Effects of PrP 106-126 on Expression of Laminin and Fibronectin in Astrocyte

Astrogliosis is a hallmark of prion disease,but the metabolic alterations of astrocytes remain poorly documented.A synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acid 106-126 of prion protein(PrP) has been shown to be toxic to neurons.In this study,VB-2 cells and astrocytes were used,the effects of PrP 106-126 on astrocytes were investigated in vitro.The experiment was divided into five groups(Control,Scr,PrP106-126,MICM,MiCMPrP106-126).The proliferation of astrocytes was significantly(P0.01) increased when grown in media conditioned with PrP 106-126 from microglia.The expression of laminin(LN) and fibronectin(FN) was examined at both mRNA and protein levels at 48 h.The results showed that exposure of astrocytes to PrP 106-126 enhanced the cell viability and the expression of LN and FN.The increase of FN in astrocyte cultures required cytokines previously released by activated microglia.