Recovery of small infectious PrP(res) aggregates from prion-infected cultured cells.

Prion diseases are characterized by deposits of abnormal conformers of the PrP protein. Although large aggregates of proteinase K-resistant PrP (PrP(res)) are infectious, the precise relationships between aggregation state and infectivity remain to be established. In this study, we have fractionated detergent lysates from prion-infected cultured cells by differential ultracentrifugation and ultrafiltration and have characterized a previously unnoticed PrP species.

Vulnerability of white matter towards antenatal hypoxia is linked to a species-dependent regulation of glutamate receptor subunits.

White-matter damage is a leading cause of neurological handicap. Although hypoxia-ischemia and excitotoxicity are major pathogenic factors, a role for genetic influences was suggested recently. Thus, protracted gestational hypoxia was associated with white-matter damage (WMD) in rat pups but not in mouse pups.