Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25005024›Full record

ArticleNature communications2014

Prion neuropathology follows the accumulation of alternate prion protein isoforms after infective titre has peaked.

Malin K Sandberg, Huda Al-Doujaily, Bernadette Sharps, Michael Wiggins De Oliveira, Christian Schmidt, Angela Richard-Londt, Sarah Lyall, Jacqueline M Linehan, Sebastian Brandner, Jonathan D F Wadsworth and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
97citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

97 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Divalent siRNA for prion disease.Nucleic acids research · 2026
    Article
  4. Divalent siRNA for prion disease.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other prion diseases.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2024
    Review
  20. Review

37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Malin K SandbergMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Huda Al-DoujailyMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Bernadette SharpsMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Michael Wiggins De OliveiraMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Christian SchmidtMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Angela Richard-LondtMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Sarah LyallMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Jacqueline M LinehanMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Sebastian BrandnerMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Jonathan D F WadsworthMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Anthony R ClarkeMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
John CollingeMRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_U123160655Medical Research Council MC_U123160656Medical Research Council MC_U123192748
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prions are lethal infectious agents thought to consist of multi-chain forms (PrP(Sc)) of misfolded cellular prion protein (PrP(C)). Prion propagation proceeds in two distinct mechanistic phases: an exponential phase 1, which rapidly reaches a fixed level of infectivity irrespective of PrP(C) expression level, and a plateau (phase 2), which continues until clinical onset with duration inversely proportional to PrP(C) expression level. We hypothesized that neurotoxicity relates to distinct neurotoxic species produced following a pathway switch when prion levels saturate. Here we show a linear increase of proteinase K-sensitive PrP isoforms distinct from classical PrP(Sc) at a rate proportional to PrP(C) concentration, commencing at the phase transition and rising until clinical onset. The unaltered level of total PrP during phase 1, when prion infectivity increases a million-fold, indicates that prions comprise a small minority of total PrP. This is consistent with PrP(C) concentration not being rate limiting to exponential prion propagation and neurotoxicity relating to critical concentrations of alternate PrP isoforms whose production is PrP(C) concentration dependent.

Indexed as

AnimalsFemaleHumansKineticsMicePrion DiseasesPrPC ProteinsPrPSc ProteinsPrPC ProteinsPrPSc Proteins

Identifiers

PMID25005024
PMCPMC4104459

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.