It's a chicken and egg question. Where do the infectious protein
particles called prions come from? Essentially clumps of
misfolded proteins, prions cause neurodegenerative disorders,
such as mad cow/Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, in humans and animals.
Prions trigger the misfolding and aggregation of their properly
folded protein counterparts, but they usually need some kind of
"seed" to get started. Biochemists at Emory University School of
Medicine have identified a yeast protein called Lsb2 that can
promote spontaneous prion formation. This unstable, short-lived
protein is strongly induced by cellular stresses such as heat.
Lsb2's properties also illustrate how cells have developed ways
to control and regulate prion formation. Research in yeast has
shown that sometimes, prions can actually help cells adapt to
different conditions. The results are published in the July 22
issue of the journal Molecular Cell. The senior author is Keith
Wilkinson, PhD, professor of biochemistry at Emory University
School of Medic