Article
Balancing selection at the prion protein gene consistent with prehistoric kurulike epidemics.
Science (New York, N.Y.) - 25 Apr 2003
Mead Simon, Stumpf Michael P H, Whitfield Jerome, Beck Jonathan A, Poulter Mark, Campbell Tracy, Uphill James B, Goldstein David, Alpers Michael, Fisher Elizabeth M C, Collinge John
Abstract excerpt
Kuru is an acquired prion disease largely restricted to the Fore linguistic group of the Papua New Guinea Highlands, which was transmitted during endocannibalistic feasts. Heterozygosity for a common polymorphism in the human prion protein gene (PRNP) confers relative resistance to prion diseases. Elderly survivors of the kuru epidemic, who had multiple exposures at mortuary feasts, are, in marked contrast to...
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