WGU Biochemistry: Protein Analysis

726 Words3 Pages
Amino Acids and Peptide bonds, Protein Structure WGU Biochemistry GRT1 May 15, 2014 Proteins • Proteins play an important roll in the body. • Proteins are made up of smaller units called amino acids. • The sequence of the amino acid controls each protein’s function and structure. • Proteins make up an essential element of cell structure. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) • BSE or bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a neurological disease of cattle. • It is believed to be transmitted to cattle from ground up meat and bone that had been infected from sheep products that were fed to the cattle. • The outbreak grew as young calves were fed meat and bone meal that was infected with the prion disease. • In order for the next…show more content…
• If the protein doesn't fold properly or if it misfolds, the process results in disease. The misfolding of the protein PrPC turns to a harmful PrPSc. • PrPSc is hydrophobic and needs other cells so it changes other PrPC’s into PrPSc. • Eventually all of the PrPC’s are changed to PrPSc’s and aggregate together in the cell and ultimately kill the cell. • This cell death is what gives tissue the spongy like appearance known as BSE. Prions • A prion is an infectious protein. It comes in two forms, harmless and harmful. • The harmful prion in BSE is called PrPSc. • The harmless prion or normal protein is called PrPC. • The prion is a problem because it is hydrophobic and needs more hydrophobic prions. PrPSc causes PrPC to change into PrPSc and continues to spread and clump together in the cell, eventually killing the cell. • PrPSc cannot change back to PrPC. Chaperones • Some proteins have trouble finding or forming their correct conformation. A protein chaperone can accompany the original protein and supervise and help it to assemble correctly. • PrPSc is acting like a chaperone in BSE but not positively. • PrPC is the protein that is getting influenced negatively. • This influence will turn all of the PrPC into PrPSc and aggregate inside the cell and kill the cell (Reynaud,…show more content…
• All meat and bone meal feed made from cattle, deer, goats or sheep, any bovine, be banned for animal consumption. This would include dog and cat food or any food that cattle could potentially eat. • In order to reduce the spread to humans, I would recommend that the population understand where their meet came from, non-ambulatory animals should not be ingested because non-ambulatory is a symptom. • If able, SRM’s should be removed from the food chain. SRM’s include skull, brain, eyes, spinal cord, part of the small intestine and dorsal root ganglia. Tonsils should also be
Open Document