Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6825
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-3-12
pubmed:abstractText
A perplexing feature of prion-based inheritance is that prions composed of the same polypeptide can evoke different phenotypes (such as distribution of brain lesions), even when propagated in genetically identical hosts. The molecular basis of this strain diversity and the relationship between strains and barriers limiting transmission between species remain unclear. We have used the yeast prion phenomenon [PSI+]4 to investigate these issues and examine the role that conformational differences may have in prion strains. We have made a chimaeric fusion between the prion domains of two species (Saccharomyces cerevisae and Candida albicans) of Sup35, the protein responsible for [PSI+]. Here we report that this chimaera forms alternate prion strains in vivo when initiated by transient overexpression of different Sup35 species. Similarly, in vitro the purified chimaera, when seeded with different species of Sup35 fibres, establishes and propagates distinct amyloid conformations. These fibre conformations dictate amyloid seeding specificity: a chimaera seeded by S. cerevisiae fibres efficiently catalyses conversion of S. cerevisiae Sup35 but not of C. albicans Sup35, and vice versa. These and other considerations argue that heritable prion strains result from self-propagating conformational differences within the prion protein itself. Moreover, these conformational differences seem to act in concert with the primary structure to determine a prion's propensity for transmission across a species barrier.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0028-0836
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
8
pubmed:volume
410
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
223-7
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-19
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
Conformational diversity in a yeast prion dictates its seeding specificity.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California-San Francisco, 94143-0450, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't