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Prions clog cell traffic in brains with neurodegenerative diseases

Clumps of these proteins may contribute to nerve death by causing mitochondria to crash

prion proteins

Prion proteins (shown in red in mouse brain cells) can disrupt traffic in the threadlike axons of nerve cells, leading to death of the cells.

NIAID

By Tina Hesman Saey

WASHINGTON — Clumps of misfolded proteins cause traffic jams in brain cells. Those jams may have deadly consequences in neurodegenerative diseases.

Clusters of prions block passage of crucial cargo along intracellular roadways in brain cells, cell biologist Tai Chaiamarit of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif.