Nicastrin

Nicastrin
The gamma secretase complex, with nicastrin (red), presenilin-1 (orange), PEN-2 (blue), and APH-1 (green); lumenal membrane shown in red and cytoplasmic membrane shown in blue
250px
Available structures PDB Ortholog search: PDBe, RCSB List of PDB id codes 4UPC
Identifiers
Symbols	NCSTN ; ATAG1874
External IDs	OMIM: 605254 MGI: 1891700 HomoloGene: 41029 ChEMBL: 3418 GeneCards: NCSTN Gene
Gene ontology Molecular function • endopeptidase activity • protein binding Cellular component • lysosomal membrane • endoplasmic reticulum • Golgi apparatus • plasma membrane • integral component of plasma membrane • focal adhesion • membrane • integral component of membrane • melanosome • extracellular exosome Biological process • myeloid cell homeostasis • proteolysis • membrane protein ectodomain proteolysis • Notch signaling pathway • Notch receptor processing • axon guidance • protein processing • extracellular matrix disassembly • extracellular matrix organization • membrane protein intracellular domain proteolysis • T cell proliferation • amyloid precursor protein catabolic process • positive regulation of apoptotic process • positive regulation of catalytic activity • neurotrophin TRK receptor signaling pathway • ephrin receptor signaling pathway • beta-amyloid metabolic process • epithelial cell proliferation • apoptotic signaling pathway Sources: Amigo / QuickGO
RNA expression pattern
File:PBB GE NCSTN 208759 at tn.png
More reference expression data
Orthologs
Species	Human	Mouse
Entrez	23385	59287
Ensembl	ENSG00000162736	ENSMUSG00000003458
UniProt	Q92542	P57716
RefSeq (mRNA)	NM_001290184	NM_021607
RefSeq (protein)	NP_001277113	NP_067620
Location (UCSC)	Chr 1: 160.34 – 160.36 Mb	Chr 1: 172.07 – 172.08 Mb
PubMed search	[1]	[2]

Nicastrin, also known as NCSTN, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NCSTN gene.

Function

Nicastrin (abbreviated NCT) is a protein that is part of the gamma secretase protein complex, which is one of the proteases involved in processing amyloid precursor protein (APP) to the short Alzheimer's disease-associated peptide amyloid beta. The other proteins in the complex are PSEN1 (presenilin-1), which is the catalytically active component of the complex, APH-1 (anterior pharynx-defective 1), and PEN-2 (presenilin enhancer 2). Nicastrin itself is not catalytically active, but instead promotes the maturation and proper trafficking of the other proteins in the complex, all of which undergo significant post-translational modification before becoming active in the cell. Nicastrin has also been identified as a regulator of neprilysin, an enzyme involved in the degradation of amyloid beta fragment.

History

The protein was named after the Italian village Nicastro, reflecting the fact that Alzheimer's disease was described in 1963 after studying descendants of an extended family originating in the village of Nicastro that had Familial Alzheimer's Disease (FAD).

Interactions

Nicastrin has been shown to interact with PSEN1 and PSEN2.

External links

• nicastrin protein at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)de:Nicastrin