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Prions : The Newest Disease Agents. Do Now: Complete the chart on your notes as completely as possible. Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE). TSE is a group of diseases caused by prions . A prion is a disease-causing protein. Common types of TSE: “Mad Cow Disease” (BSE) - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Prions: The Newest Disease Agents
Do Now:Complete the chart on your notes as
completely as possible
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE)
• TSE is a group of diseases caused by prions.• A prion is a disease-causing protein.• Common types of TSE:
– “Mad Cow Disease” (BSE)– Scrapie– Kuru– Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
How Prions Cause disease• This is a
normal protein in your brain.
• It has important functions your brain needs
Same Protein, 2 Shapes
NormalProtein
DiseaseProtein(prion)
When Good Proteins Go Bad• The prion changes the shape of the normal protein,
making it defective and infectious.
So What About the Cow?
Brain tissue of infected cow: spongiform
Transmission: Cannibalism
• Prions that cause disease are eaten, and then begin transforming proteins in the new victim.
• Mad cow disease can be transmitted to humans (200+ known cases)
• So how did cows get prions from other cows?
Rendering Factories
• Industrial animal production feeds animals the remains of dead animals.
“Downer” cattle: now outlawed as feed
Mmmm… Uncle Larry!
The Meatrix• Industrial food production (CAFOs) have had major
effects on human health, as demonstrated in this unit:– H1N1 influenza– BSE
• Other implications we have not considered that affect humans:– Pollution (12,000,000 tons of animal waste/day)– Antibiotic resistance (70% of all antibiotics fed to
animals)– Animal welfare
But Before We DoDisease Agent /
OrganismKey characteristics
Bubonic Plague Yersinia pestis Killed 40% of human population. Gram – bacteria. c.1350
Influenza H1N1 Influenza virus New strain contains swine, avian, and human genes. Normal viral life cycle
AIDS HIV Retrovirus which inserts viral genes into host DNA.
Tuberculosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Infects lungs. Kills 2 million yearly. Some strains are antibiotic resistant
Anthrax Bacillus anthracis Spore forming Gram + bacteria. Easily weaponized, responisible for 2001 anthrax attacks
Mad Cow Disease / TSEs
Prion proteins Prion disease which targets brain tissue.