Prionlar
Prionlar, an acronym for proteinaceous infectious particles, are a unique class of disease-causing agents. Unlike bacteria, viruses, or fungi, prions are not living organisms but rather misfolded proteins. These abnormal prion proteins, denoted as PrPSc, can induce normal prion proteins, PrPC, to also misfold into the abnormal PrPSc form. This process is a chain reaction that leads to an accumulation of PrPSc in the brain.
The accumulation of PrPSc causes significant damage to neural tissues, leading to spongiform encephalopathies, a group
Prion diseases can arise spontaneously, be inherited through genetic mutations, or be acquired through exposure to