Presenilins: a novel link between intracellular calcium signaling and lysosomal function?
Mutations in presenilins (PS), transmembrane proteins encoding the catalytic subunit of γ-secretase, result in familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). Several studies have identified lysosomal defects in cells lacking PS or expressing FAD-associated PS mutations, which have been previously attributed to a function for PS in lysosomal acidification. Now, in this issue, Coen et al. (2012. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201201076) provide a series of results that challenge this idea and propose instead that presenilins play a role in calcium-mediated lysosomal fusion.
Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. Ilya.Bezprozvanny@utsouthwestern.edu
Ilya
I
Bezprozvanny
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D053764:Presenilin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D025262:Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000378:metabolism*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C508853:PSEN1 protein, human; D053764:Presenilin-1; D025262:Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases; C550849:Vha100-1 protein, Drosophila; D002118:Calcium