Mutant presenilin 2 transgenic mouse: effect on an age-dependent increase of amyloid beta-protein 42 in the brain
J Neurochem 71(1): 313-22
| Authors/Editors: |
Oyama F Sawamura N Kobayashi K Morishima-Kawashima M Kuramochi T Ito M Tomita T Maruyama K Saido TC Iwatsubo T Capell A Walter J Grunberg J Ueyama Y Haass C Ihara Y |
|---|---|
| Publication Date: | 1998 |
| Type of Publication: | Journal Article |
The N141I missense mutation in presenilin (PS) 2 is tightly linked with a form of autosomal dominant familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the Volga German families. We have generated transgenic mouse lines overexpressing human wild-type or mutant PS2 under transcriptional control of the chicken beta-actin promoter. In the brains of transgenic mice, the levels of human PS2 mRNA were found to be five- to 15-fold higher than that of endogenous mouse PS2 mRNA. The amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) 42 levels in the brains of mutant PS2 transgenic mice were higher than those in wild-type PS2 transgenic mice at the age of 2, 5, or 8 months. In addition, the Abeta42 levels appeared to increase steadily in the mutant PS2 transgenic mouse brains from 2 to 8 months of age, whereas there was only a small increase in wild-type transgenic mice between the ages of 5 and 8 months. There was no definite difference in the levels of N-terminal and C-terminal fragments between wild-type and mutant PS2 transgenic mice at the age of 2, 5, or 8 months. These data show a definite effect of the PS2 mutation on an age-dependent increase of Abeta42 content in the brain.
