Integrated transcriptomics uncovers an enhanced association between the prion protein gene expression and vesicle dynamics signatures in glioblastomas.

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumor that exhibits resistance to current treatment, making the identification of novel therapeutic targets essential. In this context, cellular prion protein (PrP) stands out as a potential candidate for new therapies. Encoded by the PRNP gene, PrP can present increased expression levels in GBM, impacting cell proliferation, growth, migration, invasion and stemness.

Unconventional Protein Secretion in Brain Tumors Biology: Enlightening the Mechanisms for Tumor Survival and Progression.

Non-canonical secretion pathways, collectively known as unconventional protein secretion (UPS), are alternative secretory mechanisms usually associated with stress-inducing conditions. UPS allows proteins that lack a signal peptide to be secreted, avoiding the conventional endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi complex secretory pathway. Molecules that generally rely on the canonical pathway to be secreted may also use the Golgi bypass, one of the unconventional routes, to reach the extracellular space.

Extracellular vesicles throughout development: A potential roadmap for emerging glioblastoma therapies.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-delimited vesicular bodies carrying different molecules, classified according to their size, density, cargo, and origin. Research on this topic has been actively growing through the years, as EVs are associated with critical pathological processes such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Despite that, studies exploring the physiological functions of EVs are sparse, with particular emphasis on their role in organismal development, initial cell differentiation, and morphogenesis.

Multifaceted WNT Signaling at the Crossroads Between Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Autophagy in Glioblastoma.

Tumor cells can employ epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) or autophagy in reaction to microenvironmental stress. Importantly, EMT and autophagy negatively regulate each other, are able to interconvert, and both have been shown to contribute to drug-resistance in glioblastoma (GBM). EMT has been considered one of the mechanisms that confer invasive properties to GBM cells.

A New Take on Prion Protein Dynamics in Cellular Trafficking.

The mobility of cellular prion protein (PrP) in specific cell membrane domains and among distinct cell compartments dictates its molecular interactions and directs its cell function. PrP works in concert with several partners to organize signaling platforms implicated in various cellular processes. The scaffold property of PrP is able to gather a molecular repertoire to create heterogeneous membrane domains that favor endocytic events.

Prion Protein at the Leading Edge: Its Role in Cell Motility.

Cell motility is a central process involved in fundamental biological phenomena during embryonic development, wound healing, immune surveillance, and cancer spreading. Cell movement is complex and dynamic and requires the coordinated activity of cytoskeletal, membrane, adhesion and extracellular proteins. Cellular prion protein (PrP) has been implicated in distinct aspects of cell motility, including axonal growth, transendothelial migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, formation of , and tumor migration and invasion.