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E-Letter responses to:

perspective:
Gillian P. Bates
BIOMEDICINE: One Misfolded Protein Allows Others to Sneak By
Science 2006; 311: 1385-1386 [Summary] [Full text] [PDF]
*E-Letters: Submit a response to this article

Published E-Letter responses:

[Read E-Letter] ALS protein
Heikki Savolainen   (22 March 2006)

ALS protein 22 March 2006
Top
Heikki Savolainen,
Professor
Dept. of Occup. Safety & Hlth, Tampere, Finland

Respond to this E-Letter:
Re: ALS protein

 The excellent Perspective on misfolded proteins offers new vistas in the pathogenesis of chronic neurological diseases. It mentions as an example amyothropic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This is very exciting to me as we have possibly found such a molecule in our myelin studies (1). This does not mean that this protein has a special role in myelin biology, but that the isolated myelin acts as a raft to preserve it through the analytical stage. It would be difficult to detect such an anomaly by proteomics of brain homogenates due to the large number of existing polypeptides in contrast to the fewer myelin protein species.

1 Palo J, Savolainen H, Kivalo E. Comparison between the proteins of human brain myelin in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, amyothropic lateral sclerosis and malignant diseases. J. Neurol. Sci. 18, 175-81 (1973)

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