Prion proteins, also known as PrP, are pathogenic proteins that can cause a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Unlike conventional infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses, prions are devoid of nucleic acids. They are abnormal, misfolded forms of a naturally occurring protein found in the brain. When prion proteins misfold, they can induce other normal proteins to also misfold, leading to a chain reaction that causes disease.
