Illustration of the C-terminal fragment of the bovine (cow) prion protein. Prions are abnormal proteins that cause a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cows and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. Unlike other infectious agents prions do not have a nucleic acid genome for replication. Instead, the abnormal infectious prions change normal prions, found in cell membranes, to the abnormal form. This leads to a build up of protein plaques and neurodegeneration. | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / FRANCISCO J. ENGUITA |
Bildgröße: | 4621 px × 4752 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Eigentums-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Restrictions: | - |