  Prions are proteinaceous infectious particles that cause neurodegenerative
diseases in humans and animals. The complex nature of prions, with respect to
their conformations and aggregations, has been an important area of research
for quite some time. Here, we develop a model of prion dynamics prior to the
formation of oligomers and subsequent development of prion diseases within a
stochastic framework, based on the analytical Master Equation and Stochastic
Simulation Algorithm by Gillespie. The results that we obtain shows that
solvent water molecules act as driving agents in the dynamics of prion
aggregation. Further, it is found that aggregated and non-aggregated proteins
tend to co-exist in an equilibrium state, depending upon the reaction rate
constants. These results may provide a theoretical and qualitative contexts of
possible therapeutic strategies in the treatment of prion diseases.
