In class we have spent a lot of time discussing all of the negative implications that prions can have on the body. However in researching prion folding, I came across a study conducted by Susan Lindquist that found that blocking prions in yeast can help combat cancer. This is the first positive study that I have found on the subject of prions and I found it very fascinating.
A protein that Lindquist had been working on, Hsp90, guides misfolded proteins into their proper conformation, but it also applies its talents to misfolded mutant proteins in tumour cells, activating them and helping cancer to advance. Lindquist suspected that blocking Hsp90 would thwart the disease. She has helped to show how prions can override the rules of inheritance in yeast, and how this can be used to model human disease. She has also proposed a mechanism by which organisms can unleash hidden variation and evolve by leaps and bounds.
Additionally, Lindquist and her colleagues have shown that in wild yeast, prions provide serious advantages, such as survival in harsh conditions and drug resistance.
Through her research Lindquist has shown how prions can be harmful in helping to cause cancerous growth, but also useful in releasing hidden variations and helping to contribute to organismal evolution.
Article and information taken from: http://www.nature.com/news/prions-and-chaperones-outside-the-fold-1.10026
When you say “prions”, I assume you mean the normal prion protein (not the infectious misfolded variation)? It’s interesting the prions are so helpful, or even essential, in some organisms when they appear to be somewhat useless in mice. I believe I read about how mice without the prion protein gene functioned normally… I wonder if their presence is overall positive or overall negative in humans, given the potential for prion disease to happen?
It is very interesting to read that prion proteins can be used positively for treating cancer. First positive use of prion protein research that I have read about!