Mapping the Prion Protein Distribution in Marsupials: Insights from Comparing Opossum with Mouse CNS

Abstract

The cellular form of the prion protein (PrPC) is a sialoglycoprotein widely expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) of mammalian species during neurodevelopment and in adulthood. The location of the protein in the CNS may play a role in the susceptibility of a species to fatal prion diseases, which are also known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). To date, little is known about PrPC distribution in marsupial mammals, for which no naturally occurring prion diseases have been reported. To extend our understanding of varying PrPC expression profiles in different mammals we carried out a detailed expression analysis of PrPC distribution along the neurodevelopment of the metatherian South American short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). We detected lower levels of PrPC in white matter fiber bundles of opossum CNS compared to mouse CNS. This result is consistent with a possible role for PrPC in the distinct neurodevelopment and neurocircuitry found in marsupials compared to other mammalian species. © 2012 Poggiolini, Legname.