3 ms·

I definitely see where you're coming from, but viruses do have modes of transmission that evolve over time to counter immune defenses. Unless I'm mistaken, wit

I definitely see where you're coming from, but viruses do have modes of transmission that evolve over time to counter immune defenses. Unless I'm mistaken, with prions, you either have to ingest infected tissue or apparently prick yourself with a needle with infective material on it. I don't believe they reproduce in any but the broadest sense either. Don't they just cause other proteins of the same type to misfold as well? It's not really a transfer of genetic material, it's a change in the emergent structure of the protein.

arghwhat 5y ago
It is all a matter of definition. They are both merely a physical structure, they both have to interact with very specific tissues in very specific ways to do anything, they both make our own matter replicate into additional copies of itself, they both have "preferred" areas of attack which are simply areas that they are more successful in, they both tend to "accidentally" cause behaviors that make us assist in spread (e.g. biting), and they both cause various bad things to happen as a side effect of their means of operation. The prion's mode of operation isn't just "bump into stuff". It reaches the brain, causes other materials (DNA aptamers) to clump together, and causes other prions to be created. That one happens to have a part that looks like genetic material and the other looks like a misfolded protein is merely a small implementation detail to me. (Disclaimer: I, like everyone else I'm this thread, is not a qualified source of medical information.)
- twofornone 5y ago
  The major difference is that prions do not evolve from selective pressure.
  - lazide 5y ago
    That we know of - which seems to be more due to the ‘being less successful at wide spread replication’ part. Which we can all be thankful for.
- msrenee 5y ago
  There's a lot we don't know about prions and a heck of a lot I don't know, but I would be surprised if prions turned out to be something substantially different from a misfolded protein. I've never heard of prions targeting certain tissues. I need to do some reading, as it's been a while since my last bio course. Do you have an article that explains how that works? In order to have that ability, they would have to be more complicated than I understand them to be.

arghwhat 5y ago

It is all a matter of definition. They are both merely a physical structure, they both have to interact with very specific tissues in very specific ways to do anything, they both make our own matter replicate into additional copies of itself, they both have "preferred" areas of attack which are simply areas that they are more successful in, they both tend to "accidentally" cause behaviors that make us assist in spread (e.g. biting), and they both cause various bad things to happen as a side effect of their means of operation. The prion's mode of operation isn't just "bump into stuff". It reaches the brain, causes other materials (DNA aptamers) to clump together, and causes other prions to be created. That one happens to have a part that looks like genetic material and the other looks like a misfolded protein is merely a small implementation detail to me. (Disclaimer: I, like everyone else I'm this thread, is not a qualified source of medical information.)

twofornone 5y ago
The major difference is that prions do not evolve from selective pressure.
- lazide 5y ago
  That we know of - which seems to be more due to the ‘being less successful at wide spread replication’ part. Which we can all be thankful for.
msrenee 5y ago
There's a lot we don't know about prions and a heck of a lot I don't know, but I would be surprised if prions turned out to be something substantially different from a misfolded protein. I've never heard of prions targeting certain tissues. I need to do some reading, as it's been a while since my last bio course. Do you have an article that explains how that works? In order to have that ability, they would have to be more complicated than I understand them to be.