title: Prion protein oligomer and its neurotoxicity.
abstract: The prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are fatal neurodegenerative disorders. According to the 'protein only' hypothesis, the key molecular event in the pathogenesis of prion disease is the conformational conversion of the host-derived cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) into a misfolded form (scrapie PrP, PrP(Sc)). Increasing evidence has shown that the most infectious factor is the smaller subfibrillar oligomers formed by prion proteins. Both the prion oligomer and PrP(Sc) are rich in β-sheet structure and resistant to the proteolysis of proteinase K. The prion oligomer is soluble in physiologic environments whereas PrP(Sc) is insoluble. Various prion oligomers are formed in different conditions. Prion oligomers exhibited more neurotoxicity both in vitro and in vivo than the fibrillar forms of PrP(Sc), implying that prion oligomers could be potential drug targets for attacking prion diseases. In this article, we describe recent experimental evidence regarding prion oligomers, with a special focus on prion oligomer formation and its neurotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 21009, China.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Fulin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Chenyun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Donghai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D011328:Prions
keywords: neurotoxicity; oligomer; prion; transmissible spongiform encephalopathies