AUTHOR=Mehrabian Mohadeseh , Ehsani Sepehr , Schmitt-Ulms Gerold TITLE=An emerging role of the cellular prion protein as a modulator of a morphogenetic program underlying epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology VOLUME=2 YEAR=2014 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2014.00053 DOI=10.3389/fcell.2014.00053 ISSN=2296-634X ABSTRACT=

Knowledge of phenotypic changes the cellular prion protein (PrPC) contributes to may provide novel avenues for understanding its function. Here we consider data from functional knockout/down studies and protein–protein interaction analyses from the perspective of PrP's relationship to its ancestral ZIP metal ion transporting proteins. When approached in this manner, a role of PrPC as a modulator of a complex morphogenetic program that underlies epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) emerges. To execute EMT, cells have to master the challenge to shift from cell-cell to cell-substrate modes of adherence. During this process, cell-cell junctions stabilized by E-cadherins are replaced by focal adhesions that mediate cell-substrate contacts. A similar reprogramming occurs during distinct organogenesis events that have been shown to rely on ZIP transporters. A model is presented that sees ZIP transporters, and possibly also PrPC, affect this balance of adherence modes at both the transcriptional and post-translational levels.