Table 1.

Comparison of prion-like mechanisms and neurotoxicity in neurodegenerative diseases

Disease	Misfolded protein	Studies revealing evidence for self-propagation	Neuronal loss	Fatal disease
Prion diseases	PrPSc	19,20	Yes	Yes
AD	Aβ	81–84	Yes	Yes
	Tau	85	Yes	Yes
PD	α-syn	88	Yes	Yes
Multiple system atrophy	α-syn	78	Yes	Yes
ALS	SOD1	93	Yes	Yes
	TDP-43	96	Yes	Yes
HD	PolyQ repeat	95	Yes	Yes

Notes: Evidence of self-propagation of the causative agent in a number of neurodegenerative diseases. The majority of evidence comes from studies where brain homogenates from sick donor mice were injected either intracerebrally or intraperitoneally into recipient mice. Donor mice were analyzed for disease symptoms, accumulation, and self-propagation of the misfolded protein and, in some cases, travel of the misfolded protein from the injection site to other areas of the brain.

Abbreviations: AD, Alzheimer’s disease; PD, Parkinson’s disease; ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; HD, Huntington’s disease; SOD1, superoxide dismutase 1; PolyQ, polyglutamine.