Introduction to Microbiology

11. Viruses

Dr. Erzsébet Karaffa

professor
Institute of FoodScience
Characteristics of viruses
Viruses
1. Genetic elements
 Viruses do possess their own genetic information and are thus independent of
the host cell’s genome.
2. Cannot replicate independently of a living cell (host cell).
 Rely on the host cell for energy, metabolic intermediates, and protein synthesis.
 Obligate intracellular parasites
 Rely on entering a suitable living cell to carry out their replication cycle.

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Characteristics of viruses
Viruses
1. Genetic elements
2. Cannot replicate independently of a living cell (host cell).
3. Have an extracellular form - Virus particle
 Enables them to exist outside the host and that facilitates transmission
 from one host cell to another
 To multiply, viruses must enter a cell in which they can replicate, a process called
infection.

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Characteristics of viruses
I. Replication of viruses
 Destructive to the host cell
 Some viruses are agents of disease
II. Viruses may also inhabit a cell and replicate in step with the cell
without destroying it.
 May confer important new properties on their host cells.
 These properties will be inherited when the host cell divides if each new cell also
inherits the viral genome.
 These changes are not always harmful and may even be beneficial (e.g.
pathogenicity factors of enteropathogen bacteria).

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VIRUS STRUCTURE AND GROWTH

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General Properties of Viruses
Viruses
1. Has no cellular structure
2. Are nonliving
3. Possess a genome encoding the information they need in order to
replicate.
4. Rely on host cells to provide the energy and materials needed for
replicating their genomes and synthesizing their proteins.
Viruses cannot replicate unless the virus genome has gained
entry into a suitable host cell.
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General Properties of Viruses
Extracellular form - Virion Intracellular form
 Microscopic particle  The virus replicates: new copies of the
 Containing nucleic acid surrounded by virus genome are produced, and the
a protein coat and sometimes, other components of the virus coat are
macromolecules. synthesized.
 Metabolically inert (cannot generate  The virus redirects host metabolic
energy or carry out biosynthesis). functions to support virus replication
and the assembly of new virions.
 The virus genome moves from the cell
in which it was produced to another
cell inside the virion.

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Viral Genomes
 Usually very small
 Encode primarily proteins whose functions viruses cannot usurp from
their hosts.
 Therefore, during replication inside a cell, viruses depend heavily on
host cell structural and metabolic components.
 Classified according to nucleic acid in the virion is
I. DNA or RNA
II. further subdivided to single- or double-stranded, linear, or circular
 Some viral genomes are circular, but most are linear.

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Viral Hosts and Taxonomy
 Viruses can be classified on the basis of
1. The hosts they infect
i. Bacterial viruses,
ii. Archaeal viruses
iii. Animal viruses
iv. Plant viruses
v. Viruses that infect other kinds of eukaryotic cells
2. Their genomes

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Viral Hosts and Taxonomy
 Viruses can be classified on the basis of
1. The hosts they infect
i. Bacterial viruses - bacteriophages or phage
for short; from the Greek phagein, meaning “to eat”
ii. Archaeal viruses
iii. Animal viruses
iv. Plant viruses
v. Viruses that infect other kinds of eukaryotic cells
1. Their genomes

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Viral Hosts and Taxonomy
 A formal system of viral classification exists that groups viruses into
various taxa, such as orders, families, and even genus and species.
 The family taxon seems particularly useful.
Members of a family of viruses all have a
 Similar virion morphology
 Similar genome structure
 Similar strategy of replication
Virus families have names that include the suffix -viridae (as in Poxviridae).

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Nature of the Virion
 Many sizes and shapes.
 20–300 nm
 Smallpox ~ 200 nm in diameter -
one of the largest
 Poliovirus, 28 nm in diameter - one
of the smallest viruses (about the
size of a ribosome)
 Viruses could not be properly
characterized until the invention of the
electron microscope (1930s).

