What are prions and why are they so hard to kill ?
In: Biology
Prions are incorrectly folded proteins which don’t work as needed and also make other proteins re-fold incorrectly.
Proteins are long chain molecules (consisting of amino-acids) which fold automatically into a certain shape defined by precisely which amino-acids sit precisely where along the chain. The shape they fold into makes them superb catalyzers of various specific chemical reactions, because this shape kinda has “slots” in it where other respectively shaped molecules fit. These chemical reactions are basically what life is, so it’s pretty important that proteins fold into correct shapes. Otherwise they won’t work and there won’t be some chemical reaction which might be necessary for life. So sometimes proteins do fold incorrectly, and the freakish thing is that sometimes these incorrectly folded proteins make other proteins of the same kind reshape themselves in the same incorrect way. So when such prions appear in the body, they spread throughout it and eventually turn every protein of a certain kind into themselves. This essentially stops the relevant chemical reaction altogether and thus kills the organism.
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