Prion pseudoknot

Prion pseudoknot
Predicted secondary structure and sequence conservation of Prion_pknot
Identifiers
Symbol	Prion_pknot
Rfam	RF00523
Other data
RNA type	Cis-reg
Domain(s)	Eukaryota
SO	SO:0000233
PDB structures	PDBe

The prion pseudoknot is predicted RNA pseudoknot structure found in prion protein mRNA.[1] It has been suggested that this element has a possible effect in prion protein translation.[2] The human prion protein gene contains 5 copies of a 24 nucleotide repeat that contains this structure.[2] The number of nucleotide repeats found in an organism may vary from one organism to another. Each species has a set number of nucleotide repeats, but when the organism deviates from this number, mutations in the prion genes may arise.[2] Human individuals that exhibit these mutations may be prone to developing prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.[2]

References

1. Wills PR (December 1992). "Potential pseudoknots in the PrP-encoding mRNA". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 159 (4): 523–527. doi:10.1016/S0022-5193(05)80696-4. PMID 1296103.
2. Barrette I, Poisson G, Gendron P, Major F (February 2001). "Pseudoknots in prion protein mRNAs confirmed by comparative sequence analysis and pattern searching". Nucleic Acids Research. 29 (3): 753–758. doi:10.1093/nar/29.3.753. PMC 30388. PMID 11160898.

External links

• Page for Prion pseudoknot at Rfam