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Nature of the Virion
 Viral genomes are smaller than those of most cells.
 1 and 5 Mbp: most bacterial genomes the smallest known ~500 kbp.
 The largest known viral genome: Mimivirus 1.18 Mbp of double-
stranded DNA.
 This virus, which infects protists (e.g. Amoeba).
 Typical virus genome: 5 – 300 kb
 Some viruses have genomes so small they contain fewer than five
genes.
 The genome of some viruses is segmented into more than one molecule
of nucleic acid (e.g. reovirus or influenza virus)
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Viral Structure
Diverse, varying widely in
 Size
 Shape
 Chemical composition

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Viral Structure
1. The nucleic acid of the virion
 Always located within the particle
2. Surrounded by a protein shell called
the capsid.
 Composed of a number of individual
protein molecules
 A few viruses have only a single kind of
protein in their capsid The arrangement of nucleic acid and protein coat in a
simple virus, tobacco mosaic virus. (a) A high-resolution
 Most viruses have several distinct proteins electron micrograph of a portion of the virus particle.
that are associated in specific ways to (b) Assembly of the tobacco mosaic virus virion. The
RNA assumes a helical configuration surrounded by the
form assemblies called capsomeres. protein capsid. The center of the particle is hollow.
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Viral Structure
The complete complex of nucleic acid
and protein packaged in the virion is
called the virus nucleocapsid
1. The nucleic acid of the virion
2. Surrounded by a protein shell called
the capsid.
3. Some viruses possess lipid-containing
layers around the nucleocapsid called
an envelope.

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Virus Symmetry
The nucleocapsids of viruses are
constructed in highly symmetric
ways.
Two kinds of symmetry are in
viruses, which correspond to the
two primary shapes:
1. Rod
2. Spherical Source: Mycrobiology Notes

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Virus Symmetry - Helical
A typical virus with helical symmetry is the
tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)
 RNA virus in which
 2130 identical capsomeres are arranged in
a helix
 The overall dimensions of the TMV virion are 18 *
300 nm.
 The lengths of helical viruses are determined by
the length of the nucleic acid, but the width of the
helical virion is determined by the size and
packaging of the capsomeres.
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Virus Symmetry - Icosahedral
An icosahedron is a symmetric
structure containing 20 triangular
faces and 12 vertices and is roughly
spherical in shape

Icosahedral symmetry. (a) A model of an icosahedron. (b) Three

views of an icosahedron showing the 5-3-2 symmetry. (c) Electron
micrograph of human papillomavirus, a virus with icosahedral
symmetry. The virion is about 55 nm in diameter. (d) Three-
dimensional reconstruction of human papillomavirus calculated
from images of frozen hydrated virions. The virus contains 360 units
arranged in 72 clusters of 5 each

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Virus Symmetry - Enveloped Viruses
Contain a membrane surrounding the
nucleocapsid.
Many viruses are enveloped, and most of
these infect animal cells (e.g. influenza virus).
 The viral envelope consists of a lipid bilayer
with proteins, usually glycoproteins,
embedded in it.

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Virus Symmetry - Enveloped Viruses
 The lipids of the viral membrane are
derived from the membranes of the host
cell, but viral membrane proteins that are
encoded by viral genes are also embedded
in the membrane.
 The symmetry of enveloped viruses is not
Electron micrographs of influenza virus,
expressed by the virion as a whole, but by an enveloped virus. The virions are about
80 nm in diameter, but have no defined
the nucleocapsid present inside the virus shape.
envelope.

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Virus Symmetry - Enveloped Viruses
 The envelope is the component of the
virion that makes initial contact with the
host cell.
 The specificity of virus infection and some aspects
of virus penetration are thus controlled in part by
characteristics of virus envelopes.
 The virus-specific envelope proteins are critical for Electron micrographs of influenza virus,
an enveloped virus. The virions are about
attachment of the virion to the host cell during 80 nm in diameter, but have no defined
infection or for release of the virion from the host shape.
cell after replication.

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Virus Symmetry - Complex Viruses
Some virions composed of several parts, each
with separate shapes and symmetries.
 Some of the bacterial viruses, possess
1. Icosahedral heads plus
2. Helical tails
 In some bacteriophage, the tail itself has a
complex structure.

