Analysis of the γ-secretase interactome and validation of its association with tetraspanin-enriched microdomains

gamma-Secretase, an aspartyl protease that belongs to the iCLiPs (intramembrane cleaving proteases) family, is a multiprotein complex that consists of presenilin (PS), nicastrin (NCT), Aph-1 and Pen-2 (ref. 1). It is responsible for generation of the beta-amyloid peptide (A beta), the primary component of senile plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Although the four components are necessary and sufficient for gamma-secretase activity(2-4), additional proteins are possibly involved in its regulation. Consequently, we purified proteins associated with the active gamma-secretase complex from reconstituted PS deficient fibroblasts, using tandem affinity purification (TAP)(5) and identified a series of proteins that transiently interact with the gamma-secretase complex and are probably involved in complex maturation, membrane trafficking and, importantly, the tetraspanin web. Tetraspanins form detergent-resistant microdomains in the cell membrane and regulate cell adhesion, cell signalling and proteolysis(6,7). Association of the gamma-secretase complex with tetraspanin-enriched microdomains provides an explanation for the previously documented localization of gamma-secretase to raft-like domains(8). Thus, these studies suggest that maintenance of the integrity of tetraspanin microdomains contributes to the refinement of proteolytic activity of the gamma-secretase complex.