Researchers now have proved conclusively that prions can be created by laboratory techniques. The news has far-reaching political and economic
implications. Prions are the misfolded proteins infamous for causing Mad Cow disease. Scientists long have known that many standard laboratory
techniques and chemical processes cause proteins to misfold and clump together, or "aggregate." This tendency for proteins to misfold and aggregate
has frustrated researchers, and chemical and drug manufacturers for half a century. Until now, prion researchers have not proved conclusively that
such artificially created misfolded proteins could be infectious.
www.sfgate.com
Scientists at UCSF have created synthetic prions - tiny protein particles - and shown they can cause brain disease in laboratory animals and
replicate...
...Prusiner, Legname and their colleagues created a large fragment of a normal prion protein and folded it using lab techniques into an abnormal
shape...
"The findings represent a renaissance in prion biology," Prusiner said in a statement released by UCSF. "...which will change the way scientists do
experiments in the field."
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
Some prions do occur naturally, but prion researchers have little doubt that most misfolded prions are man-made, or result from human activities. For
example, many prescription and over-the-counter drugs 'target' proteins, so proteins are needed for drug research. Chemical companies manufacture
proteins, and one of the biggest problems in protein manufacturing is that the proteins tend to misfold and clump together or "aggregate."
Proteins misfold in the production process regularly - a huge problem in commercial manufacturing.
Producing commercially important recombinant proteins in large quantities has long been a headache for biotechnology companies, particularly if the
protein of interest has a tendency to fold incorrectly.
www.nature.com...
In fact, it is so common for proteins to misfold in production processes or during experiments that developing a protein resistant to misfolding
usually results in an industry Press Release. Systems to monitor protein folding and misfolding also have a secure market niche.
Protein misfolding in commercial protein production may be caused by many different laboratory techniques including the use of centrifuges, and
exposing proteins to electricity, electro-magnetic fields and temperature changes.
A great many manufacturing and research processes produce misfolded proteins as a byproduct, or accidentally. Prion scientists believe that any
misfolded protein may have the ability to become infectious.
"Scientists think if the proteins misfold, they can become infectious..."
Misfolded Proteins Infectious
The scientists who insist misfolded proteins are benign are generally employed or funded by, or associated with chemical and drug companies. In the
end, it is the controversy that is synthetic. Industry-generated denials that prions are infectious have to do with liability and profit.
Drug companies and researchers have been creating misfolded proteins for a very long time, and releasing raw prion aggregates into the environment. If
misfolded proteins are benign and not infectious, it doesn't matter, and they're off the hook. But if the misfolded proteins created by the chemical
and drug industries are or can become infectious, then there is reason for great concern.
Unlike bacteria, viruses and other microbes, prions are not killed by standard decontamination and sterilization procedures.
…prions are notoriously difficult to break down… "We don't know why prions are so highly stable, but they are extremely hard to destroy. Indeed,
one standard method of decontamination - soaking in fomaldehyde - actually stabilises the prions."
New Methods Work to Killing Prions
It is highly likely that infectious prions now contaminate most of the nation's soil, and from there, have seeped into groundwater to rivers, then
into the oceans and seas. This means that drinking water is contaminated, and so is the water that's used to irrigate crops and water livestock, to
make drinks and beverages, to reconstitute juice, to process food, and the list goes on.
Prions in Soil
It is simple to deal with industry created prions: Make it illegal to dump misfolded proteins and aggregates into standard waste removal
systems; require industry to create new, effective systems to handle prion contaminated waste, and to filter and destroy misfolded proteins from
waste.
Cleaning up the results of past negligence will be more complicated and expensive, but also doable.
Related News Links:
www.msnbc.msn.com
www.newstarget.com
Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
POLITICS: Mad Cow-causing Prions Found in All Organs
SCI/TECH: "Mad Cow" Spreading in Deer and Elk
SCI/TECH: "Mad Cow" Disease Uses Immune System to Spread in Body
OP/ED: The Final Solution
[edit on 7-2-2005 by soficrow]
[edit on 7-2-2005 by soficrow]