The primary structure of the prion protein (PrP) is believed to be the key factor in regulating
the species barrier of prion transmission. Because the strength of the species barrier was
found to be affected by the prion strain, the extent to which the barrier can indeed be
attributed to differences in the PrP primary structures of either donor and acceptor species
remains unclear. In this study, we exploited the intrinsic property of PrP to polymerize
spontaneously into disease-related amyloid conformations in the absence of a strain …