Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

Frontiers Media, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, (6)

DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2014.00025

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Hijacking PrPc-dependent signal transduction: when prions impair Aβ clearance

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Preprint: archiving allowed
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Postprint: archiving allowed
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Published version: archiving allowed
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

The cellular prion protein PrP(c) is the normal counterpart of the scrapie prion protein PrP (Sc), the main component of the infectious agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The recent discovery that PrP (c) can serve as a receptor for the amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide and relay its neurotoxicity is sparking renewed interest on this protein and its involvement in signal transduction processes. Disease-associated PrP (Sc) shares with Aβ the ability to hijack PrP (c)-dependent signaling cascades, and thereby instigate pathogenic events. Among these is an impairment of Aβ clearance, uncovered in prion-infected neuronal cells. These findings add another facet to the intricate interplay between PrP (c) and Aβ. Here, we summarize the connection between PrP-mediated signaling and Aβ clearance and discuss its pathological implications.