PrP Antibody [Prion protein]

Prion protein, also known as CD230 and PrP, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PRNP gene. Expression is predominantly in the nervous system but occurs to some degree in many other tissues throughout the body. Puckett et al. (1991) identified a RFLP with a high degree of heterozygosity in the 5-prime region of the PRNP gene, which might serve as a useful marker for the pter-p12 region of chromosome 20. PrP is associated with a variety of cognitive deficiencies and neurodegenerative diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and kuru. The protein is highly conserved through mammals, lending credence to application of conclusions from test animals such as mice. Comparison between primates is especially similar, ranging from 92.9-99.6% similarity in amino acid sequences.