NupL2 Protein and mRNA Expression is Downregulated in Alzheimer's Disease

The nuclear pore complex is a structure that is found in the nuclear envelope. The nuclear pore complex is made of proteins known as nucleoporins, or Nups. There are many classes of Nups, one of which is Nups with phenylalanine-guanine repeats (FG-Nups). The FG-Nups help control the transport of material through the nuclear pore complex. One type of FG-Nup is NupL2. Previous mRNA data have shown that there is lower expression of NupL2 in Alzheimer's Disease brains than there is in control brains. However, these data are specific to mRNA expression, and do not necessarily extend to NupL2 protein levels. This study focuses on NupL2 levels in non-diseased samples and Alzheimer's Disease samples. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) with 3,3'-diaminobenzidine was performed on temporal neo-cortical brain tissue. Western blots were also performed to quantify the protein levels in non-diseased samples and Alzheimer's Disease samples, and were completed using middle temporal gyrus lysates. The IHC results show that there is more NupL2 protein expression in non-diseased samples than there is in Alzheimer's Disease samples. Likewise, the western blot data show higher NupL2 protein levels in non-diseased samples than in Alzheimer's Disease samples. Both the IHC data and the western blot data indicate that there are higher NupL2 expression levels in non-diseased samples than in Alzheimer's Disease samples. Decreased NupL2 expression in Alzheimer's Disease may indicate that it is not functioning properly. This could lead to the leaking of material between the nucleoplasm and the cytoplasm, which may in turn contribute to Alzheimer's Disease pathogenesis.