Infectious And Non-infectious Prions Have Clear Differences In Molecular Structures

Infectious proteins known as prions have been identified as the cause of “mad cow” disease (BSE). The culprits are “incorrectly folded” proteins that can “infect” healthy proteins. The molecular bases for such prion diseases are not yet fully understood. Why are some proteins infectious while others are not? Scientists examined two different forms of a prion-forming protein domain by means of NMR spectroscopy and found that the infectious and noninfectious forms differ markedly in their molecular structure.

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