Based on an admixture mapping study of a large cohort of Caribbean Hispanics, a genomic region that includes the gene GCAT has been proposed as a candidate susceptibility locus for late-onset Alzheimer disease. GCAT was assessed further by fine-mapping experiments; a significant decrease in the GCAT protein levels was observed in the prefrontal cortex in AD brains. There is a single ortholgous gene in Drosophila, Dmel\Gcat, for which RNAi-targeting constructs and alleles caused by insertional mutagenesis have been generated.
The human GCAT gene has not been introduced into flies.
Results in human suggest that reduced GCAT expression exacerbates Alzheimer disease pathology. In a Drosophila Alzheimer disease model (FBhh0000119) in which expression in the eye can be used to monitor disease severity, Dmel\Gcat knockdown exacerbates the observed rough eye phenotype.
[Updated Jun. 2022 by FlyBase; FBrf0222196]
Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common form of progressive dementia in the elderly. [from MIM:104300; 2016.01.08]
Memory loss is the most common sign of Alzheimer disease. As the disorder progresses, some people with AD experience personality and behavioral changes; other common symptoms include agitation, restlessness, withdrawal, and loss of language skills. Total care is usually required during the advanced stages of the disease. Affected individuals usually survive 8 to 10 years after the appearance of symptoms, but the course of the disease can range from 1 to 25 years. Death usually results from pneumonia, malnutrition, or general body wasting. [from Genetics Home Reference, Alzheimer disease; 2016.01.08]
Alzheimer disease can be classified as early-onset or late-onset. The signs and symptoms of the early-onset form appear before age 65, while the late-onset form appears after age 65. The early-onset form is much less common than the late-onset form, accounting for less than 5 percent of all cases of Alzheimer disease. [from Genetics Home Reference, Alzheimer disease; 2016.01.08]
GCAT encodes a protein involved in degradation of L-threonine to glycine. [Gene Cards, GATC; 2022.06.14]
One to one: 1 human gene to 1 Drosophila gene; multiple related genes in both species.
High-scoring ortholog of human GCAT (1 Drosophila to 1 human; multiple related genes in both species).
