Somerville Robert A
Neuropathogenesis Unit, Institute for Animal Health, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, EH9 3JF.
Trends Biochem Sci. 2002 Dec;27(12):606-12. doi: 10.1016/s0968-0004(02)02212-0.
The molecular structures of the infectious agents that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) diseases are still not known despite the current wide acceptance of the prion hypothesis as the basis for their resolution. Here, data supporting and challenging the prion hypothesis in relation to both the biochemical and biological properties of TSE infectious agents are discussed. The need for the independent transmission of TSE agent-specific genetic information is described and the requirements for the molecule to carry this information are proposed. Such a molecule is likely to be a small nucleic acid encoding information to determine the diversity of the pathogenesis of TSE agents.
尽管目前朊病毒假说已被广泛接受，被视为解决可传播性海绵状脑病（TSE）病因的基础，但引发TSE疾病的传染因子的分子结构仍不为人所知。本文讨论了与TSE传染因子的生化和生物学特性相关的、支持和质疑朊病毒假说的数据。文中描述了TSE因子特异性遗传信息独立传播的必要性，并提出了携带该信息的分子所需具备的条件。这样一种分子可能是一种小核酸，其编码的信息决定了TSE因子致病机制的多样性。
