本课程在 阅读资料部分有详尽的阅读书单。
This course features a full bibliography in the readings section.

本课程是由MIT生物学院提供的众多的高年级本科生参加的研讨课程之一。这些研讨课是专为那些有兴趣以高度交互的方式使用原始研究文献来讨论和学习当前生物学研究进展的同学所设计。本课程的讲师，Kosinski-Collins博士，是HHMI教育小组的成员。
This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. The instructor for this course, Dr. Kosinski-Collins, is a member of the HHMI Education Group.

维持蛋白在细胞内的复杂的三维结构对蛋白的功能至关重要。作为环境应激，基因突变，以及感染影响的结果，蛋白质的折叠结构时常发生改变，从而使大量蛋白粘聚起来并从溶液中析出。这个过程就是蛋白质的凝聚。在很多蛋白质凝聚的疾病中，错误折叠的蛋白自我结合，形成纤维样的凝集体，从而导致脑细胞死亡和老年痴呆。在本课程中，我们将分析包括了牛海绵体样脑病（疯牛病），克雅氏症，以及库鲁病的朊蛋白疾病的分子和生化的成病基础。我们也会讨论其他的一些蛋白错误折叠的疾病，例如，阿尔茨海莫氏症，亨庭顿氏症。本课程也将涉及诸如导致所有这些机体紊乱的蛋白，这些蛋白的三维结构在疾病过程中如何变化的，以及为什么来自某些物种的朊蛋白并不能以蛋白的序列和结构为基础感染其他的物种等问题。然后，我们会阐述可能的检测方法和治疗手段。
Maintenance of the complex three-dimensional structure adopted by a protein in the cell is vital for function. Oftentimes, as a consequence of environmental stress, genetic mutation, and/or infection, the folded structure of a protein gets altered and multiple proteins stick and fall out of solution in a process known as aggregation. In many protein aggregation diseases, incorrectly folded proteins self-associate, forming fiber-like aggregates that cause brain cell death and dementia. In this course, the molecular and biochemical basis of the prion diseases, which include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), Creutzfedt-Jakob disease and kuru will be examined. Also discussed are other classes of misfolding diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. The proteins involved in all of these disorders and how the proteins' three dimensional structures change during the course of these afflictions is covered as well as why prions from certain species cannot infect animals from other species based on protein sequence and structure. The course will then address possible detection methods and therapies that are under development to treat some of the protein aggregation diseases.