| Author/Editor | Amin, Ladan; Nguyen, Xuan T. A.; Rolle, Irene Giulia; D'Este, Elisa; Giachin, Gabriele; Tran, Thanh; Čurin-Šerbec, Vladka; Cojoc, Dan; Legname, Giuseppe | |
| Title | Characterization of prion protein function by focal neurite stimulation | |
| Type | članek | |
| Vol. and No. | Letnik 129, št. 20 | |
| Publication year | 2016 | |
| Volume | str. 3878-3891 | |
| ISSN | 0021-9533 - Journal of cell science | |
| Language | eng | |
| Abstract | The cellular prion protein (PrPC), encoded by the PRNP gene, is a ubiquitous glycoprotein, which is highly expressed in the brain. This protein, mainly known for its role in neurodegenerative diseases, is involved in several physiological processes including neurite outgrowth. By using a novel focal stimulation technique, we explored the potential function of PrPC, in its soluble form, as a signaling molecule. Thus, soluble recombinant prion proteins (recPrP) encapsulated in micro-vesicles were released by photolysis near the hippocampal growth cones. Local stimulation of wild-type growth cones with full-length recPrP induced neurite outgrowth and rapid growth cone turning towards the source. This effect was shown to be concentration dependent. Notably, PrPC-knockout growth cones were insensitive to recPrP stimulation, but this property was rescued in PrP-knockout growth cones expressing GFP-PrP. Taken together, our findings indicate that recPrP functions as a signaling molecule, and that its homophilic interaction with membrane-anchored PrPC might promote neurite outgrowth and facilitate growth cone guidance. | |
| Keywords | prion protein neurodegenerative diseases neurite outgrowth prionski protein nevrodegenerativne bolezni nevritno izraščanje |