The susceptibility of prion protein gene (Prnp)-null cells to coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) was investigated. Primary cultures of murine Prnp(-/-) brain cells were more sensitive to CVBs than corresponding cells from wild-type mice. The viral susceptibility of a Prnp-null cell line (HpL3-4) derived from the murine hippocampus was compared with that of two established cell lines (HeLa and HEp-2) that...

Cellular prion protein (PRNP) is a glycoprotein involved in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Although the physiological function of PRNP is largely unknown, its key role in prion infection has been extensively documented. This study examines the functionality of PRNP during the course of embryoid body (EB) differentiation in mouse Prnp-null (KO) and WT embry...

BACKGROUND A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the coding region of the prion protein gene (PRNP) at codon 129 has been repeatedly shown to be an associated factor to sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), but additional major predisposing DNA variants for sCJD are still unknown. Several previous studies focused on the characterisation of polymorphisms in PRNP and the prion-like doppe...

The central role for PrP in the pathogenesis of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) is illustrated by the resistance of Prnp(0/0) mice to disease and by the inverse association of Prnp gene dosage with incubation period. Understanding the role of PrP(C) in TSEs necessitates knowledge of expression levels of the Prnp gene during the development of disease. SSBP/1 scrapie shows a...

The study was carried out in a Polish Black-and-White cattle population, represented by 167 AI sires, 200 young tested bulls, 190 bull-dams, and 606 randomly chosen cows from commercial herds. The fragment of the bovine prion protein gene (PRNP) coding the octapeptide-repeat sequence, was identified by PCR analysis. Two different gene variants of 349 bp and 373 bp in size, produced three genoty...

Materials and Methods Transgenic mice. Transgenic mice homozygous for a human PrP 129V transgene array and murine PrP null alleles (Prnp) designated Tg(HuPrP129V Prnp)-152 mice (129VV Tg152 mice) and transgenic mice homozygous for a human PrP 129M transgene array and murine PrP null alleles (Prnp) designated Tg(HuPrP129M Prnp)-35 mice (129MM Tg35 mice) have been described previously (S1-S4). In...