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Scrapie and transmissible mink encephalopathy: search for infectious nucleic acid
Journal of Virology
|May 1, 1974
Abstract:
Brain preparations from animals with scrapie or transmissible mink encephalopathy were phenol extracted and examined for the presence of pathogenic nucleic acid. Animals inoculated with various extracts remained healthy, and analysis on 2.6 to 5% polyacrylamide gels failed to detect a difference in extractable RNA species between infected and normal mink brain.
Insights
Researchers investigated pathogenic nucleic acid in scrapie and transmissible mink encephalopathy. Analysis of brain extracts revealed no detectable differences in RNA, suggesting nucleic acid may not be the infectious agent.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Scrapie and transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) are fatal neurodegenerative diseases.
- The exact infectious agent responsible for these prion diseases remains under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if pathogenic nucleic acid is present in the brains of animals affected with scrapie or TME.
- To investigate the role of nucleic acid in the transmission of these encephalopathies.
Main Methods:
- Brain tissues from infected animals were subjected to phenol extraction.
- Extracted nucleic acids were analyzed using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2.6-5%).
- Inoculation studies were performed using various brain extracts.
Main Results:
- Animals inoculated with extracts from infected brains did not develop disease.
- Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis did not reveal any differences in extractable RNA species between infected and normal mink brain tissues.
Conclusions:
- The study failed to detect pathogenic nucleic acid in scrapie or TME-affected brains.
- These findings question the role of nucleic acid as the primary infectious agent in these prion diseases.