This web page was produced as an assignment for Gen677, an undergraduate course at UW-Madison Spring 2009
Human SORL1 Gene Details
The SORL1 gene contains over 177,000 base pairs. Unfortunately most of the programs (Motif, MEME, etc) only allow a maximum of 60,000 bases to be entered in any one search. This largely prevented me from getting a comprehensive view of the gene. This is unfortunate because the results from Rogaeva indicate that the most interesting parts of the SORL1 gene are the intronic sequences. It is believe that these parts of the gene play a vital role in determining the level of expression which in turn controls the pathway in which APP is processed, which in turn controls the amount of AD plaque formation.
The picture above (from the Alzheimer Association) illustrates one of the characteristic pathologies of AD, amyloid beta plaques. SORL1 is believed to play a vital role in determining the level of the plaque precursor available. Unlocking the inner workings of this gene may help us understand more of the AD pathology.
| Dodson et. al. J Neuroscience | |
| File Size: | 555 kb |
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References
Rogaeva, E., et. al. (2007) The neuronal sortilin-related receptor SORL1 is genetically associated with Alzheimer disease. Nature Genetics, 39 (2)
Dodson, S.E. et. al. (2008) Loss of LR11/SORLA Enhances Early Pathology in a Mouse Model of Amyloidosis: Evidence for a Proximal Role in Alzheimer's Disease. J. Neurosci. 2008;28:12877-12886
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Last Updated 5/13/09
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