Ivan Rodriguez
Professor Rajabi
Biology 1301
Analysis of Prion Disease’s
Not all infectious diseases come from bacteria or viruses. There is a disease causing
protein which is a recent discovery. This disease causing protein has impacted the way scientist
view diseases. This protein is known as a prion. In the next few paragraphs we will explore the
different variants of the prion protein gene which leads to different kinds of diseases while also
noticing similarities and differences between the diseases.
A “prion” is known as a protein infectious particle which causes diseases known also as
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE’s).It is a term used to describe a misfolded
protein which is associated to different neurodegenerative diseases in mammals. Every mammal
contains a prion protein(PRNP), but it is still not known why it turns into an abnormal prion
protein which is known as(PrPSc). Even though the abnormal protein (PrPSc) cannot reproduce,
it replicates by creation a stimulation of the normal cellular prion protein to fold into the
abnormal prion protein(PrPSc). Also the function of the normal prion protein(PrPC) is not clearly
understood but experiment models have shown it helps in the role of protecting cells. The
process in which a normal cellular prion protein turns into a disease –causing prion is also not
comprehended to its entirety. What is known is that prions are minuscule in size as they are even
smaller than viruses. Even under a microscope, individual prions cannot be seen. Prions are a
