# Shedding, retention and spreading of chronic wasting disease prions in the environment

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 2021 · $353,241

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia and the 6th leading cause of death in the
United States. The main pathological features of AD are the brain deposition of misfolded forms of amyloid-beta
(Aβ) and tau proteins. Compelling evidence demonstrate that these proteins share several characteristics with
infectious prions, including their mechanisms of spread and disease transmission in experimental animals.
Considering that prion diseases can be transmitted through contaminated materials (one of the focuses of the
current R01 application), concerns have been raised on whether pathological features of AD can be transmitted
in a similar way. In this application, we will explore this possibility using in vitro and in vivo assays. Specifically,
the ability of Aβ- and tau- exposed materials to spread pathological conformations will be tested by: (i) in vitro
aggregation assays, and (ii) surgical procedures using contaminated surgical instruments. In parallel, we will
explore whether different decontamination methods used in clinical and research settings are able to decrease
binding of misfolded proteins and their ability to propagate. Results from this research could help to address an
important concern related to the prion-like transmission of misfolded proteins and may be useful for other cerebral
and systemic proteinopathies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10287225
- **Project number:** 3R01AI132695-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Rodrigo Morales
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $353,241
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-06-08 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10287225

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10287225, Shedding, retention and spreading of chronic wasting disease prions in the environment (3R01AI132695-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10287225. Licensed CC0.

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