Extracellular interface between APP and Nicastrin regulates Aß length and response to γ-secretase modulators.

ABSTRACT

γ-Secretase complexes (GSECs) are multimeric membrane proteases involved in a variety of physiological processes and linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Presenilin (PSEN, catalytic subunit), Nicastrin (NCT), Presenilin Enhancer 2 (PEN-2), and Anterior Pharynx Defective 1 (APH1) are the essential subunits of GSECs. Mutations in PSEN and the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) cause early-onset AD GSECs successively cut APP to generate amyloid-ß (Aß) peptides of various lengths. AD-causing mutations destabilize GSEC-APP/Aßn interactions and thus enhance the production of longer Aßs, which elicit neurotoxic events underlying pathogenesis. Here, we investigated the molecular strategies that anchor GSEC and APP/Aßn during the sequential proteolysis. Our studies reveal that a direct interaction between NCT ectodomain and APPC99 influences the stability of GSEC-Aßn assemblies and thereby modulates Aß length. The data suggest a potential link between single-nucleotide variants in NCSTN and AD risk. Furthermore, our work indicates that an extracellular interface between the protease (NCT, PSEN) and the substrate (APP) represents the target for compounds (GSMs) modulating Aß length. Our findings may guide future rationale-based drug discovery efforts.