Real-time Quaking-induced Conversion Assay for the Diagnosis of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in a Living Patient.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the most common prion disease in humans with an incidence of one case per million inhabitants worldwide. The sporadic form of CJD (sCJD) is spontaneous and accounts for 85% of cases. Its symptoms include rapidly progressive dementia, ataxic gait, personality changes, myoclonus, coma, and eventually death.

Immunocytochemical localization of vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein in the growing chick lymphoid organs.

Monospecific antiserum against chick duodenal vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein (D-CaBP) was used to localize this protein by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method (PAP) in the thymus, spleen and bursa of Fabricius of normal growing chicks in 20 day old embryos; in normal growing chicks at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 weeks of age in chicks fed a rachitogenic diet for 4 weeks. In the normal chick thymus, D-CaBP was localized throughout the cytoplasm and in the nucleus of cortical epithelial reticular cells (ERC) and in Hassal's corpuscles of the medulla. In the normal spleen reticular cells of the marginal zones showed dense deposition of reaction product in the nucleus and throughout the cytoplasm.

Target cells of vitamin D in the vertebrate retina.

Using PAP technique, cellular localization of vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein (D-CaBP) was investigated in vertebrate retina with monospecific antisera against chick duodenal D-CaBP. In the chick retina, the receptor cells were positive. In the inner nuclear layer, horizontal cells and some bipolar cells were also positive.

Calcium-binding protein immunocytochemistry in organotypic cultures of cerebellum.

Vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein is known to be present in specific classes of neurons including Purkinje cells of the rat and chick. Explant cultures of newborn mouse cerebellum consisting of cerebellar cortex and deep nuclear region were fixed at maturity (20 days in vitro). Paraffin sections were reacted with the antiserum to purified chick duodenal calcium-binding protein.

Localization of vitamin D-dependent calcium binding protein in the electrosensory and electromotor system of high frequency gymnotid fish.

Vitamin D-dependent calcium binding protein (D-CaBP) was localized in the brains of high frequency gymnotid fish. In birds and mammals this protein is seen in a variety of cell types including Purkinje cells, inferior olivary cells and CA1 pyramids of the hippocampus. This distribution has led us to speculate that D-CaBP may be important in buffering intracellular calcium, perhaps more specifically that calcium which enters the cell during dendritic calcium spikes.