The positive correlation trend in MCI and the robust correlation in AD between Pin1 activity and phosphorylated tau implies that increasing phosphorylated tau during AD pathogenesis may induce the compensatory activation/up-regulation of Pin1, while the inverse correlation between Pin1 activity and phosphorylated tau in NCI group implies that decreased Pin1 may play a role in the initial accumulation of phosphorylated tau in AD pathogenesis.
The aim of this study was to analyse the genotype and allele distributions of these PIN-1 SNPs in MCI subjects diagnosed respectively as amnestic MCI (a-MCI) and multiple impaired cognitive domains (mcd-MCI) on the basis of cognitive features.
Because of the diverse functions of Pin1, and the discovery that this protein is one of the oxidized proteins common to both MCI and AD brain, the question arises as to whether Pin1 is one of the driving forces for the initiation or progression of AD pathogenesis, finally leading to neurodegeneration and neuronal apoptosis.