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Amphotericin B treatment dissociates in vivo replication of the scrapie agent from PrP accumulation

Nature volume 356, pages 598–601 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

SCRAPIE and related animal and human disorders are neurodegenerative diseases1 characterized by the formation of a modified, partly proteinase-resistant protein (PrP) of the host2,3,which tends to aggregate as amyloid fibrils4 and accumulate in the brain of infected individuals5. There is a general consensus that the pathological form of PrP (PrPSc) is essential for the clinical appearance of the disease6, but whether it is part of the scrapie agent7 or a by-product of viral infection8,9is 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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Patologia Generate, Università Cattolica S. Cuore, Largo F. Vito 1, 00168, Rome, Italy

    You Geng Xi, Loredana Ingrosso, Anna Ladogana, Carlo Masullo & Maurizio Pocchiari

  2. Istituto di Neurologia, Università Cattolica S. Cuore, Largo F. Vito 1, 00168, Rome, Italy

    Carlo Masullo

  3. Laboratorio di Virologia, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy

    Maurizio Pocchiari

Authors
  1. You Geng Xi
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  2. Loredana Ingrosso
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  3. Anna Ladogana
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  4. Carlo Masullo
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  5. Maurizio Pocchiari
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Xi, Y., Ingrosso, L., Ladogana, A. et al. Amphotericin B treatment dissociates in vivo replication of the scrapie agent from PrP accumulation. Nature 356, 598–601 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/356598a0

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