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Hi Folks,
The recent news stories of "mad cow disease" being found in
American beef led me to do some research on this subject. I followed the suject
into the territory of infectious agents and found that there are several
sub-viral pathogenic agents that are only partly understood at present. Prions
are one of those and a prion is believed to be the cause of "mad cow
disease".
Does anyone on the list have further insight into these infectious
agents? One site I studied contended that infection is both genetically passed
and orally (ingestion) passed, which is an astounding assertion. If true, it's
scary as hell. Prions are even more primitive than viruses, having only RNA and
affecting the cell's manufacture of a single protein that is found in the cell
membranes of normal cells, but the prion changes the shape of it. In my
research, what I think I'm seeing is that this agent infects essentially A
RELATIONSHIP in the cell, rather than the cell itself. It has a negative
feedback effect on the production of the normal protein, causing more and more
of the prion protein to be created in a cumulative way.
One piece of information I have yet to find is exactly how to
protect one's self from infection. These prions can survive autoclave
processing! They are not killed by normal antiviral (enzyme interfering)
measures. They can survive a stomach environment and enter a host by
passing through the intestinal wall with digested proteins-- and are
ignored by the immune system! There appears to be a genetic predisposition to
infection as well as a genetic immunity, depending on one's genes for creating
this cell wall protein.
Any thoughts?
Judith
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