Prion

The term "prion" was created by S. Prusiner to describe the unconventional agents responsible for transmissible, spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), sporadic or infectious central nervous system diseases that can be inherited and are always fatal. Prions are proteins that do not appear to have nucleic acids and are characterised by the ability of the pathogenic form to transmit its properties to the normal isoform of the same protein via protein-protein interactions. This property results in infectivity and selective destruction of nerve cells in mammals.