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Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Investigating the Spreading and Toxicity of Prion-like Proteins Using the Metazoan Model Organism C. elegans
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Prion disease and the 'protein-only hypothesis'

Jiyan Ma1, Fei Wang1

  • 1Center for Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, U.S.A.

Essays in Biochemistry
|August 19, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Prion diseases are infectious protein misfolding disorders. Recent research confirms the "protein-only hypothesis," showing prions replicate without nucleic acid, with cofactors influencing infectivity and strain diversity.

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