Question

Where did prions come from?

Answer 1

Prions :

1. Prions are abnormally folded proteins that transform abnormality into a normal variant of the same proteins.
2. They can cause neurodegenerative and fatal disorders to animals including humans.
3. The abnormality of one protein cause abnormality among other normal proteins.
4. Prion means Proteinaceous Infectious Particle.
5. Prions do not contain nucleic acid-like other infectious agents.
6. But they get pathogenic nature from Prion isoform involved with a foreign nucleic acid which is potentially pathogenic.
7. This leads to the formation of Prion proteins.
8. This Prion protein can transmit a number of diseases in humans and animals, such as Chronic wasting in Deer, Bovine encephalopathy in cattle, and Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease in humans.
9. This Protein mainly affects the Brain and Nervous system.
10. These all disease are not curable and leads to fatality.
11. Prions which are an abnormal mass of proteins called amyloids, which forms infected tissue and are associated with tissue damage and cell death.
12. Amyloids can cause neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
13. Prions are nonliving entities that lack nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA.
14. They are believed to be formed when PrP associates with a foreign nucleic acid that is potentially pathogenic.