Electron micrographs of Bacteriophage T4 of Escherichia coli. The tail components

function in attachment of the virion to the host and injection of the nucleic acid.
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Enzymes in Virions
Some virions contain enzymes that play important roles in infection
i. Some bacteriophages contain the enzyme lysozyme
 They use to make a small hole in the bacterial cell wall. This allows the virus to inject its nucleic
acid into the cytoplasm of the host cell. Lysozyme is again produced in large amounts in the
later stages of infection, causing lysis of the bacterial cell and release of the new virions.
ii. Many viruses contain their own nucleic acid polymerases for replication of the
viral genome and for transcription of virus-specific RNA.
 Retroviruses are RNA viruses that replicate via DNA intermediates. These viruses possess an
RNA-dependent DNA polymerase called reverse transcriptase that transcribes the viral RNA
to form a DNA intermediate.
 Other viruses contain RNA genomes and require their own RNA polymerase.
 These virion enzymes are necessary because cells cannot make DNA or RNA from an RNA
template
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QUANTIFICATION OF VIRUSES

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Quantification of Viruses
Quantify the number of virions in a suspension.
1. Using an electron microscope
2. Measuring their effects on the host.
 Virus infectious unit is the smallest unit that causes a detectable effect
when added to a susceptible host.
 This can be as few as one virion, although a larger inoculum is more
often required.
 By determining the number of infectious units per volume of fluid, a
measure of virus quantity, called a titer, can be obtained.

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Quantification of Viruses - Plaque Assay
When a virion initiates an infection
on a layer of host cells growing on a
flat surface, a zone of lysis may be
seen as a clear area in the layer of
growing host cells.
This clearing is called a plaque,
and it is assumed that each plaque
originated from the replication of a
single virion.

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Quantification of Viruses - Plaque Assay
Plaques may be obtained for animal
viruses by using cultured animal
cells as hosts.
A monolayer of cultured animal
cells is prepared on a plate or flat
bottle and the virus suspension is
overlaid.

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VIRAL REPLICATION

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Viral Replication
The viral replication cycle can be divided
into five steps:
1. Attachment (adsorption)
2. Penetration (entry, injection)
3. Synthesis
4. Assembly (maturation)
5. Release

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Viral Replication
1. Attachment (adsorption) of the virion
to a susceptible host cell.
2. Penetration (entry, injection) of the
virion or its nucleic acid into the host
cell.
3. Synthesis of virus nucleic acid and
protein by host cell metabolism as
redirected by the virus.

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Viral Replication
1. Attachment (adsorption)
2. Penetration (entry, injection)
3. Synthesis
4. Assembly of capsids (and membrane
components in enveloped viruses) and
packaging of viral genomes into new
virions. This whole process is called
maturation.

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Viral Replication
Production of Viral Nucleic Acid and Protein
The Baltimore Classification Scheme
The virologist David Baltimore developed a
classification scheme for viruses based on
the relationship of the viral genome to its
mRNA (seven classes) VII

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Viral Replication
Production of Viral Nucleic Acid and Protein
The Baltimore Classification Scheme
The virologist David Baltimore developed a classification scheme for viruses based on
the relationship of the viral genome to its mRNA (seven classes)

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Viral Replication
1. Attachment (adsorption)
2. Penetration (entry, injection)
3. Synthesis
4. Assembly
5. Release of mature virions from the
cell.
 Cell lysis
 Budding
 Excretion
- depending on the virus
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BACTERIAL VIRUSES

