Transthyretin regulates hippocampal 14-3-3ζ protein levels

Transthyretin is the carrier protein of thyroxine and retinol in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid and has been described also as a neuroprotective molecule. 14-3-3 Proteins are very important in many cellular processes, being their absence related with deficits in memory and learning. The analysis of the relationship between these two proteins is the main objective of this work. We found that hippocampi of young TTR null mice presented lower levels of 14-3-3ζ protein, but no changes in gene expression when compared to TTR wild type littermates were noted. Cellular studies ascribed this finding to increased degradation of 14-3-3ζ in lysosomes in the absence of TTR, increasing autophagy.