Prions (this will probably be covered in lab on Friday)
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Transcript Prions (this will probably be covered in lab on Friday)
“Scrapie”
“mad cow disease”
Prions
Nobel Prize 1997
Dr. Stanley Prusiner
Prions
What are prions?
What is the evidence for prions?
Notable prion diseases
Modes of obtaining “prion” diseases
Infectious pathogens resistant to:
From: S. Prusiner, 1998: Nobel Laureate for Prions
Once the requirement of protein for infectivity was established, I
thought that it was appropriate to give the infectious pathogen of
scrapie a provisional name that would distinguish it from both viruses
and viroids. After some contemplation, I suggested the term "prion,"
derived from proteinaceous and infectious (58). At that time, I defined
prions as proteinaceous infectious particles that resist inactivation by
procedures that modify nucleic acids. I never imagined the irate
reaction of some scientists to the word "prion" it was truly remarkable!
Prion Diseases
Can have very long incubation periods
Present at approximately 50-60 years of age
Invariably fatal in a matter of months
Prions have been linked to various related neurological diseases
Dr. Carleton Gajdusek
Kuru: human
Fatal Familial Insomnia: human
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (human)
Brain tissue
Kuru
New Guinea
Prion Diseases in Animals
Scrapie (goats, sheep)
BSE or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (cattle)
Chronic Wasting Disease (deer, elk)
Creutzfeld Jakob
Scrapie
BSE
KURU
Normal Mammalian Cells Have a:
PrP gene
PrP protein
Perhaps functions in cell communication
Prion diseases happen as a result of modified PrP
PrP
http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/features/prions/
The modified PrP forms “rods” and destroys nerve cells.
“Holes in the tissues are where the
Nerve cells have been destroyed”.
Proteins that replicate
PrP
Rod shape
structures
Various strains of prions
Prion diseases may present as:
Genetic
Sporadic
Infectious
PrP
And many other manners of contact
with infected tissue.
Treatment
Currently no available treatment
Future drugs may target
Binding
of modified PrP to wt Prp
Onto HIV/AIDS