Prions are infectious proteins within cells that cause normal proteins to misfold and clump together. Prions can occur as a result of a mutation or ingestion, e.g., Mad Cow disease (eating infectious beef from an animal with the disease). Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and scrapie are prion diseases in both animals and humans. The diseases are progressive, have no cure, and end in death. Using your chemistry knowledge, explain the devastating effects of these diseases.
What will be an ideal response?
Prions are proteins that cause other cellular proteins to misfold and clump, producing a chain reaction resulting in the structural change of proteins. When the structure of a protein changes, the function of that protein changes. So as a result of infectious prion proteins, normal cellular proteins cease to exist in their normal state and, therefore, do not function in their normal way. Because proteins are so prevalent inside of cells and have so many functions that are essential, including enzymatic actions, the cell cannot function normally and dies.
You might also like to view...
Stretching of the cervix causes an increase in the blood levels of
A) estrogen. B) progesterone. C) oxytocin. D) relaxin. E) chorionic gonadotropin.
Sprains occur in what type of tissue?
A. muscles B. tendons C. ligaments D. all of the above
Which of the following is not true of the umbilical cord?
A. The umbilical arteries transport oxygen-rich blood from the placenta to the embryo. B. It is directly connected to the placenta. C. There are two umbilical arteries and one umbilical vein. D. The allantois forms part of the umbilical cord. E. All of these are true of the umbilical cord.
Xenografts are ideal donor organs or tissues since they rarely cause rejection
Indicate whether the statement is true or false