Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Isolation of Soluble and Insoluble PrP Oligomers in the Normal Human Brain
Published on: October 3, 2012
Has prion protein important physiological function?
Michal Prcina1, Eva Kontsekova
1Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 845 10 Bratislava, Slovak Republic. michal.prcina@savba.sk
Abstract:
Despite the great effort aimed at uncovering the physiological function of cellular prion protein, its role remains unclear. The highly conserved amino acid sequence of PrP indicates its important function, but normally developing PrP knockout mice and cattle were prepared. Here we propose hypothesis that prion protein has no function or a redundant one and more importantly, that the conserved amino acid sequence of mammalian PrPs is not the result of their important function, but rather due to cytotoxicity of most mutations occurring in the PrP molecule. It is possible that the majority of mutations in PrP dramatically destabilizes the PrP(C) structure and causes a pathological change in conformation, so that natural selection favours individuals with non-mutated PrP.
Related Concept Videos
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
Protein Folding

