2007/01/01 by Sandra Pritzkow, Rodrigo Morales, Fabio Moda +6 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · Nursing · Social Sciences · #Criminal Law and Policy #Law and Political Science #Medical and Health Sciences Research #Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding #Trace Elements in Health
paper · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2015.04.036
openalex publication_date 2007/01/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Prions are the protein-based infectious agents responsible for prion diseases. Environmental prion contamination has been implicated in disease transmission. Here, we analyzed the binding and retention of infectious prion protein (PrP(Sc)) to plants. Small quantities of PrP(Sc) contained in diluted brain homogenate or in excretory materials (urine and feces) can bind to wheat grass roots and leaves. Wild-type hamsters were efficiently infected by ingestion of prion-contaminated plants. The prion-plant interaction occurs with prions from diverse origins, including chronic wasting disease. Furthermore, leaves contaminated by spraying with a prion-containing preparation retained PrP(Sc) for several weeks in the living plant. Finally, plants can uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to aerial parts of the plant (stem and leaves). These findings demonstrate that plants can efficiently bind infectious prions and act as carriers of infectivity, suggesting a possible role of environmental prion contamination in the horizontal transmission of the disease.