Navigation Links
Scripps Research Institute scientists show copper facilitates prion disease
Date:8/10/2012

LA JOLLA, CA, August 9, 2012 Many of us are familiar with prion disease from its most startling and unusual incarnationsthe outbreaks of "mad cow" disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) that created a crisis in the global beef industry. Or the strange story of Kuru, a fatal illness affecting a tribe in Papua New Guinea known for its cannibalism. Both are forms of prion disease, caused by the abnormal folding of a protein and resulting in progressive neurodegeneration and death.

While exactly how the protein malfunctions has been shrouded in mystery, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute now report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that reducing copper in the body delays the onset of disease. Mice lacking a copper-transport gene lived significantly longer when infected with a prion disease than did normal mice.

"This conclusively shows that copper plays a role in the misfolding of the protein, but is not essential to that misfolding," said Scripps Research Professor Michael Oldstone, who led the new study.

"We've known for many years that prion proteins bind copper," said Scripps Research graduate student Owen Siggs, first author of the paper with former Oldstone lab member Justin Cruite. "But what scientists couldn't agree on was whether this was a good thing or a bad thing during prion disease. By creating a mutation in mice that lowers the amount of circulating copper by 60 percent, we've shown that reducing copper can delay the onset of prion disease."

Zombie Proteins

Unlike most infections, which are caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites, prion disease stems from the dysfunction of a naturally occurring protein.

"We all contain a normal prion protein, and when that's converted to an abnormal prion protein, you get a chronic nervous system disease," said Oldstone. "That occurs genetically (spontaneously in some people) or is acquired by pass
'/>"/>

