PRION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does prion mean? 

• PRION (noun)
  The noun PRION has 1 sense:

1. (microbiology) an infectious protein particle similar to a virus but lacking nucleic acid; thought to be the agent responsible for scrapie and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system

  Familiarity information: PRION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PRION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(microbiology) an infectious protein particle similar to a virus but lacking nucleic acid; thought to be the agent responsible for scrapie and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("prion" is a kind of...):

particle; subatomic particle (a body having finite mass and internal structure but negligible dimensions)

Domain category:

microbiology (the branch of biology that studies microorganisms and their effects on humans)

 Context examples 

Using a test for prion diseases known as Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC), scientists analyzed skin tissue from 38 patients — 23 who had died from CJD, and 15 who died of other causes.

(NIH scientists and collaborators find infectious prion protein in skin of CJD patients, National Institutes of Health)

A key public health concern is whether people who consume meat or products from CWD-infected animals are susceptible to prion disease.

(Study finds no chronic wasting disease transmissibility in macaques, National Institutes of Health)

Thus, scrapie is a valuable experimental model for the development of human prion disease therapies.

(Experimental treatment slows prion disease, extends life of mice, National Institutes of Health)

Sporadic CJD, a fatal neurodegenerative prion disease of humans, is untreatable and difficult to diagnose.

(Eyes of CJD patients show evidence of prions, National Institutes of Health)

Scientists at NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases developed RT-QuIC about a decade ago to detect Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) and other prion diseases.

(New test detects protein associated with Alzheimer’s and CTE, National Institutes of Health)

A very rare autosomal dominant inherited sleep disorder caused by a mutation in the gene responsible for the prion protein.

(Fatal Familial Insomnia, NCI Thesaurus)

A very rare and fatal disorder of spongiform encephalopathy usually caused by mutations of the prion protein (PRNP) gene.

(Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare transmittable degenerative disorder of the brain caused by prions.

(Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals specifically designed ASO1 and ASO2 to reduce the rodents’ supply of normal prion protein.

(Experimental treatment slows prion disease, extends life of mice, National Institutes of Health)

The study results raise questions about the possible transmissibility of prion diseases via medical procedures involving skin, and whether skin samples might be used to detect prion disease.

(NIH scientists and collaborators find infectious prion protein in skin of CJD patients, National Institutes of Health)