prion

Definition

A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue.

Etymology

From (a reordering of) the initial letters of proteinaceous infectious particle. Coined by American neurologist and biochemist Stanley B. Prusiner in 1982.

Example Sentences

• "Prions retain deep mysteries, the foremost of which is what on earth they exist for."
• "Five public research institutions in France have imposed a 3-month moratorium on the study of prions—a class of misfolding, infectious proteins that cause fatal brain diseases—after a retired lab worker who handled prions in the past was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the most common prion disease in humans."

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