NR APQF
AU Aguzzi,A.
TI Prions and the immune system: a journey through gut, spleen, and nerves.
QU Advances in Immunology 2003; 81: 123-71
PT journal article; review; review, academic
AB For more than two decades it has been contended that prion infection does not elicit immune responses: transmissible spongiform encephalopathies do not go along with conspicuous inflammatory infiltrates, and antibodies to the prion protein are typically undetectable. Why is it, then, that prions accumulate in lymphoid organs, and that various states of immune deficiency prevent peripheral prion infection? This review revisits the current evidence of the involvement of the immune system in prion diseases, while attempting to trace the elaborate mechanisms by which peripherally administered prions invade the brain and ultimately cause damage. The investigation of these questions leads to unexpected detours, including the neurophysiology of lymphoid organs, and even the function of a prion protein homolog in male fertility.
ZR 214
MH Animals; Brain/metabolism/pathology; Digestive System/immunology/metabolism; Human; Immune System/*metabolism; Immunity, Natural; Lymphocytes/immunology/metabolism; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Models, Biological; Nervous System/immunology/metabolism; Neuroimmunomodulation; Prion Diseases/etiology/immunology/metabolism; Prions/*immunology; Spleen/immunology/metabolism; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
AD Institute of Neuropathology, Universitätsspital Zürich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091 Zürich, Switzerland. adriano@pathol.unizh.ch
SP englisch
PO USA