Prions the Proteinacious Killer

Protein killer Abstract: Prion protein is a protein (PrP) usually found in the brain. Prion has two different forms: normal PrPC and pathological isotype PrPSc. These two forms are chemically similar but differ in shape or folding. Although PrPC occurs naturally in most mammals, PrPSc seems to cause various diseases and spongiform encephalopathy. Various forms of these diseases, including humans, have been found in many animal species. The actual method of self-propagation of PrPSc is not yet known, but scientists believe that the modified protein will change normal protein molecules.

Prion disease is a group of neurodegenerative diseases caused by prions, "protein infectious particles". For some background, the first thing to see is the introduction of prions. Prion diseases are caused by prion proteins in misfolded form, also known as PrP. In addition to humans, these diseases affect many different mammals - for example, sheep have scrapie, cows have mad cow disease, and deer has chronic wasting disease. Human-type prion diseases are usually caused by Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), fatal familial insomnia (FFI), Geltmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS), rickets disease and variable protease susceptible prion diseases (VPSPr) Since all of these diseases are caused by slightly different versions of the same protein, we call them all prion diseases.

Infectious protein acting like virus but without DNA. Prion is an infection because misfolded versions of prion protein can misfold fold the normal form of prion protein to spread the disease. Incorrectly folded proteins will not function correctly. The normal prion protein spreads throughout the life-kingdom and plays an important role. Proteins are composed of amino acid chains and are large molecules with various functions indispensable for the life of organisms. Depending on the composition of the protein, the protein acts as an antibody in the immune system, or it helps signal transduction between cells and internal organs in the body. DNA is the genetic code of the cell, and it is a design drawing of all the proteins in the cell.

Infection occurs when a prion enters a healthy organism and triggers a normal protein to fold into a prion form. The resulting structure is very stable and resistant to the term used to denote denaturation, ie protein unfolding by chemical or physical agents and loss of structure. These sturdy misfolded proteins aggregate in plaque, kill infected cells, leaving a hole. Then prion is released and infects surrounding cells. Because they do not have genetic material, prions can not survive and they can not kill. Extremely sterilized contaminated meat: incinerated at 1000 ° C, autoclaved at 134 ° C, boiled with lye for 15 minutes, or exposed to a strong bleach for over 1 hour. The best precaution is to avoid potentially contaminated meat entirely because you can not "kill" or inactivate prions by cooking or freezing.