Transport Of Disease Causing Prions Through Grass

Overview

• Post By : Kumar Jeetendra


• Source: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston


• Date: 15 May,2015

Prions are an Infectious and disease causing protein based agents. Responsible for the diseases like includes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in cattle, scrapie in sheep, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer, elk and moose.According to research published online in latest issue of “Cell reports” authored by Scientists of University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: Grass can able to uptake and transport of infectious prions.

According to research,

“There is no proof of transmission from wild animals and plants to humans,” said lead author Claudio Soto, Ph.D., professor of neurology at UTHealth Medical School and director of the UTHealth George and Cynthia W. Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s disease and Other Brain Related Illnesses. “But it’s a possibility that needs to be explored and people need to be aware of it. Prions have a long incubation period.”

Scientists also found that plants are also responsible for transport of prions from contaminated soil to different parts of the plants this leads to increase in infectivity.

This research was done in experimental conditions in the lab,” Soto said of the next step. “We’re moving the research into environmental contamination now.

Note: For more details go through story source.

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