Question

For the next question, you should refer to the information available on protein misfolding and degenerative diseases at Nature's "Scitable" educational site (Nature is one of the most prestigious research journals in the world, and they, along with Science, do a great job distilling important scientific concepts into understandable terms). There is a lot of good information on the page I linked to; for this question, the relevant information is in the sections headed "infectious proteins," "misfolded proteins and neurodegenerative disorders," and "misfolding in non-neurological disorders." Scroll down to those sections and read them; read through the other sections if you are interested and have time.

Which of the following diseases is caused (in whole or in part) by protein misfolding? Choose all that are correct.

Creutzfeld-Jacob disease
		Parkinson's disease
		Alzheimer's disease
		Huntington's disease

Answer 1

All of the above 4 diseases i.e. Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, huntington's disease and Cruetzfeld-Jacob disease are caused by protein misfolding.

Accumulation of misfolded proteins that aggregate in brain results in different neurodegenerative diseases.

1. Cruetzfeld Jacob disease:

It is caused by abnormal misfolded prions protein. It is a rare neurodegenerative brain disorder. It leads to dementia and later death. It gradually starts destroying the brain cells which causes tiny holes in the brain.

2. PARKINSON'S DISEASE:

It is also caused by protein misfolding wherein the proteins distort and start malfunctioning by clustering together into thread like chains which become toxic to other cells.

3. ALZHEIMER DISEASE:

It is also caused by misfolded proteins (amyloid beta) which aggregate in the brain of AD patients.

4. HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE:

It is a fatal neurodegenerative disease which is also caused by misfolded Huntington protein.