Gamma-secretase subunits associate in intracellular membrane compartments in Arabidopsis thaliana
2014
Skrzypczak, Tomasz | Michalak, Michal | Lesniewicz, Krzysztof | Walker, J. Ross | Ingram, Gwyneth
Gamma-secretase is a multisubunit complex with intramembrane proteolytic activity. In humans it was identified in genetic screens of patients suffering from familial forms of Alzheimer's disease, and since then it was shown to mediate cleavage of more than 80 substrates, including amyloid precursor protein or Notch receptor. Moreover, in animals, gamma-secretase was shown to be involved in regulation of a wide range of cellular events, including cell signalling, regulation of endocytosis of membrane proteins, their trafficking, and degradation. Here we show that genes coding for gamma-secretase homologues are present in plant genomes. Also, amino acid motifs crucial for gamma-secretase activity are conserved in plants. Moreover, all gamma-secretase subunits: PS1/PS2, APH-1, PEN-2, and NCT colocalize and interact with each other in Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts. The intracellular localization of gamma-secretase subunits in Arabidopsis protoplasts revealed a distribution in endomembrane system compartments that is consistent with data from animal studies. Together, our data may be considered as a starting point for analysis of gamma-secretase in plants.
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