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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Co-Cultured with Primary Mixed Glia to Reduce Prion-Induced Inflammation
Published on: August 11, 2023
New insights into prion biology from the novel [SWI+] system
Emily Crow1, Zhiqiang Du, Liming Li
1Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.
Abstract:
Our laboratory recently reported a novel prion [SWI+], in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. [SWI+] is the prion form of Swi1, a component of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex. Cells harboring [SWI+] exhibit a partial loss-of-function phenotype for SWI/SNF, which can be easily assayed by poor growth on some non-fermentable carbon sources such as raffinose.Swi1 is unique among yeast prion proteins for its nuclear localization and the fact that it comprises part of a large, multi-subunit protein complex. The discovery of [SWI+] demonstrates for the first time a link between prion function and chromatin remodeling,implying a possible role for prions in gene regulation. We believe that the unique features of this novel yeast prion will provide new insight into prion biology.
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