Genome-wide identification of microRNAs regulating the human prion protein.

The cellular prion protein (PrP ) is best known for its misfolded disease-causing conformer, PrP . Because the availability of PrP is often limiting for prion propagation, understanding its regulation may point to possible therapeutic targets. We sought to determine to what extent the human microRNAome is involved in modulating PrP levels through direct or indirect pathways.

A bispecific immunotweezer prevents soluble PrP oligomers and abolishes prion toxicity.

Antibodies to the prion protein, PrP, represent a promising therapeutic approach against prion diseases but the neurotoxicity of certain anti-PrP antibodies has caused concern. Here we describe scPOM-bi, a bispecific antibody designed to function as a molecular prion tweezer. scPOM-bi combines the complementarity-determining regions of the neurotoxic antibody POM1 and the neuroprotective POM2, which bind the globular domain (GD) and flexible tail (FT) respectively.