Prion
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈpɹiːɒn/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Prion is a noun meaning A petrel of the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena.
Meaning
A petrel of the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena.
More Meanings
- (molecular biology) A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue.
Example Sentences
Prions retain deep mysteries, the foremost of which is what on earth they exist for.
Five public research institutions in France have imposed a 3-month moratorium on the study of prions—a class of misfolding, infectious proteins that cause fatal brain diseases—after a retired lab worker who handled prions in the past was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the most common prion disease in humans.
Word Forms
- prions
Synonyms for prion
Depending on context, synonyms include pachyptile.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include genotype, variant, pray, request, prionoid, prionization.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.