Abstract
The physiological form of the prion protein is normally expressed in mammalian cell and is highly conserved among species, although its role in cellular function remains elusive. Available evidence suggests that this protein is essential for neuronal integrity in the brain, possibly with a role in copper metabolism and cellular response to oxidative stress. In prion diseases, the benign cellular form of the protein is converted into an insoluble, protease-resistant abnormal scrapie form. This conversion parallels a conformational change of the polypeptide from a predominantly α-helical to a highly β-sheet secondary structure. The scrapie form accumulates in the central nervous system of affected individuals, and its protease-resistant core aggregates into amyloid fibrils outside the cell. The pathogenesis and molecular basis of the nerve cell loss that accompanies this process are not understood. Limited structural information is available on aggregate formation by this protein as the possible cause of these diseases and on its toxicity. A large amount of structure-activity studies is based on the prion fragment approach, but the resulting information is often difficult to untangle. This overview focuses on the most relevant structural and functional aspects of the prion-induced conformational disease linked to peptides derived from the unstructured N-terminal and globular C-terminal domains.
Keywords: Amyloid, copper binding protein, N-linked glycoprotein, prion toxicity, prion structure, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
Current Protein & Peptide Science
Title: Conformational Diseases and Structure-Toxicity Relationships: Lessons from Prion-Derived Peptides
Volume: 8 Issue: 1
Author(s): Luisa Ronga, Pasquale Palladino, Susan Costantini, Angelo Facchiano, Menotti Ruvo, Ettore Benedetti, Raffaele Ragone and Filomena Rossi
Affiliation:
Keywords: Amyloid, copper binding protein, N-linked glycoprotein, prion toxicity, prion structure, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
Abstract: The physiological form of the prion protein is normally expressed in mammalian cell and is highly conserved among species, although its role in cellular function remains elusive. Available evidence suggests that this protein is essential for neuronal integrity in the brain, possibly with a role in copper metabolism and cellular response to oxidative stress. In prion diseases, the benign cellular form of the protein is converted into an insoluble, protease-resistant abnormal scrapie form. This conversion parallels a conformational change of the polypeptide from a predominantly α-helical to a highly β-sheet secondary structure. The scrapie form accumulates in the central nervous system of affected individuals, and its protease-resistant core aggregates into amyloid fibrils outside the cell. The pathogenesis and molecular basis of the nerve cell loss that accompanies this process are not understood. Limited structural information is available on aggregate formation by this protein as the possible cause of these diseases and on its toxicity. A large amount of structure-activity studies is based on the prion fragment approach, but the resulting information is often difficult to untangle. This overview focuses on the most relevant structural and functional aspects of the prion-induced conformational disease linked to peptides derived from the unstructured N-terminal and globular C-terminal domains.
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Cite this article as:
Ronga Luisa, Palladino Pasquale, Costantini Susan, Facchiano Angelo, Ruvo Menotti, Benedetti Ettore, Ragone Raffaele and Rossi Filomena, Conformational Diseases and Structure-Toxicity Relationships: Lessons from Prion-Derived Peptides, Current Protein & Peptide Science 2007; 8 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138920307779941505
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138920307779941505 |
Print ISSN 1389-2037 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-5550 |
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