PRNP Recombinant Protein

The protein encoded by this gene is a membrane glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein that tends to aggregate into rod-like structures. The encoded protein contains a highly unstable region of five tandem octapeptide repeats. This gene is found on chromosome 20, approximately 20 kbp upstream of a gene which encodes a biochemically and structurally similar protein to the one encoded by this gene. Mutations in the repeat region as well as elsewhere in this gene have been associated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, fatal familial insomnia, Gerstmann-Straussler disease, Huntington disease-like 1, and kuru. An overlapping open reading frame has been found for this gene that encodes a smaller, structurally unrelated protein, AltPrp. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2014]

Its primary physiological function is unclear. May play a role in neuronal development and synaptic plasticity. May be required for neuronal myelin sheath maintenance. May promote myelin homeostasis through acting as a agonist for ADGRG6 receptor. May play a role in iron uptake and iron homeostasis. Soluble oligomers are toxic to cultured neuroblastoma cells and induce apoptosis (in vitro) (). Association with GPC1 (via its heparan sulfate chains) targets PRNP to lipid rafts. Also provides Cu2+ or ZN2+ for the ascorbate-mediated GPC1 deaminase degradation of its heparan sulfate side chains ().