Presenilins in the genesis of a Alzheimer's disease

Introduction. With their discovery in 1995, presenilins were put forward as molecules of unknown function but central to the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. Development. The fact that point and splice mutations lead to an increase in the amount of Abeta peptide produced by the cells, provided further support for the amyloid theory about the origin of the disease and on the other hand, placed these molecules in the central part of this theory. Different groups showed that these proteins had also roles in several cellular pathways, among those, the notch pathway is one of the most important, as it is with the interaction among presenilin I and beta-catenin. Recently, several works have suggested that presenilins are molecules involved in the processing of A PP by being an integral part of the protein complex that process the precursor to produce the amyloid peptide. Conclusion, In this paper, I will give an overview of some of the most recent work developed towards the identification of presenilin function and its involvement in Alzheimer's disease.