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Letter

Nature Cell Biology 11, 328–336 (1 March 2009) | doi:10.1038/ncb1841

Prions hijack tunnelling nanotubes for intercellular spread

Karine Gousset , Edwin Schiff , Christelle Langevin , Zrinka Marijanovic , Anna Caputo , Duncan T. Browman , Nicolas Chenouard , Fabrice de Chaumont , Angelo Martino , Jost Enninga , Jean-Christophe Olivo-Marin , Daniela M|[auml]|nnel & Chiara Zurzolo

In variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, prions (PrPSc) enter the body with contaminated foodstuffs and can spread from the intestinal entry site to the central nervous system (CNS) by intercellular transfer from the lymphoid system to the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Although several means and different cell types have been proposed to have a role, the mechanism of cell-to-cell spreading remains elusive.