Open AccessTechniques to elucidate the conformation of prions
Author(s) -
Martin L. Daus
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
world journal of biological chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1949-8454
DOI - 10.4331/wjbc.v6.i3.218
Subject(s) - gene isoform , nucleic acid , prion protein , fungal prion , protein aggregation , computational biology , protein folding , biology , virology , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , disease , biochemistry , pathology , gene
Proteinaceous infectious particles (prions) are unique pathogens as they are devoid of any coding nucleic acid. Whilst it is assumed that prion disease is transmitted by a misfolded isoform of the cellular prion protein, the structural insight of prions is still vague and research for high resolution structural information of prions is still ongoing. In this review, techniques that may contribute to the clarification of the conformation of prions are presented and discussed.