Prion phenomenon in medicine and biology

The data obtained suggest that the fatal changes in brain tissue associated with the prion diseases, are initiated by a conformational rearrangement of constitutively expressed cellular protein PrP. Possible mechanisms of such a conversion of this protein are discussed. Existence of the proteins with the prion properties in low eukaryotes may determine the unusual mechanisms of the "protein" inheritance. A new experimental model for studying the proteins with the prion properties in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is described.