Contact: Mika Ono
mikaono@scripps.edu
858-784-2052
Scripps Research Institute
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Scripps Research discoveries lead to newly approved drug for infant respiratory distress syndrome
2. Scripps Research Institute scientists find promising vaccine targets on hepatitis C virus
3. Scripps Research Institute Professor Gerald F. Joyce elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
4. Scripps Research Institute scientists develop antidote for cocaine overdose
5. Scientist wins $3 million renewal of one of longest-running NIH grants to Scripps Research
6. Scripps research scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit
7. Scripps Florida scientist awarded $1.5 million to design therapeutics with new RNA approach
8. Scripps Florida scientists identify neurotranmitters that lead to forgetting
9. Plastic trash altering ocean habitats, Scripps study shows
10. Scripps Florida scientists awarded $8.4 million grant to develop new anti-smoking treatments
11. Esther B. OKeeffe Foundation gives $2 million to the Scripps Research Institute
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
Scripps Research Institute scientists show copper facilitates prion disease
(Date:6/19/2013)... -- New York College of Health Professions announces the publishing ... Office for detecting biometric changes through smart phones, apps ... injured, attacked or killed. This patent is ... Agreements of New York College of Health Professions. ... New York College says, "Our Chairman, ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... expected to contribute to a very large and potentially ... a University of Michigan ecologist and colleagues who released ... Chesapeake Bay. , The Gulf forecast, one of two ... for an oxygen-depleted, or hypoxic, region of between 7,286 ... the 10 largest on record. , The low end ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and ... new open access journal, GeoResJ . , ... and planetary science journals portfolio has its first open ... forum for rapid publication of top research within the ... by six Executive Editors, each covering a different discipline, ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):New Technology Using Biometrics Detects If Security Guards Are Attacked, Injured Or Killed 2New Technology Using Biometrics Detects If Security Guards Are Attacked, Injured Or Killed 3New Technology Using Biometrics Detects If Security Guards Are Attacked, Injured Or Killed 4U-M researcher and colleagues predict possible record-setting Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' 2U-M researcher and colleagues predict possible record-setting Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' 3U-M researcher and colleagues predict possible record-setting Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' 4
... into the atmosphere by power plants and agricultural activities plays ... a global scale, but the impact is greatly amplified in ... research by atmospheric and marine chemists. Ocean acidification ... nitrogen mix with seawater, a process which lowers the pH ...
... an enzyme down a new evolutionary pathway, a team ... form of an enzyme capable of producing a range ... properties. Writing in the current issue (Sept. 9, ... of researchers from the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy describes ...
... the great flood of Noahs generation really occur thousands of ... an ancient tsunami" Will pollution levels in our deep seas ... few of the questions that are being addressed by a ... the non-profit research and education organization, EcoOcean. The ...
Cached Biology News:Acid rain has a disproportionate impact on coastal waters 2Acid rain has a disproportionate impact on coastal waters 3Using evolution, UW team creates a template for many new therapeutic agents 2TAU scientists probe 'deep' questions aboard EcoOcean's environmental research ship 2TAU scientists probe 'deep' questions aboard EcoOcean's environmental research ship 3
(Date:6/20/2013)... 20, 2013 Dental decay is the ... obesity and asthma. For Dr. Crisafulli of Crisafulli Dental those ... caries research in the world and implemented a cavity prevention ... of tooth decay by up to 74% . ... Risk Assessment. “I finally found a solution to dental decay ...
(Date:6/20/2013)... (PRWEB) June 20, 2013 Conscires offer ... levels of interests and budgets., , ... on Scrum basics and the ScrumMaster role. In addition ... group activities and discussions on the necessary soft skills ... Scrum Team, and company-oriented Scrum implementation aspects. , ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 For an ... Waterless Bead Baths using metallic beads instead ... electricity, and do not require germicides. Yet, the bead ... because the bath is always ready unlike a water ... create a dry bath, which eliminates the contamination and ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... An article posted earlier this week by Fox News ... probiotics. The article stated that while many products are claiming ... listed, the actual use for probiotics may go beyond ... the total uses of probiotics have not yet been discovered, ... “miracle” bacterium, and debunked the myths surrounding them. , ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Crisafulli Dental Launches Ground Breaking Cavity Prevention Program That Can Lower Decay Rates by 74% 2Presenting Agile and Scrum Private Trainings in Kansas by Conscires Agile Practices 2Cole-Parmer Introduces Eco-Friendly Waterless Bead Baths 2Natural Acne Remedy, Probiotic Action Explains the Science behind Using Probiotics for Better Health 2
... , Evelyn McGown, Ph.D. , Molecular Devices Corporation. ... introduced SPECTRAmax , the first microplate reader equipped ... selection. It was also the first microplate reader capable ... transformed the microplate reader from a limited colorimetric filterbased ...
... , , ... Protein concentration is commonly estimated by measuring the ... extinction coefficient of the protein. The procedure is feasible because ... fixed 1 cm pathlength. Extinction-based protein assays can also be ...
... INTRODUCTION ... either plasmid or chromosomally encoded bacterial enzymes which hydrolyze β -lactam ... serine active site enzymes. One successful approach to combating the serine ... such as clavulanic acid, in combination with a β -lactam antibiotic ...
Cached Biology Technology:UV Absorbance Measurements in SpectraMax Microplate Spectrophotometers MaxLine Application Note #32) 2UV Absorbance Measurements in SpectraMax Microplate Spectrophotometers MaxLine Application Note #32) 3UV Absorbance Measurements in SpectraMax Microplate Spectrophotometers MaxLine Application Note #32) 4UV Absorbance Measurements in SpectraMax Microplate Spectrophotometers MaxLine Application Note #32) 5UV Absorbance Measurements in SpectraMax Microplate Spectrophotometers MaxLine Application Note #32) 6PathCheck Applied to Measurement of Protein Solutions in the SpectraMax Plus Microplate Spectrophotometer (MaxLine Application Note #26) 2PathCheck Applied to Measurement of Protein Solutions in the SpectraMax Plus Microplate Spectrophotometer (MaxLine Application Note #26) 3PathCheck Applied to Measurement of Protein Solutions in the SpectraMax Plus Microplate Spectrophotometer (MaxLine Application Note #26) 4PathCheck Applied to Measurement of Protein Solutions in the SpectraMax Plus Microplate Spectrophotometer (MaxLine Application Note #26) 5PathCheck Applied to Measurement of Protein Solutions in the SpectraMax Plus Microplate Spectrophotometer (MaxLine Application Note #26) 6PathCheck Applied to Measurement of Protein Solutions in the SpectraMax Plus Microplate Spectrophotometer (MaxLine Application Note #26) 7PathCheck Applied to Measurement of Protein Solutions in the SpectraMax Plus Microplate Spectrophotometer (MaxLine Application Note #26) 8PathCheck Applied to Measurement of Protein Solutions in the SpectraMax Plus Microplate Spectrophotometer (MaxLine Application Note #26) 9A Microtiter-based Assay for the Determination of ID50s of b-lactamase Inhibitors Employing Reporter Substrates Detected at UV or Visible Wavelengths (MaxLine Application Note #20) 2A Microtiter-based Assay for the Determination of ID50s of b-lactamase Inhibitors Employing Reporter Substrates Detected at UV or Visible Wavelengths (MaxLine Application Note #20) 3A Microtiter-based Assay for the Determination of ID50s of b-lactamase Inhibitors Employing Reporter Substrates Detected at UV or Visible Wavelengths (MaxLine Application Note #20) 4A Microtiter-based Assay for the Determination of ID50s of b-lactamase Inhibitors Employing Reporter Substrates Detected at UV or Visible Wavelengths (MaxLine Application Note #20) 5A Microtiter-based Assay for the Determination of ID50s of b-lactamase Inhibitors Employing Reporter Substrates Detected at UV or Visible Wavelengths (MaxLine Application Note #20) 6
... high performance miniature stepper motors available in ... frame sizes. These space-efficient 1.8 2-phase stepper ... including medical instrumentation, medical devices, drug discovery ... Meets a wide range of customer needs ...
... nitrogen base (YNB) is a base medium for ... YNB contains ammonium sulfate but does not contain ... are available. Each pouch contains reagents to ... media or 1000 ml of 10X YNB for ...
... description: Designed for use with dishes and ... is a new product number, created to ... no availability yet, please order under the ... service for assistance. Comp Dim: blade L ...
... (Catalog number SCR004) is a specific and ... ES cell differentiation by the determination of ... are the monoclonal antibodies TRA-2-49 (Catalog Number ... permit the detection of Liver / Bone ...
Biology Products: