The prion or the related Shadoo protein is required for early mouse embryogenesis

Rachel Young, Bruno Passet, Marthe Vilotte, Edmond P Cribiu, Vincent Béringue, Fabienne Le Provost, Hubert Laude, Jean-Luc Vilotte

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The prion protein PrP has a key role in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies but its biological function remains largely unknown. Recently, a related protein, Shadoo, was discovered. Its biological properties and brain distribution partially overlap that of PrP. We report that the Shadoo-encoding gene knockdown in PrP-knockout mouse embryos results in a lethal phenotype, occurring between E8 and E11, not observed on the wild-type genetic background. It reveals that these two proteins play a shared, crucial role in mammalian embryogenesis, explaining the lack of severe phenotype in PrP-knockout mammals, an appreciable step towards deciphering the biological role of this protein family.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3296-300
Number of pages5
JournalFEBS Letters
Volume583
Issue number19
Early online date18 Sept 2009
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 18 Sept 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Animals
  • Down-Regulation
  • Embryonic Development
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • Genes, Lethal
  • Lentivirus
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Prions

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