ZSÜRGER , Nicole

Controversial debates still remain around the nature of the etiologic agent responsible for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/Parkinson dementia complex (ALS/PDC) whose incidence is unusually high among the population of the pacific island of Guam. It has been hypothesized that the neurotoxin beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine (L-BMAA) produced by...

Prion diseases are transmissible neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the accumulation in the CNS of the protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres), a structurally misfolded isoform of its physiological counterpart PrPsen. Both neuropathogenesis and prion infectivity are related to PrPres formation. Here, we report that the...

Doppel (Dpl) shares common structural features with the prion protein (PrP) whose pathologic isoform is considered as the causative agent of prion diseases. Although their physiological functions in the immune system remain largely unknown, we demonstrated that substantial amounts of PrP and Dpl are expressed by spleen cells notably B...

The prion protein (PrP) is absolutely required for the development of prion diseases; nevertheless, its physiological functions in the central nervous system remain elusive. Using a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological and biochemical approaches in transgenic mouse models, we provide strong evidence for a crucial role of PrP in...

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International audience

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) represent a highly abundant class of proteins secreted in the nasal mucus by the olfactory neuroepithelium. These proteins display binding affinity for a variety of odorant molecules, thereby assuming the role of carrier during olfactory perception. However, no specific interaction between OBP and olfactory...