Cellular Prion Protein and Sexual Dimorphic Areas in Rodents. Correlates with Alzheimer Disease

The cellular prion protein (PrPC) expression was analyzed by western-blot in the rat, in two different dimorphic brain areas such as the anterior hypothalamic and the preoptic areas. In both cases, the PrPC expression was increased in males, implying a sexual dimorphism for the PrPC protein. The study was also made in other two brain areas, frontal cortex and hyppocampus (a clearly dimorphic area); in this case, mice of different ages of both sexes were used. In both brain areas analyzed, although the PrPC expression was increased with age until the adult age (38 weeks), it was decreased in aged animals (56 weeks) in both sexes. The PrPC expression in mouse hippocampus was predominant in males in comparison to females. Moreover, the non-glycosylated band was increased with age and this increase was parallel with the increase observed for the glycolsylated band. The non-glycosylated band increases more in aged females. Altogether, these data suggest that PrP in rodents, in the brain areas analyzed, has a dimorphism role. As we discuss in the present study and in relation to previous studies of our group these data could be extrapolated to humans (specially in Alzhemer disease cases).