From the contents: Abbreviations.- Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies or Prion Diseases (General Introduction).- Purification of PrPC.- Purification of the Pathological Isoform of Prion Protein (PrPsc or PrP-res) from Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy-affected Brain Tissue. Rapid Procedure for Purification and Renaturation of Recombinant PrP Protein.- Animal Models of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies: Experimental Infection, Observation and Tissue Collection.- Cell Culture Models of TSEs. PrPsc Immunohistochemistry.- Western Immunoblotting Techniques for the Study of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies.- Antibody Production and ELISA, Diagnosis of TSEs, General Considerations.- TSE Strain Typing in Mice.- Biosafety and Decontamination Procedures.- Cell-free Conversion of Prion Proteins.- Cytotoxicity of PrP Peptides.- Cyclic Amplification of Prion Protein Misfolding. Guide to Solutions.- Guide to Protocols.- Index
This is an excellent book for the description of specific methods for use in TSE research. The reason why such a book is necessary is because around the world people have been using different methods frequently and it has become extremely difficult to repeat other researcher's methods. One of the reason has also been a determination by researchers not to supply samples or data to other researchers. However this book is like a breath of fresh air in all that with an extremely good description of how it should be done with everything from transmission systems to cell-free conversion of prion proteins laid out as complete systems. Remarkably some of the methods I would have expected to have been almost 'private' in that the researchers did not want other people to know the method...but not here! Clearly the editors, Sylvain Lehmann and Jacques Grassi had not let the writers miss things out and full systems are mapped out. Full marks to the editors and the writers in this one and an excellent book that should be in the hands of everyone in the field.
(http://www.priondata.org/data/A_book.htm)