Infectious protein particles are called “prions”.
Prions are infectious protein particles that function as pathogens and cause neurological disorders in humans. Due to their lack of genetic material, they reproduce by generating the cellular prion protein to refold into a PrP scrapie structure. Since they are unable to proliferate due to the misfolded protein, they are often referred to as slow viruses.
Infectious protein particles or prions lack a nucleic acid. Prions are considered to exist on the border of being living and non-living since they can replicate themselves inside the bodies of humans and some other mammals, but lack the ability to reproduce or metabolise.
Prions can also develop due to a change in the gene that produces the protein. In addition to folding into unusual shapes, they also appear to have the ability to influence the form of other (normal) proteins.
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