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Characterization of the murine BSE infectious agent
T Manousis1, S Verghese-Nikolakaki, P Keyes
1Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 540 06, Greece.
The Journal of General Virology
|May 17, 2000
Summary
Researchers investigated bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) by solubilizing the infectious prion protein (PrPSc). Partial recovery of infectivity was achieved after renaturation, suggesting PrPSc and nucleic acids are not solely responsible for infectious particle formation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal prion disease.
- The infectious agent is believed to be a misfolded host protein, PrPSc.
- Understanding the composition of infectious prion particles is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the biochemical composition of infectious BSE particles.
- To determine the role of PrPSc and nucleic acids in prion infectivity.
- To identify factors contributing to prion formation.
Main Methods:
- Solubilization of purified murine BSE material using guanidine-HCl.
- Renaturation of the denatured material via dialysis.
- Fractionation of renatured material using isopycnic sucrose-density gradient centrifugation.
- Analysis of fractions for PrPSc, nucleic acids, and infectivity.
Main Results:
- Guanidine-HCl treatment led to a loss of infectivity.
- Infectivity was partially recovered after renaturation.
- Over 90% of PrPSc and endogenous nucleic acids did not contribute to renatured infectious particles.
- Infectivity was concentrated in low-density fractions, with significant infectivity in the lowest density fraction containing minimal PrPSc.
Conclusions:
- PrPSc and nucleic acids are not the sole components of infectious prion particles.
- The infectious agent may exist in a less aggregated or modified form.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the exact composition of infectious prion particles.