Hamster Brain Homogenate Research Articles

Comparative analysis of scrapie agent inactivation methods

A scrapie-infected hamster brain homogenate was subjected to several different potential inactivation methods. Methods included autoclaving for various lengths of time, either alone or in combination with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide or LpH, an aqueous acid phenolic derivative (Calgon Vestal Laboratories in St. Louis, MO). Inactivation treatments utilizing either NaOH or LpH alone were also evaluated. It was determined that several of the treatments inactivated all of the detectable infectivity.

Scrapie prion rod formation in vitro requires both detergent extraction and limited proteolysis

Scrapie prion infectivity can be enriched from hamster brain homogenates by using limited proteolysis and detergent extraction. Purified fractions contain both scrapie infectivity and the protein PrP 27-30, which is aggregated in the form of prion rods. During purification, PrP 27-30 is produced from a larger membrane protein, PrPSc, by limited proteolysis with proteinase K. Brain homogenates from scrapie-infected hamsters do not contain prion rods prior to exposure to detergents and proteases. To determine whether both detergent extraction and limited proteolysis are required for the formation of prion rods, microsomal membranes were prepared from infected brains in the presence of protease inhibitors. The isolated membranes were then detergent extracted as well as protease digested to evaluate the effects of these treatments on the formation of prion rods. Neither detergent (2% Sarkosyl) extraction nor limited proteinase K digestion of scrapie microsomes produced recognizable prion amyloid rods. Only after combining detergent extraction with limited proteolysis were numerous prion rods observed. Rod formation was influenced by the protease concentration, the specificity of the protease, and the duration of digestion. Rod formation also depended upon the detergent; some combinations of protease and detergent did not produce prion amyloid rods. Similar results were obtained with purified PrPSc fractions prepared by repeated detergent extractions in the presence of protease inhibitors. These fractions contained amorphous structures but not rods; however, prion rods were produced upon conversion of PrPSc to PrP 27-30 by limited proteolysis. We conclude that the formation of prion amyloid rods in vitro requires both detergent extraction and limited proteolysis. In vivo, amyloid filaments found in the brains of animals with scrapie resemble prion rods in their width and their labeling with prion protein (PrP) antisera; however, filaments are typically longer than rods. Whether limited proteolysis and some process equivalent to detergent extraction are required for amyloid filament formation in vivo remains to be established.

Survival of scrapie virus after 3 years' interment

Supernatant fluid from a scrapie-infected hamster brain homogenate was mixed with soil, packed into perforated petri dishes that were then embedded within soil-containing pots, and buried in a garden for 3 years. Between 2 and 3 log units of the input infectivity of nearly 5 log units survived this exposure, with little leaching of virus into deeper soil layers. These results have implications for environmental contamination by scrapie and by similar agents, including those of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase by the organophosphorus insecticide methylparathion in the central nervous system of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)

The toxic effects of the organophosphorus pesticide methylparathion are primarily caused by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity in the central nervous system, whereas the relationship between butyrylcholinesterase and poisoning symptoms is unclear. The presumed different effects of methylparathion on acetylcholinesterase in various regions of brain and spinal cord suggest differences in the distribution of molecular enzyme forms. In the present work, the in vitro and in vivo effects of methylparathion on acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase were studied in whole brain homogenates of golden hamsters with biochemical methods. Furthermore, acetylcholinesterase activity was determined in regions of the nervous system by quantitative histochemistry (microdensitometry). Biochemically, very low IC50 values of the hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions of both enzymes were measured. Analysis of the time course of enzyme inhibition revealed maximum inhibition 45 min after methylparathion application. Using microdensitometry different degrees of acetylcholinesterase inhibition were found in various areas of the brain. The highest inactivation was observed in the Substantia nigra and in thalamic nuclei; in several regions of the cerebellum, the inhibition rate was comparatively lower. In conclusion, methylparathion acts as an potent inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase in the hamster nervous system. The region-specific different inactivation of acetylcholinesterase might be caused by the existence of multiple forms of the enzyme in various brain regions.

Organ-Specific Modification of the Dose-Response Relationship of Scrapie Infectivity

The dose-response relationships of scrapie strain 263K-infected hamster brain and spleen homogenates were compared to determine if intracerebral end-point titrations of infectivity in these homogenates were measures of the same pathogenic phenomenon. Analysis of the dose-response curves indicated that the average increase in incubation period per 10-fold dilution (i.e., the dilution kinetics) of brain infectivity was significantly different from that of spleen infectivity. This difference contradicted the assumption that the same pathogen or pathogenic mechanisms were responsible for producing disease in each titration. Therefore, the end-point titrations and infectivity titers of the brain and spleen homogenates were measures of two different phenomena. Subsequent passage of a scrapie-infected spleen homogenate demonstrated that the dose-response relationship of scrapie infectivity in this agent-host system was dependent on the organ titrated, not the tissue source or inoculation route of previous passage.

Monoclonal antibody analysis of keratin expression in the central nervous system.

A monoclonal antibody directed against a 65-kDa brain protein demonstrates an epitope found in keratin from human epidermis. By indirect immunofluorescence, the antibody decorates intracytoplasmic filaments in a subclass of astrocytes and Purkinje cells of adult hamster brain. Double-label immunofluorescence study using antibody to glial fibrillary acidic protein and this antibody reveals the 65-kDa protein to be closely associated with glial filaments in astrocytes of fetal mouse brain cultures. Immunoblot analysis of purified human epidermal keratin and hamster brain homogenate confirms the reactivity of this antibody to epidermal keratin polypeptides. All the major epidermal keratins were recognized by this antibody. It did not bind to the remaining major intermediate filament proteins. These findings suggest that monoclonal antibody 34C9 recognizes a cytoskeletal structure connected with intermediate filaments. In addition, the monoclonal antibody demonstrates that epidermal keratins share an epitope not only among themselves but also with a "neural keratin."

Evidence for the low molecular weight nature of scrapie agent.

THE nature of the aetiological agent of scrapie disease, a transmissible encephalopathy naturally affecting sheep and goats, remains a perplexing problem of fundamental biological importance. Recent studies on brain tissue from outbred Syrian hamsters infected with a strain originating from the Chandler strain of mouse-adapted scrapie have led to a report of a DNA component essential for scrapie infectivity as suggested by sensitivity to DNase1. The data presented here describe a purification procedure resulting in scrapie infectivity which migrates during polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as a defined area of infectivity in a region characteristic of low molecular weight nucleic acid. This electrophoretically migrating species of the scrapie agent retains the characteristic disease properties by intercerebral inoculation of crude hamster brain homogenates. Infectivity isolated from this region was resistant to treatment with a combination of SDS and proteinase K followed by ethanol precipitation. These data support the suggestion that the scrapie agent may be an infectious low molecular weight DNA.