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Updated: May 12, 2026

Investigating the Spreading and Toxicity of Prion-like Proteins Using the Metazoan Model Organism C. elegans
Published on: January 8, 2015
Prion-like transmission of protein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases
Patrik Brundin1, Ronald Melki, Ron Kopito
1Patrik Brundin is at the Neuronal Survival Unit, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, BMC A10, 221 84 Lund, Sweden. patrik.brundin@med.lu.se
Abstract:
Neurodegenerative diseases are commonly associated with the accumulation of intracellular or extracellular protein aggregates. Recent studies suggest that these aggregates are capable of crossing cellular membranes and can directly contribute to the propagation of neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. We propose that, once initiated, neuropathological changes might spread in a 'prion-like' manner and that disease progression is associated with the intercellular transfer of pathogenic proteins. The transfer of naked infectious particles between cells could therefore be a target for new disease-modifying therapies.
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