[PRIO_SHEEP] Note=Polymorphism at position 171 may be related to the alleles of scrapie incubation-control (SIC) gene in this species. Note=Found in high quantity in the brain of humans and animals infected with degenerative neurological diseases such as kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Straussler syndrome (GSS), scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME), etc. Note=Scrapie is a transmissible neurodegenerative disorder of sheep and goats. Most sheep that contract the disease naturally die between 24 and 50 months of age. The incubation period in sheep depends on the strain(s) of the infecting pathogen, sheep age at exposure, and the sheep genotype. The survival time is mainly determined by a single genetic locus, SIP, which has two alleles, susceptible (sa) and resistant (pa). Short incubation period is conferred by the partially dominant sa allele. Scrapie can be spread between flockmates, or it can be transmitted from an infected ewe to its lamb.
Function
[PRIO_SHEEP] May play a role in neuronal development and synaptic plasticity. May be required for neuronal myelin sheath maintenance. May play a role in iron uptake and iron homeostasis. Soluble oligomers are toxic to cultured neuroblastoma cells and induce apoptosis (in vitro). Association with GPC1 (via its heparan sulfate chains) targets PRNP to lipid rafts. Also provides Cu(2+) or ZN(2+) for the ascorbate-mediated GPC1 deaminase degradation of its heparan sulfate side chains (By similarity).
