Neurobiology of Disease (Aug 2000)

Evidence for Oxidative Stress in Experimental Prion Disease

  • Marin Guentchev,
  • Till Voigtländer,
  • Christine Haberler,
  • Martin H. Groschup,
  • Herbert Budka

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 4
pp. 270 – 273

Abstract

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Oxidative stress has been shown to be important in several neurodegenerative disorders. Previous in vitro studies have already demonstrated the ability of a prion protein fragment to induce oxidative stress in cultured cells. By immunohistochemistry for nitrotyrosine (NT) and heme oxygenase-1 as markers for oxidative stress, we found widespread neuronal labeling for NT in scrapie-infected mouse brains, in agreement with peroxynitrite mediated neuronal degeneration. Damage by free radicals is a likely cause for neurodegeneration in prion disease, and antioxidants are a potential therapy of these disorders.