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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Interview: Protein Folding and Studies of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 16, 2008
Prion Proteins Without the Glycophosphatidylinositol Anchor: Potential Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Valerija Kovač1, Vladka Čurin Šerbec1
1Department for the Production of Diagnostic Reagents and Research, Blood Transfusion Centre of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Abstract:
Prion protein (PrP) is a biomolecule that is involved in neuronal signaling, myelinization, and the development of neurodegenerative diseases. In the cell, PrP is shed by the ADAM10 protease. This process generates PrP molecules that lack glycophosphatidylinositol anchor, and these molecules incorporate into toxic aggregates and neutralize toxic oligomers. Due to this dual role, these molecules are important biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we present shed PrP as a potential biomarker, with a focus on PrP226*, which may be the main biomarker for predicting neurodegenerative diseases in humans.
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