There has been an accumulation of information on frequencies of insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms within the bovine prion protein gene (PRNP) and on the number of octapeptide repeats and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding region of bovine PRNP related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) susceptibility. We investigated the frequencies of 23-bp indel polymorphism in...

Our discovery of dominant-negative inhibition of prion formation in cultured cells provided an explanation for the resistance of some sheep to scrapie and humans to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. To determine whether dominant-negative inhibition occurs in vivo, we produced transgenic (Tg) mice expressing prion protein (PrP) with either the Q167R or Q218K mutation alone or in combination with wild-t...

Cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) is a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein. When mutated or misfolded, the pathogenic form (PrP(SC)) induces transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. In contrast, PrP(C) has a number of physiological functions in several neural processes. Several lines of evidence implicate PrP(C) in synaptic transmission and neuroprotection since its absence resu...

BACKGROUND Prionopathies are characterized by spongiform brain degeneration, myoclonia, dementia, and periodic electroencephalographic (EEG) disturbances. The hallmark of prioniopathies is the presence of an abnormal conformational isoform (PrP(sc)) of the natural cellular prion protein (PrP(c)) encoded by the Prnp gene. Although several roles have been attributed to PrP(c), its putative functi...

Abstract Background and Aims Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an irreversible degenerative characterized by gradual loss of renal function, contributing to high morbidity mortality as well heavy economic cost society. Clinically, there are few available strategies slow CKD progression. Because the uremic phenotypes include many features aging, considered a premature aging syndrome. Neurodegenera...

The c.341G>T (p.G114V) variant of the prion protein gene (PRNP) has been reported in a Uruguayan and a Chinese family to cause an inheritable prion disease, albeit with incomplete penetrance. The condition is characterized by early-onset, relatively prolonged course, early neuropsychiatric symptoms, followed by pyramidal and extrapyramidal symptoms. We present a 20-year-old African American wom...

BACKGROUND Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS) is a type of human transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that is determined genetically. CASE REPORT A 46-year-old woman presented with a slowly progressive ataxic gait and cognitive decline. She was alert but did not cooperate well due to severe dementia and dysarthria. High signal intensities in the cerebral cortices were evide...

A novel point mutation resulting in a glutamate-to-glycine substitution in PRNP at codon 200, E200G with codon 129 MV polymorphism (cis valine) and type 2 PrPSc was identified in a patient with a prolonged disease course leading to pathology-proven Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease. Despite the same codon as the most common genetic form of human PRNP mutation, E200K, this novel mutation (E200G) present...

Introduction: The prion diseases form a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases, also described as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which are caused by abnormal conformational isomers (PrP) of the host-encoded prion proteins (PrP) (1). The mechanism by which prions elicit brain damage and the relative contributions of PrP accumulation and PrP depletion to the prion replicatio...