AUTHOR=Bakkebø Maren K. , Mouillet-Richard Sophie , Espenes Arild , Goldmann Wilfred , Tatzelt Jörg , Tranulis Michael A. 

TITLE=The Cellular Prion Protein: A Player in Immunological Quiescence

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2015.00450

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2015.00450

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Despite intensive studies since the 1990s, the physiological role of the cellular prion protein (PrP<sup>C</sup>) remains elusive. Here, we present a novel concept suggesting that PrP<sup>C</sup> contributes to immunological quiescence in addition to cell protection. PrP<sup>C</sup> is highly expressed in diverse organs that by multiple means are particularly protected from inflammation, such as the brain, eye, placenta, pregnant uterus, and testes, while at the same time it is expressed in most cells of the lymphoreticular system. In this paradigm, PrP<sup>C</sup> serves two principal roles: to modulate the inflammatory potential of immune cells and to protect vulnerable parenchymal cells against noxious insults generated through inflammation. Here, we review studies of PrP<sup>C</sup> physiology in view of this concept.</p>