Prion proposal proved

Article Abstract:

Prions are particles of proteins that do not contain nucleic acids (the components that combine to make up the genetic information necessary for replication). At the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Stanley Prusiner presented results showing that prions can cause degenerative diseases in the brain, such as scrapie in sheep and Creutzfelt-Jakob disease in humans, and that prions are infectious, able to spread from one living thing to another. The prion protein was isolated and the gene encoding the protein was isolated and studied. The protein is present in normal brains, but a specific genetic mutation is associated with the development of Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker (GSS) syndrome, a degenerative disease similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. GSS could be caused in mice by introducing the mutant prion gene into transgenic mice (mice that have received a foreign gene while in the embryonic stage). Another group of mice was inoculated with brain tissue from the diseased transgenic mice. Eight months later, clinical signs similar to scrapie developed in 15 out of the 93 animals injected. However, these results are preliminary and it is still not yet proven that the prion particles are infectious and the disease they cause can spread to other animals. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Conferences, meetings and seminars, Genetic aspects, Central nervous system diseases, Prions, Prions (Proteins), American Association for the Advancement of Science, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Scrapie, Prusiner, Stanley B.

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Getting a grip on G protein function in C. elegans

Article Abstract:

Researchers have found genetic evidence that G protein plays an important role in the nerve signalling pathways that control some behaviors in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans.

Physiological aspects, Caenorhabditis elegans, G proteins

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