Voltage-dependent anion channel as a resident protein of lipid rafts: post-transductional regulation by estrogens and involvement in neuronal preservation against Alzheimer's disease

The voltage-dependent anion channel, VDAC, is present at the neuronal membrane, where it appears to participate, among others, in the extrinsic apoptotic pathway and in the modulation of amyloid-beta induced injury, suggesting the involvement of this channel in Alzheimer's disease (AD) neurotoxicity. VDAC is also highly concentrated in neuronal lipid raft microdomains of different mouse and human cognitive areas, where it has been shown associated with estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha), as a part of a 'signalosome' that may activate some intracellular signal transduction. At the plasma membrane level, estrogens and antiestrogens (tamoxifen) have been demonstrated to exert rapid antagonist effects on the activation of VDAC, through their distinct effects on the channel post-transductional modulation. Therefore, part of the alternative mechanisms of estrogen related to neuroprotection against amyloid-beta may involve VDAC phosphorylation, in order to maintain the channel in an unactivated (closing) state. Interestingly, VDAC-ER alpha association has been shown to be disrupted in neuronal lipid rafts of AD brains, in correlation with the aberrant lipid composition observed in these microstructures, suggesting that disturbance of protein interactions may be related to variation in the physico-chemical properties of these microdomains.