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HUMAN VIRUSES

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Bacterial viruses - Bacteriophages
 Quite diverse
 Infect a wide range of Bacteria and Archaea.
 Most known bacteriophages contain dsDNA
genomes
 A few bacterial viruses have lipid envelopes,
but most are naked.
 Many bacterial viruses are structurally complex.
 Have heads and tails.
 The tails of bacteriophages T2, T4, and Mu are
contractile and function in DNA entry into the host.
Schematic representations of the main types
of bacterial viruses. Sizes are to approximate
scale. The nucleocapsid of F6 is surrounded by
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Bacterial viruses - Bacteriophages
1. Virulent viruses kill their hosts after infection.
2. Some viruses, although able to kill cells through a virulent cycle, also possess an
alternative life cycle that results in a stable relationship with the host. Such viruses
are called temperate viruses.
 Can enter into a state called lysogeny, where most virus genes are not expressed and the virus
genome, called a prophage, is replicated in synchrony with the host chromosome.
 It is expression of the viral genome that harms the host cell, not the mere presence of viral DNA.
Consequently, host cells can harbor viral genomes without harm, provided that the viral genes
for lytic functions are not expressed.
 In cells that harbor a temperate virus, called lysogens, the phage genome is replicated in step
with the host genome and, during cell division, is passed from one generation to the next.
 Under certain stressful conditions temperate viruses may revert to the lytic pathway and begin
to produce virions.
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Jessica Dupas, Biology https://www.ryss.org/Page/2196
ANIMAL VIRUSES

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Classification of
Animal Viruses
 Classified according to the
Baltimore classification system,
which classifies viruses by
genome type and reproductive
strategy.
 Animal viruses are known in all
replication categories

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Consequences of Virus Infection in Animal Cells
Viruses can have several different effects on animal
cells.
1. Virulent infection
 Results in the destruction of the host cell
2. Persistent infections
 The infected cell may remain alive and continue to
produce virus indefinitely by a kind of budding process.
3. Latent infection of a host.
 There is a delay between infection by the virus and host
cell lysis.

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Consequences of Virus Infection in Animal Cells
Viruses can have several different effects on animal
cells.
1. Virulent infection
2. Persistent infections
3. Latent infection of a host.
4. Cell fusion
 Fusion between multiple animal cells, creating giant cells
with several nuclei. Such fused cells fail to develop
correctly and are short lived.
5. Transformation
 convert a normal cell into a tumor cell.

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dsDNA Viruses
Herpesviridae
 Chicken pox (varicella)
 Is a common childhood disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus
 Highly contagious and is transmitted by infectious droplets
 Systemic papular rash that quickly heals
 Establishes a lifelong latent infection in nerve cells. The virus occasionally
migrates from this reservoir to the skin surface, causing a painful skin
eruption referred to as shingles (zoster).
 Vaccine is now used

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-ssRNA Viruses
Paramyxoviridae
 Measles (rubeola or 7-day measles)
 Affects susceptible children as an acute, highly infectious, often epidemic
disease.
 Enters the nose and throat by airborne transmission, quickly leading to
systemic viremia.
 Immunization programs are widespread
 Mumps
 Highly infectious.
 Is spread by airborne droplets
 The disease is characterized by inflammation of the salivary glands,
leading to swelling of the jaws and neck. Severe complications may
include encephalitis and, very rarely, sterility.
 Vaccine is highly effective for preventing mumps.

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-ssRNA Viruses
Orthomyxoviridae
 Influenza
 Helical nucleocapsid is surrounded by an envelope made up of protein, a
lipid bilayer, and external glycoproteins.
 There are three different types of influenza viruses
1. Influenza A,
2. Influenza B
3. Influenza C.
 Human influenza virus is transmitted from person to person through the
air, primarily in droplets expelled during coughing and sneezing. he virus
infects the mucous membranes of the
 Symptoms include a low-grade fever lasting 3–7 days, chills, fatigue,
headache, and general aching.

Electron micrograph of influenza virus. The photo shows the

location of the major viral coat proteins and the nucleic acid. Each
virion is about 100 nm in diameter. HA, hemagglutinin (three
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copies make up the HA coat spike); NA, neuraminidase (four
copies make up the NA coat spike).
-ssRNA Viruses
Orthomyxoviridae
 Influenza
 Pandemics (worldwide epidemics) are much less frequent than outbreaks and epidemics, occurring from 10 to 40 years
 They result from antigenic shift involving reassortment of viruses from two or more species.
 Virtually all of the major pandemics resulted from reassortment of avian influenza viruses and human influenza viruses in
swine.
 Worldwide deaths due to the influenza A “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1918 was about 50 million, with some estimates as
high as 100 million people worldwide.

