title: Replication vehicles of protein-based inheritance.
abstract: Prions are self-perpetuating protein isoforms that are responsible for infectious diseases in mammals and for heritable traits in fungi. Most known prion proteins form amyloids--self-seeded fiber-like aggregates. Prion propagation ('replication') could be described as a sequence of repetitive cycles of aggregate 'shearing' into smaller seeds followed by the growth of these seeds into full-size polymers. Recent work shows that the ability to form aggregates and to propagate them is controlled by distinct regions of the composite prion domains (PrDs).
authors.affiliation: School of Biology and Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, 315 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0363, USA. yury.chernoff@biology.gatech.edu
authors.forename: Yury O
authors.initials: YO
authors.lastname: Chernoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D019281:Dimerization; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D011328:Prions