Surprisingly, uninfected cells contain a protein very similar to the prion found at the surface of brain cells, and its synthesis is encoded by a single chromosomal gene in the host.

• 令人惊讶地，未感染细胞含有类似于普利昂蛋白的蛋白质。普利昂蛋白是在大脑细胞表面发现的糖蛋白，它的合成是由宿主的单一染色体基因所编码的。