Influenza Pandemics
Year Name Strain
1889 Russian H2N2
1900 Old Hong Kong H3N3
1918 Spanish H1N1
1957 Asian H2N2
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2009 Swine
-ssRNA Viruses
Orthomyxoviridae
 Influenza Prevention and Treatment
 Can be controlled by immunization.
 the selection of appropriate strains for vaccines is complicated by the large number of existing strains and the ability of
existing strains to undergo antigenic drift and antigenic shift.
 When new strains evolve, vaccines are not immediately available, but through careful worldwide surveillance, samples of
the major emerging strains of influenza virus are usually obtained before there are epidemics. The targeted strains,
chosen at the end of each influenza season, are grown in embryonated eggs and inactivated. The inactivated viral strains
(two influenza A and one influenza B) are mixed to prepare a vaccine used for immunization prior to the next influenza
season.

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+ssRNA Viruses
Togaviridae
 Rubella (German measles or 3-day measles)
 Disease symptoms resemble measles but are generally milder.
 Virus can infect the fetus by placental transmission during the first three
months of pregnancy, and cause serious fetal abnormalities including
stillbirth, deafness, heart and eye defects, and brain damage.
 Vaccine is available

Viral diseases and vaccines. Rubella is now controlled vaccine in the United States. Data are
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

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+ssRNA Viruses - Coronaviridae
 With a crown-like appearance under an electron
microscope
 coronam is the Latin term for crown) due to the presence
of spike glycoproteins on the envelope.
 Members of this family of viruses can cause
respiratory, enteric, hepatic, and neurological
diseases in different animal species, including
camels, cattle, cats, and bats.
 To date, seven human CoVs (HCoVs) — capable of
infecting humans

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+ssRNA Viruses - Coronaviridae
 Common human CoVs: can cause common colds
and self-limiting upper respiratory infections in
immunocompetent individuals.
 In immunocompromised subjects and the elderly, lower
respiratory tract infections can occur.
 Other human CoVs: SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and
MERS-CoV cause epidemics with variable clinical
severity featuring respiratory and extra-respiratory
manifestations.
 Concerning SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, the mortality rates are
up to 10% and 35%, respectively.

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Retroviruses (Retroviridae)
 Contain an RNA genome that is replicated
via a DNA intermediate.
 Employ the enzyme reverse transcriptase to
carry out reverse transcription.
 The first viruses shown to cause cancer
 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
 Causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS).
 Enveloped viruses

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Hepadnaviridae
 Hepatitis B virus (a human virus)
 also use reverse transcription during their
life cycles However, these other viruses
carry the DNA version of their genome in the
virion whereas retroviruses carry RNA.

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PRIONS

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Prions
 Have a distinct extracellular form, which consists entirely of protein.
 Contains neither DNA nor RNA
 Cause diseases in animals - transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
(TSEs)
 Scrapie in sheep
 Bovine spongiform
 Encephalopathy (BSE or “mad cow disease”) in cattle,
 Chronic wasting disease in deer and elk
 Kuru and Creutzfeldt– Jakob disease (CJD) in humans.

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Prions
 In 1996 it became clear from disease tracking in England that the prion
that causes BSE in cattle can also infect humans, resulting in a novel
type of CJD called variant CJD (vCJD).
 Transmission was from consumption of contaminated beef products,
 BSE were linked to improper feeding practices in which protein
supplements containing rendered cattle and sheep (including nervous
tissues) were used to feed uninfected animals.
 Since 1994, this practice has been banned in all EU countries, and cases
of BSE have dropped dramatically.
 Thus far, TSE transmission via other domesticated animals, such as
swine, chicken, or fish, hasIntroduction
not been found.
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Prions
 Native prions consist largely of -helical
segments, whereas pathogenic prions
have less -helix and more --sheet
regions instead.
 This causes the prion protein to lose its
normal function, to become partially
resistant to proteases, and to become
insoluble, leading to aggregation within
the neural cell.
 In this state, prion protein accumulates
and neurological symptoms commence. 46
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

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