[HN Gopher] Study finds new pathway for clearing misfolded proteins
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       Study finds new pathway for clearing misfolded proteins
        
       Author : geox
       Score  : 58 points
       Date   : 2023-04-20 19:31 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (news.stanford.edu)
 (TXT) w3m dump (news.stanford.edu)
        
       | zamalek wrote:
       | I assume this wouldn't hold any value for prions (as the entropic
       | anti-life tarpit that they are), and more value for "benign" and
       | merely useless misfolds?
        
       | m3kw9 wrote:
       | This can solve mad cow diseases?
        
         | LinuxBender wrote:
         | Or hopefully CWD. I feed about 40 deer a day, twice a day and
         | they are at high risk of getting chronic wasting disease
         | _misfolded prions_. I don 't consume the deer but CWD can be
         | passed from urine and feces so I wear dedicated shoes
         | specifically for the purpose of feeding them and sterilize them
         | with chemicals and UV light.
        
           | echelon wrote:
           | I'm not sure what the risk of spontaneous CWD development in
           | deer is (extremely low?), but I'm also not sure that your
           | sterilization protocol is sufficient either.
           | 
           | > Prions cannot be destroyed by boiling, alcohol, acid,
           | standard autoclaving methods, or radiation. In fact, infected
           | brains that have been sitting in formaldehyde for decades can
           | still transmit spongiform disease [1]
           | 
           | How do you spot a diseased animal, and what's your protocol
           | for dealing with it?
           | 
           | [1] https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/prions
        
             | LinuxBender wrote:
             | _How do you spot a diseased animal, and what 's your
             | protocol for dealing with it?_
             | 
             | It's tricky because the symptoms may not manifest for up to
             | a year and sometimes even longer. This time of year is
             | extra tricky because I get deer that show up late in winter
             | and are emaciated from a lack of food, but it could also be
             | disease. If I suspect a deer is infected I call the game
             | warden and they would come out to put it down and get the
             | lymph nodes tested. There is no other way. Thus far I have
             | not had to do this. The only deer I have lost thus far was
             | one that for sure was starving for too long in the hills
             | and took too long to find his way to me and several last
             | year that played chicken in the highway but that has
             | stopped since I started feeding them twice a day.
             | 
             | I could actually see formaldehyde preserving the prions. I
             | would be surprised if the bleach I use does not decompose
             | the prions but maybe I have been going through the wrong
             | process all this time. If you can suggest a better
             | procedure I will look into it.
        
       | robwwilliams wrote:
       | Back on topic:
       | 
       | Nuclear waste (the kind we eukaryotes all make) get lumped into a
       | garbage can that then gets fused to a cytoplasmic trash
       | truck/digester called a vacuole or lysosome.
       | 
       | There is a lot of excitement in lysosomal processing if protein
       | and polyglucosan aggregates in aging brain (work of Ralph Nixon).
       | But still a very long haul for this work in yeast to
       | applications, if any, in humans. Bravo anyway--after all, yeast
       | are family.
       | 
       | "Tying that particular family of proteins and this aspect of
       | vesicle traffic biology to protein clearance gives us a new way
       | to look at Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's - all these
       | neurodegenerative diseases," said Sontag.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | foolfoolz wrote:
       | if i don't eat collagen because i'm afraid of prions is that
       | overkil?
        
         | slashdev wrote:
         | Statistically, yes. There's thousands of risks you don't even
         | consider that are more dangerous. So probably not rational to
         | worry about collagen.
         | 
         | There is no definite proof that gelatin can contain infectious
         | prions, as long as it is manufactured according to industry
         | standards. It's theoretically possible. But your odds of
         | getting struck by lightning are far higher in any given year. I
         | wouldn't worry about it.
        
           | tandr wrote:
           | Great comment, but... Now they will be afraid to go outside.
           | ;)
        
         | deegles wrote:
         | Just buy glycine, it's cheaper and has the same effect. Up to
         | 20g/day is safe.
        
           | clumsysmurf wrote:
           | Do you have a link for the 20g/safe claim?
        
             | LinuxBender wrote:
             | Examine.com has some data on this. [1]
             | 
             |  _No toxicity with glycine supplementation has been
             | observed with doses up to 0.8 g /kg body weight (64 grams
             | per day for a 176 lb adult)_
             | 
             | [1] - https://examine.com/supplements/glycine/research/#KQe
             | k8l9-ba...
        
         | m3kw9 wrote:
         | Eating steak can also get you that
        
         | clumsysmurf wrote:
         | If this concerns you, look into hydrolyzed collagen (aka
         | collagen peptides). I assume since they are broken down its a
         | bit different, but can't back up my assumption.
        
         | jcims wrote:
         | This seems like one of those things that I don't want to
         | google.
        
           | el_benhameen wrote:
           | From someone who's been down the rabbit hole: don't.
        
         | candiddevmike wrote:
         | Best not to walk barefoot outside or touch something barehanded
         | either. You'd also need to sterilize everything you eat and
         | drink.
        
           | mromanuk wrote:
           | We need to use a bubble, right?
        
           | akiselev wrote:
           | You'll need to sterilize everything with a 50% solution of
           | bleach. Not by spraying it like a domestic cleaning agent,
           | mind you, but by submersing or covering it for five minutes.
           | That should be enough to denature prions on the surfaces of
           | everyday objects - but not tissue like food!
        
         | nemo44x wrote:
         | A friend of mine got infected with prions. Well, it's what the
         | doctors believe since all other tests came up negative. They
         | aren't 100% sure but have documented it as that.
         | 
         | It's amazing how quickly he degenerated. He was feeling weird
         | physically and mentally and went to a doctor. Within a few
         | months he was a different person but could recognize friends.
         | He needed assistance for living. Within a year he was
         | completely mentally gone. Just a different person with no means
         | of communicating or doing anything for himself. Just completely
         | sad.
        
           | bread90 wrote:
           | How'd he get it you think?
        
         | 7speter wrote:
         | I imagine you'd okay if you ate gelatin (whether in stock, or
         | jello are the knox stuff added to whatever)?
        
       | [deleted]
        
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