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Radirondacks t1_jbkje31 wrote

Reply to comment by iayork in Are prions/prion diseases transmittable from an infected human mother to a fetus? by Blakut

Isn't FFI an example of what OP was wondering about? Or is it different because it's the gene responsible for causing it that's passed down, not the proteins themselves?

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Lil_Pharma00 t1_jbl467w wrote

I’m only in undergrad, but I do all of my projects and papers on prions and I am under the impression the second thing you said is true, it’s just the genetic basis.

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aTacoParty t1_jboeyi1 wrote

FFI is caused by a mutation in the PrP gene that predisposes it to misfolding causing disease. If this DNA mutation is not passed down to the fetus, then it won't get the disease even if the mother has FFI. The misfolded protein itself will not be passed from mother to fetus.

www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1439789

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