A key molecular event in prion diseases is the conversion of cellular prion protein (PrP c ) into an abnormal misfolded conformer (PrP sc ). The PrP c N-terminal domain plays a central role in PrP c functions and in prion propagation. Because mammalian PrP c is found as a full-length and N-terminally truncated form, we examined the presence and amount of PrP c C-terminal fragment in the brain of different species. We found important variations between primates and rodents. In addition, our data

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... show that the PrP c fragment is present in detergent-resistant raft domains, a membrane domain of critical importance for PrP c functions and its conversion into PrP sc .