Minor prion substrains overcome transmission barriers.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian prion diseases are infectious neurodegenerative diseases caused by the self-templating form of the prion protein PrP^Sc. Much evidence supports the hypothesis that prions exist as a mixture of a dominant strain and minor prion strains. While it is known that prions can infect new species, the relative contribution of the dominant prion strain and minor strains in crossing the species barrier is unknown. We previously identified minor prion strains from a biologically cloned drowsy (DY) strain of hamster-adapted transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME). Here we show that these minor prion strains have increased infection efficiency to rabbit kidney epithelial cells that express hamster PrP^C compared to the dominant strain DY TME. Using protein misfolding cyclic

SUBMITTER: Steadman BS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11559082 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature