Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are manifested as genetic, infectious or sporadic, lethal neurodegenerative disorders involving alterations of the prion protein (PrP). Characteristic of prion diseases, cellular PrP (PrPc) is converted to the disease form, PrPSc, through alterations in the protein folding conformations. PrPc is constitutively expressed in normal adult brain and is sensitive to proteinase K digestion, while the altered PrPSc conformation is resistant to proteases, resulting in a distinct molecular mass after PK treatment. Consistent with the transient infection process of prion diseases, incubation of PrPc with PrPSc both in vitro and in vivo produces PrPc that is resistant to protease degradation. Infectious PrPSc is found at high levels in the brains of animals affected by TSEs, including scrapie in sheep, BSE in cattle and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
