Cellular roles of the prion protein in association with reggie/flotillin microdomains

The prion protein (PrP) has been implicated in many diverse functions, making it difficult to pinpoint its basic physiological role. Our most recent studies in zebrafish, mammalian and invertebrate cells indicate that PrP regulates cell-cell communication, as well cell-matrix interactions at focal adhesions. In addition, we previously have shown that upon antibody-mediated cross-linking, PrP can be induced to cluster in the preformed T-cell cap. Here we review these data and discuss how the spatial link between PrP and the microdomain-forming proteins reggie- 1 (flotillin-2) and reggie-2 (flotillin-1) may contribute to PrP signaling, leading to the local assembly of membrane protein complexes at sites involved in cellular communication, such as cell-cell contacts, focal adhesions, the T-cell cap, and synapses.