PRNP and prion disease: In vitro and in vivo experiments show that the addiction of Cu2+ induces the conversion of PrPC into PrPSc, increases the protease resistance and the infectivity of the protein, and overall accelerates prion disease (Pauly and Harris, 1998; Qin et al., 2000; Quaglio et al., 2001; Kuczius et al., 2004; Kim et al., 2005; Canello et al., 2012), while Cu2+ chelation delays the beginning of the disease (Sigurdsson et al., 2003; Siggs et al., 2012).