The word prion, coined in 1982 by Stanley B. Prusiner, is derived from protein and infection, hence prion, and is short … See more

The major prion protein (PrP) that prions are made of is found throughout the body, even in healthy people and animals. However, PrP found in infectious material has a different structure and is resistant to proteases, … See more

The first hypothesis that tried to explain how prions replicate in a protein-only manner was the heterodimer model. This model assumed that a single PrP molecule binds to a single PrP molecule and catalyzes its … See more

Prions cause neurodegenerative disease by aggregating extracellularly within the central nervous system to form plaques known as amyloids, which disrupt the normal tissue structure. This disruption is characteriz… See more

Proteins showing prion-type behavior are also found in some fungi, which has been useful in helping to understand mammalian prions. Fungal prions do not always cause disease in their hosts. In yeast, protein refolding t… See more

There are no effective treatments for prion diseases. Clinical trials in humans have not met with success and have been hampered by the rarity of prion diseases. Although some potential treatments have shown promise in t… See more