Re:French moratorium on prion studies after two cases of fat...
by XorNot on Friday January 21, 2022 @08:14AM
(#30023019)
They are super, super-specific.
Prions can't self replicate from raw resources: they depend on inducing conformational change in other proteins. The host has to produce, and use, the specific protein they can target in an accessible location.
The upshot of this for prions is that lacking genetic code, or a need for replication machinery, and being a variant of the protein they target, they are perfectly adapted for their environment and host and currently impossible to destroy without also damaging the normal correct protein form.
Prions can't self replicate from raw resources: they depend on inducing conformational change in other proteins. The host has to produce, and use, the specific protein they can target in an accessible location.
The upshot of this for prions is that lacking genetic code, or a need for replication machinery, and being a variant of the protein they target, they are perfectly adapted for their environment and host and currently impossible to destroy without also damaging the normal correct protein form.