Defective autophagy and Alzheimer’s disease: is calcium the key?

Presenilins and autophagy: Presenilin 1 (PS1) and presenilin 2 (PS2) are homologous, multi-pass transmembrane proteins endowed with pleiotropic functions, ranging from the regulation of membrane trafficking to cell differentiation. Their catalytic activity within the γ-secretase complex, an aspartyl-protease responsible for the intramembrane cleavage of several different type I transmembrane proteins, has been intensively studied in the context of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Indeed, tens of autosomal dominant mutations in the PSEN1 and PSEN2 genes (encoding PS1 and PS2, respectively) have been associated with the rare familial forms of AD (FAD).