Genetic Modifiers of Presenilin
Principal Investigator
Project Summary
This project is aimed at the identification of genes that may modify the susceptibility to, or severity of, Alzheimer's disease. The model organism Drosophila (the fruit fly) is being used to perform a screen for genes that interact genetically with the Drosophila presenilin gene. Dr. Boulianne is also screening for proteins that physically interact directly with presenilin. Candidate genes identified through these approaches will be evaluated in transgenic mice for their ability to contribute to the development of an Alzheimer's disease phenotype. The results of this study could further the goal of creating a more useful animal model for the discovery of additional Alzheimer's-related genes.
Publications
Boulianne, G.L. (2001). Neuronal regulation of life span: clues from flies and worms. Mechanisms of aging and development. 122(9): 883-894. 
[Book Chapter] Livne-Bar, I. and Boulianne, G.L. (2001) Identifying preseniliin-interacting genes in Drosophila. In: Alzheimer's Disease &Related Disorders. Ed. K. Iqbal, D.F. Swaab, B. Winblad &H.M. Wisniewski (J. Wiley and Sons, Ltd.). Guo, Y., Zhang, S.X., Sokol, N., Cooley, L., and Boulianne, G.L. (2000) Physical and genetic interaction of filamins with presenilin in Drosophila. Journal of Cell Science. 113 Pt 19:3499-3508.
[PMID:nd] Boulianne, G.L. (1999) The genetics of aging. Mature Medicine. 2(3):171-173.[link not available] Guo, Y., Livne-Bar, I., Zhou, L., and Boulianne, G.L. (1999) Drosophila presenilin is required for neuronal differentiation and affects notch subcellular localization and signaling. J. Neuroscience. 19(19): 8435-8442.
[ [PMID:nd] Livne-Bar, I., Guo, Y., and Boulianne, G.L. (1999) Molecular genetics and mutational analysis of the Drosophila presenilin gene. Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders. #67[link not available]
First published on: June 11, 2008
Last modified on: November 24, 2024