Here we have performed systematic studies of purified resPrP<sup>D</sup> species extracted from GSS cases with the A117V (GSS<sup>A117V</sup>) and F198S (GSS<sup>F198S</sup>) PrP gene mutations.
To explore pathogenesis in a young Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker Disease (GSS) patient, the corresponding mutation, an eight-residue duplication in the hydrophobic region (HR), was inserted into the wild type mouse PrP gene.
A mutation equivalent to P102L in the human PrP gene, associated with Gerstmann-Straussler syndrome (GSS), has been introduced into the murine PrP gene by gene targeting.
A new variant of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS) was reported, which had a substitution of glutamate to lysine at codon 219 (E219K) in addition to a P102L mutation on the same allele of the PrP gene.
Furthermore, the linkage of mutations within the PRNP gene with phenotypic appearance of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome points to importance of the PrP gene.
The discovery of mutations in the PrP gene which segregates with other familial prion diseases such as Gerstmann-Straussler syndrome (GSS) lead us to perform a molecular genetic study and compare it to an epidemiological survey among the Libyan community.
Discovery of a point mutation in the Prp gene from humans with GSS established that GSS is unique among human diseases--it is both genetic and infectious.