Amphotericin B delays both scrapie agent replication and PrP-res accumulation early in infection.
Amphotericin B delays the onset of clinical symptoms in hamsters infected with scrapie agent strain 263K. Here we show that accumulation of a scrapie-specific isoform of the prion protein (PrP-res) and agent replication were delayed early in amphotericin B-treated animals. By 8 weeks postinfection, only untreated animals exhibited clinical symptoms of scrapie infection whereas PrP-res levels and titers were similar in treated and untreated animals. This suggests that although PrP-res accumulation and agent replication are linked, they are not the sole factors required for the onset of clinical disease.
McKenzie
D
D
Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
Kaczkowski
J
J
Marsh
R
R
Aiken
J
J
D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000821:virology; D006224:Cricetinae; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012608:Scrapie / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*
D018620:PrPSc Proteins; D000666:Amphotericin B