EXPRESSION AND LOCALIZATION IN THE FISH RETINA OF A HOMOLOG OF THE ALZHEIMERS RELATED PS1 GENE

EARLY-ONSET familial Alzheimer's disease (early-onset FAD) has been li nked with mutations in the presenilin gene, PS1. Mutations in PS1 may affect the processing/ trafficking of beta-amyloid precursor-protein ( beta APP) and favour the production of toxic amyloid-beta fragments th at are associated with neural degeneration. This study reports the exp ression of a PS1-like cDNA in the carp (Cyprinus carpio) retina (the e ncoded protein shows 76% identity to the human PS1 protein). Carp PS1 mRNA was localized by in situ hybridization to the photoreceptor cell, inner nuclear and ganglion cell layers. Expression of the PS1 gene in the rat retina was also confirmed. The retinal expression of PS1 rais es the possibility that PS1 mutations also lead to neural degeneration in the retina. NeuroReport 9: 3115-3122 (C) 1998 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.