The Schaetzl Lab

The Schaetzl lab studies the molecular biology of prion infections and uses the gained understanding for delineating novel targets for intervention. We have focused our attempts on two main strategies.

• One is the endogenous cellular clearance capacity for prions, which we want to induce to a level that can halt prion infection.
• The other one is to target the normal prion protein isoform, expression of which is a prerequisite for prion conversion and execution of neurodegeneration.

One of our central hypotheses is that prion clearance can be enhanced by induction of autophagy, a basic cellular program for degradation and recycling. Another pathway we focus on is quality control mechanisms in the secretory pathway which modulate PrP maturation and PrP^Sc formation.