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  • Title: Amphotericin B treatment dissociates in vivo replication of the scrapie agent from PrP accumulation.
    Author: Xi YG, Ingrosso L, Ladogana A, Masullo C, Pocchiari M.
    Journal: Nature; 1992 Apr 16; 356(6370):598-601. PubMed ID: 1348570.
    Abstract:
    Scrapie and related animal and human disorders are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the formation of a modified, partly proteinase-resistant protein (PrP) of the host, which tends to aggregate as amyloid fibrils and accumulate in the brain of infected individuals. There is a general consensus that the pathological form of PrP (PrPSc) is essential for the clinical appearance of the disease, but whether it is part of the scrapie agent or a by-product of viral infection is still controversial. Here we report that treatment of scrapie-infected hamsters with amphotericin B delays the accumulation in the brain of the proteinase-resistant portion of PrPSc by about 30 days without affecting scrapie replication. The consequence is that hamsters treated with amphotericin B developed clinical signs of disease later than infected controls. We argue that the proteinase-resistant portion of PrPSc is necessary for the development of the disease but that it is unlikely to be essential for scrapie replication.
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