NR AGLO
AU Kimberlin,R.H.
TI RNA metabolism in the brains of mice clinically affected with scrapie
QU Journal of Comparative Pathology 1968 Apr; 78(2): 237-41
PT journal article
AB Labelling experiments revealed no abnormality in the rate of uptake of isotope into scrapie-affected brain after an intraperitoneal injection of [32P] orthophosphate. A 5 to 10 per cent, decrease in the pool size of inorganic phosphorus occurred about half-way through the incubation period and the pool size remained at this level during the development of the disease. The rate of incorporation of [32P] orthophosphate into the RNA of scrapie brain was apparently reduced by 10 to 20 per cent. in clinically affected mice; changes in the concentration of RNA in affected brains made the interpretation of this finding in terms of RNA synthesis rather difficult. Sucrose gradients were used to analyse RNA previously labelled for 1 hour or 17 hours in vivo: normal radioactivity profiles were observed in the preparations from scrapie-affected brain. No differences were found between the properties of ribosomal RNA from normal and diseased mouse brain when characterised by absorption spectra, sensitivity to RNase and thermal hyperchromicity. It was concluded that any primary involvement of RNA metabolism in the development of the disease may be restricted to a relatively small population of RNA molecules and that in general the RNA metabolism of mouse brain, even in the late clinical stages of the disease, is similar to the normal.
MH Animal; *Brain Chemistry; Mice; Phosphorus/metabolism; Phosphorus Isotopes; RNA/*metabolism; Rodent Diseases/*metabolism; Scrapie/*metabolism; Sheep
AD Institute for Research on Animal Diseases, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire, UK
SP englisch
PO England