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Advances in research on Shadoo, shadow of prion protein

  • Progress
  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
  • Published:
Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

Prion plays a central role in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, also known as prion diseases. However, the biology of the protein and the pathophysiology of these diseases remain largely unknown. It has been speculated that additional factor or factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of prion diseases. Recently, a PrP-like protein, recognized as shadow of prion protein (Shadoo, Sho), is thought to be an interesting candidate factor because both the prion protein and Sho have been shown to have overlapping expression patterns and shared functions. Therefore, extensive study of Sho may advance our understanding of the enigmatical biology of prion and prion diseases. In this review, recent studies on Sho associated with prion diseases and functions are summarized. These studies have demonstrated the functional importance of Sho, and they further need to investigate its biological roles in prion diseases.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31060302, 31260032) and the Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province (2010CD010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resource, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China

    Siqi Wang, Hui Zhao & Yaping Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China

    Yaping Zhang

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  1. Siqi Wang
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  2. Hui Zhao
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Correspondence to Hui Zhao.

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Wang, S., Zhao, H. & Zhang, Y. Advances in research on Shadoo, shadow of prion protein. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 821–827 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0129-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0129-5

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