Question

Spongiform encephalopathy is caused by
(a) Prion
(b) E. coli
(c) Virus
(d) Fungus

Answer 1

Hint: This is a type of protein that can trigger normal proteins in the brain to fold abnormally. The diseases caused by this can affect both humans and animals and are sometimes spread to humans by infected meat products. The most common form of the diseases that affect humans is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

Complete answer:
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease is a type of neurodegenerative disease in cattle that can be passed to humans if they have consumed infected meat. It is caused by a specific type of misfolded protein called a prion. Prions replicate by causing other normally folded proteins to misfold and leading to an exponential chain reaction. Then the prions aggregate into an alpha-helical and beta-pleated sheet which is thought to be toxic to brain cells and causes symptoms. So, it is caused by 'Prion'.

Additional Information:
-Prions are the proteins that are misfolded that can change the shape of the normal proteins.
-They may cause a severe neurodegenerative disorder that can be transmitted from one generation to another in humans or in animals both.
-The change of shape of the protein is unknown but it is observed that the three-dimensional structure of the proteins is abnormal which leads to the abnormality in the proteins that are present in its vicinity.
-The prions have the ability to change its conformation of the structure and then transmit to other proteins and can also propagate by themselves.
-The Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder (CJD) is a neurocognitive disorder that causes degeneration of the brain.
-The symptoms of CJD may also include blindness, coma, weakness, dementia, etc.
-It has been observed that around one million peoples are affected by this disorder every year.
-The treatment of this disorder is still unknown but the use of opioids may help with the pain for some time.
So, the correct answer is, ‘Prion.’

Note: In 1920 the German neurologist Hans Gerard Creutzfeldt was the first to describe the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder (CJD). Later the name Creutzfeldt-Jakob was given by Alfons Maria Jakob. The word prion was coined by the scientist Stanley B. Prusiner. The term was derived from the two words protein + infection, meaning ‘proteinaceous infectious particle’.