Journal
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
Volume 37, Issue 3, Pages 323-332Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00249-007-0246-z
Keywords
prion protein; PrPC; PrPSc; transmissible spongiform encephalopathy; amyloid precursor protein; Alzheimer's disease; exosomes
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Exosomes are small membranous vesicles secreted by a number of cell types and can be isolated from conditioned cell media or bodily fluids such as urine and plasma. Exosome biogenesis involves the inward budding of multivesicular bodies (MVB) to form intraluminal vesicles (ILV). When fused with the plasma membrane, the MVB releases the vesicles into the extracellular environment as exosomes. Proposed functions of these vesicles include roles in cell-cell signalling, removal of unwanted proteins, and the transfer of pathogens between cells, such as HIV-1. Another such pathogen which exploits this pathway is the prion, the infectious particle responsible for the transmissible neurodegenerative diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) of humans or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) of cattle. Interestingly, this work is mirrored by studies on another protein involved in neurodegenerative disease, the amyloid precursor protein (APP) which is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent work has found APP proteolytic fragments in association with exosomes, suggesting a common pathway previously unknown for proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. This review will be discussing the current literature regarding the role of exosomes in secretion of the proteins, PrP and APP, and the subsequent implications for neurodegenerative disease.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available