NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -With further work, it became apparent that prions were composed of a host-encoded protein, the prion protein (PrP), 2 which could exist in multiple conformational states: PrPC, the properly folded cellular isoform, and PrPSc, the misfolded and infectious isoform associated with prion disease (2).

Detailed explanation-2: -Prions, like all proteins, are composed of long chains of amino acids linked together. They exist in two forms. The first, PrPc, is found in abundance in nerve cells. Its exact function is unknown but it is thought to be innocuous.

Detailed explanation-3: -What makes them particularly fascinating is that unlike other infective agents such as bacteria, protozoa, and viruses, they don’t contain any genetic material. No DNA or RNA. Prions are just misfolded proteins but they are capable of spreading, causing disease, and evolving.

Detailed explanation-4: -Prions are a type of intrinsically disordered protein, which change their conformation unless they are bound to a specific partner such as another protein. With a prion, two protein chains are stabilized if one binds to another in the same conformation.