Hana Serban

TL;DR: It is indicated that each of the eight prion strains has a PrP sc molecule with a unique conformation and that the variation in incubation times is related to the relative protease sensitivity of PrPSc in each strain.

TL;DR: It is argued from the findings that the major conformational change underlying PrPSc formation occurs within the N-terminal segment of PrP 27-30.

TL;DR: Two lines of transgenic mice expressing high (H) levels of the mutant P101L prion protein (PrP) developed a neurologic illness and central nervous system pathology indistinguishable from experimental murine scrapie, providing additional evidence that prions lack a foreign nucleic acid.

TL;DR: It is reported that normal and pathogenic prion proteins from Syrian hamsters contain the same set of at least 52 bi-, tri-, and tetraantennary N-linked oligosaccharides, although the relative proportions of individual glycans differ, which conservation of structure suggests that the conversion of PrP(C) into PrP (Sc) is not confined to a subset of PrPs that contain specific sugars.

TL;DR: The CDI is capable of measuring the disease-causing PrP isoform (PrPSc) in bovine brainstems with a sensitivity similar to that of end-point titrations in transgenic mice expressing BoPrP, and was able to discriminate between PrPSc from BSE-infected cattle and Tg(BoPrP) mice as well as from chronic wasting disease -infected deer and elk.