Protective pathway in stressed cells not so helpful when it comes to prions

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have discovered that an important cellular quality control mechanism may actually be toxic to some brain cells during prion infection. The research, published by Cell Press in the September 16th issue of the journal Developmental Cell, proposes a new general mechanism of cellular dysfunction that can contribute to the devastating and widespread neuronal death characteristic of slowly progressing neurodegenerative diseases.