We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
The prion hypothesis: from biological anomaly to basic regulatory mechanism.
- Authors
Tuite, Mick F; Serio, Tricia R
- Abstract
Prions are unusual proteinaceous infectious agents that are typically associated with a class of fatal degenerative diseases of the mammalian brain. However, the discovery of fungal prions, which are not associated with disease, suggests that we must now consider the effect of these factors on basic cellular physiology in a different light. Fungal prions are epigenetic determinants that can alter a range of cellular processes, including metabolism and gene expression pathways, and these changes can lead to a range of prion-associated phenotypes. The mechanistic similarities between prion propagation in mammals and fungi suggest that prions are not a biological anomaly but instead could be a newly appreciated and perhaps ubiquitous regulatory mechanism.
- Publication
Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology, 2010, Vol 11, Issue 12, p823
- ISSN
1471-0080
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1038/nrm3007