One unique characteristic of prion diseases is that they tend to be extraordinarily resistant to extreme conditions. This, added with both the facts that they have fatal effects and they tend to have long incubation times, marks them as very daunting diseases. Because these diseases are so scary, it is obviously important to find ways to prevent them- specifically before the infectious agents are able to enter bodies and cause the diseases.
I read about how the environment can neutralize prion proteins, the infectious agents of prion diseases in a recent article published on February 23rd. Prions can enter the environment- in particular into the soil- through various ways such as waste, saliva, blood, and the decomposition of the proteins’ hosts. After entering the soil, they can remain there for years and then, through acts of inhalation or ingestion, enter into new hosts. Scientists have found that the environment has a natural and common way of combatting this process: rain and sun.
Scientists from Colorado State University, Creighton University, and UNL found that through the procedure of watering and drying soil, they were able to weaken the brutal effects of prion proteins on brain tissue. In fact, even by only repeating the procedure ten times, they noticed a negative effect on the prion protein capabilities.
The scientists know that rain and sun can change the properties of soil, and that drying can affect the structure of proteins. However, the scientists are still unsure as to how exactly the wetting and drying negatively affects the prion proteins’ process- it could be simply the effects on the soil, simply the effects on the prions, or a combination of the two effects. The experimental results demonstrated that the composition of soil influences its ability to affect the prion process, as some soil types better protected the prions. This suggests that some soils might be more likely to retain prions, and thus animals exposed to those soils might be more likely to contract prion diseases. Further, the experimental results suggest that some types of prions are affected more than others by the watering and drying process.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-environment-neutralize-lethal-proteins.html