Physiological role of the cellular prion protein (PrPc): protein profiling study in two cell culture systems

The physiological role of the cellular prion protein (PrP (c)) is still not fully understood. Current evidence strongly suggests that PrP (c) overexpression in different cell lines sensitizes cells to apoptotic stimuli through a p53 dependent pathway. On the other hand, an expression of PrP (c) in PrP (c)-deficient cells undergoing apoptosis exhibited repeatedly antiapoptotic effects. Therefore, the presence/absence and/or the level of PrP (c) expression seem to be critical for the fluctuation between PrP (c)'s pro- and antiapoptotic properties. The present study examined whether an overexpression of PrP (c) itself, without addition of any apoptotic agent, can lead to proteome changes that might account for the higher responsiveness to apoptotic stimuli. Beyond this, we examined whether the sole introduction of PrP (c) into PrP (c)-deficient cells could be sufficient to up-regulate antiapoptotic proteins capable of mitigating apoptosis. For this purpose, we used two cell lines, one expressing [human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells] and the other lacking (mouse neuronal PrP (c)-deficient cells) endogenous PrP (c). Protein profiling following transient PrP (c) overexpression in HEK 293 cells revealed a major PrP (c) involvement in regulation of proteins participating in energy metabolism and cellular homeostasis, whereas transient introduction of PrP (c) into mouse neuronal PrP (c)-deficient cells resulted mainly in the regulation of proteins involved in protection against oxidative stress and apoptosis. In addition, we report for the first time that PrP (c) overexpression influenced the regulation of several proteins known to have contributory roles in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD). Revealing the correlation between presence/absence and/or different levels of PrP (c) expression with the regulation of certain cellular proteins might further contribute to our understanding of the complex role of PrP (c) in cell physiology.