Title:Potential Clinical Role of Prokineticin 2 (PK2) in Neurodegenerative
Diseases
Volume: 20
Issue: 11
Author(s): Daniela Maftei, Tommaso Schirinzi, Nicola B. Mercuri, Roberta Lattanzi and Cinzia Severini*
Affiliation:
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council of Italy, Italy
Keywords:
Prokyneticin 2, neuroinflammation, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, therapeutic targets, clinical biomarkers.
Abstract: The role of the immune system in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease
(AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) has become clear in recent decades, as evidenced by the
presence of activated microglia and astrocytes and numerous soluble mediators in the brain and peripheral
tissues of affected patients. Among inflammatory mediators, chemokines play a central role
in neuroinflammation due to their dual function as chemoattractants for immune cells and molecular
messengers in crosstalk among CNS-resident cells. The chemokine Bv8/Prokineticin 2 (PK2) has
recently emerged as an important player in many age-related and chronic diseases that are either
neurodegenerative or systemic. In this perspective paper, we briefly discuss the role that PK2 and its
cognate receptors play in AD and PD animal models and in patients. Given the apparent changes in
PK2 blood levels in both AD and PD patients, the potential clinical value of PK2 either as a disease
biomarker or as a therapeutic target for these disorders is discussed.