, Pellegrini L, Vito P, Ganjei JK, D'Adamio L (August 1999). "Interaction of Alzheimer's presenilin-1 and presenilin-2 with Bcl-X(L). A potential role in modulating the threshold of cell death". J. Biol. Chem. 274 (34): 24007–13. doi:10.1074/jbc.274.34.24007. PMID10446169.
↑Shinozaki K, Maruyama K, Kume H, Tomita T, Saido TC, Iwatsubo T, Obata K (May 1998). "The presenilin 2 loop domain interacts with the mu-calpain C-terminal region". Int. J. Mol. Med. 1 (5): 797–9. doi:10.3892/ijmm.1.5.797. PMID9852298.
↑Buxbaum JD, Choi EK, Luo Y, Lilliehook C, Crowley AC, Merriam DE, Wasco W (October 1998). "Calsenilin: a calcium-binding protein that interacts with the presenilins and regulates the levels of a presenilin fragment". Nat. Med. 4 (10): 1177–81. doi:10.1038/2673. PMID9771752.
↑Choi EK, Zaidi NF, Miller JS, Crowley AC, Merriam DE, Lilliehook C, Buxbaum JD, Wasco W (June 2001). "Calsenilin is a substrate for caspase-3 that preferentially interacts with the familial Alzheimer's disease-associated C-terminal fragment of presenilin 2". J. Biol. Chem. 276 (22): 19197–204. doi:10.1074/jbc.M008597200. PMID11278424.
↑Tanahashi H, Tabira T (September 2000). "Alzheimer's disease-associated presenilin 2 interacts with DRAL, an LIM-domain protein". Hum. Mol. Genet. 9 (15): 2281–9. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.hmg.a018919. PMID11001931.
↑Morohashi Y, Hatano N, Ohya S, Takikawa R, Watabiki T, Takasugi N, Imaizumi Y, Tomita T, Iwatsubo T (April 2002). "Molecular cloning and characterization of CALP/KChIP4, a novel EF-hand protein interacting with presenilin 2 and voltage-gated potassium channel subunit Kv4". J. Biol. Chem. 277 (17): 14965–75. doi:10.1074/jbc.M200897200. PMID11847232.
↑Lee SF, Shah S, Li H, Yu C, Han W, Yu G (November 2002). "Mammalian APH-1 interacts with presenilin and nicastrin and is required for intramembrane proteolysis of amyloid-beta precursor protein and Notch". J. Biol. Chem. 277 (47): 45013–9. doi:10.1074/jbc.M208164200. PMID12297508.
↑Yu G, Nishimura M, Arawaka S, Levitan D, Zhang L, Tandon A, Song YQ, Rogaeva E, Chen F, Kawarai T, Supala A, Levesque L, Yu H, Yang DS, Holmes E, Milman P, Liang Y, Zhang DM, Xu DH, Sato C, Rogaev E, Smith M, Janus C, Zhang Y, Aebersold R, Farrer LS, Sorbi S, Bruni A, Fraser P, St George-Hyslop P (September 2000). "Nicastrin modulates presenilin-mediated notch/glp-1 signal transduction and betaAPP processing". Nature. 407 (6800): 48–54. doi:10.1038/35024009. PMID10993067.
McGeer PL, Kawamata T, McGeer EG (1998). "Localization and possible functions of presenilins in brain". Reviews in the neurosciences. 9 (1): 1–15. doi:10.1515/REVNEURO.1998.9.1.1. PMID9683324.
Nishimura M, Yu G, St George-Hyslop PH (1999). "Biology of presenilins as causative molecules for Alzheimer disease". Clin. Genet. 55 (4): 219–225. doi:10.1034/j.1399-0004.1999.550401.x. PMID10361981.
da Costa CA (2006). "Recent insights on the pro-apoptotic phenotype elicited by presenilin 2 and its caspase and presenilinase-derived fragments". Current Alzheimer Research. 2 (5): 507–514. doi:10.2174/156720505774932278. PMID16375654.