Prion

:This article is about the infectious particles known as prions. For the bird, see Prion (bird).

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Prions — short for proteinaceous infectious particle — are infectious self-reproducing protein structures. Though their exact mechanisms of action and reproduction are unknown, it is now commonly accepted that prions are responsible for a number of previously known but little-understood diseases generally classified under transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases (TSEs), including scrapie (a disease of sheep), kuru (found in members of the cannibalistic For? tribe in Papua New Guinea), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Chronic Wasting Disease, Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), Gerstmann-Str?ussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS), and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) (Collinge, 2001). These diseases affect the structure of brain tissue and all are fatal and untreatable.

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Protein: A protein (in Greek πρωτεϊνη = first thread) is a complex, high-molecular-weight organic compound that consists of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. Proteins are essential to the structure and function of all living cells and viruses....

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy: Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are fatal, incurable degenerative diseases of the brain transmitted by prions. Mental and physical abilities deteriorate and myriad tiny holes appear in the cortex causing it to appear like a sponge (hence 'spongiform') when brain tissue obtained at a...

Scrapie: Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease that affects the nervous systems of sheep and goats. It is one of several transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which are related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or "mad cow disease"). Like other spongiform encephalopathies, scrapie is b...