The Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Alzheimer's Disease

Min Cheng, Cui-Qing Zhu*
(State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China)

Abstract The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an important subcelluar organelle for the synthesis, posttranslational modification, and proper folding of protein. In some conditions, such as accumulation of unfolded protein or disruption of calcium in ER, ER stress is provoked. Normal cells respond to ER stress by activation of the unfolded protein response, to prevent protein misfolding, degrade misfolded protein and facilitate protein proper folding in ER. However, excessive or aberrant ER stress results in cell injury or death. Recent evidence indicates that neurodegenerative disorders in Alzheimer's disease are associated to aberrant ER stress. Further resolution of the molecular relationship between ER stress and neurodegeneration will provide novel insights into the mechanisms of AD pathology, and lead to new therapeutic targets for AD.

Key words endoplasmic reticulum stress; unfolded protein response; apoptosis; Alzheimer's disease; presenilin

Received: August 5, 2005 Accepted: April 10, 2006
*Corresponding author. Tel: 86-21-54237224, Fax: 86-21-64174579, E-mail: cqzhu@shmu.edu.cn