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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification of Prions
Published on: November 7, 2012
[Establishment of a protein misfolding cyclic amplification for PrPSc]
1State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China. hanjun_sci@yahoo.com.cn
Objective:
To establish a methodology of protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) and utilize in the detection of PrP(Sc) in brain tissues from prion diseases.
Methods:
Different amounts of Scrapie 263K agent bulk were mixed with brain homogenates of health hamsters and treated with repeated incubation/sonication for 10 to 15 cycles. The proteinase K-resistant PrP(Sc) was evaluated with Western Blot.
Results:
In this experimental situation, 263K agent replicated rapidly in vitro, utilizing hamsters' brains as the medium. With the established PrP(Sc)-PMCA technique, PrP(Sc) signals in the preparations containing less than 10(-5) diluted 263K bulk could be detected. Compared with conveniently used immuno-blot assay, the sensitivity of PrP(Sc)-PMCA for PrP(Sc) was 10(5) to 10(6)-fold increased. It has been also shown that homogenates of cerebellar and brain stem could be used as the medium for PrP(Sc) replication.
Conclusion:
A rapidly replicating method for PrP(Sc), PrP(Sc)-PMCA, was successfully established, providing a new approach for early diagnosis of prion diseases and research on the biological features of prion.
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