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PMID: 12181490 Published · ppublish English Journal Article

Transmission of prions.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ·Vol. 99 Suppl 4 ·2002-12-10 ·Pages 16378-83

Weissmann C, Enari M, Klöhn PC, Rossi D, Flechsig E

Abstract

The "protein only" hypothesis states that the infectious agent causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies is a conformational isomer of PrP, a host protein predominantly expressed in brain, and is strongly supported by many lines of evidence. Prion diseases are so far unique among conformational diseases in that they are transmissible, not only experimentally but also by natural routes, mainly by ingestion. A striking feature of prions is their extraordinary resistance to conventional sterilization procedures, and their capacity to bind to surfaces of metal and plastic without losing infectivity. This property, first observed in a clinical setting, is now being investigated in experimental settings, both in animals and in cell culture.

MeSH Terms
Animals Humans Prion Diseases/transmission
Authors & Affiliations
5 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Weissmann C
Medical Research Council Prion Unit, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom. charles.weissmann@prion.ucl.ac.uk
Enari M
Klöhn P-C
Rossi D
Flechsig E
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Article Info
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Abbr.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
ISSN
0027-8424
DOI
10.1073/pnas.172403799
Email
charles.weissmann@prion.ucl.ac.uk
Published
2002-12-10
Epub
2002-00-14
Pages
16378-83
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7505876
PMCID
PMC139897
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1073/pnas.172403799 PMC Full Text View journal details
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