Patent ID: 6150583
Filing Date: 2000-11-21
Classification: A01K,A61K,C07K,C12N,G01N

Abstract:
A method for distinguishing between the conformational shapes of a prion protein having a first and second conformation shape, comprising the steps of:a) generating a recombinant nucleic acid construct comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding an amino acid sequence encoding biologically active prion protein fragment and a heterologous epitope domain;b) transfecting a cell or organism with the construct of a);c) expressing said construct to produce an epitope-tagged prion protein, wherein said epitope is unexposed on the surface of said prion protein having said first conformational shape, and wherein said epitope is exposed on the surface of said prion protein having said second conformational shape; andd) distinguishing between said first and second conformational shapes by detecting the presence or absence of said epitope on the surface of said prion protein.