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Equilibrium Density Gradient Centrifugation of the Scrapie Agent in Nycodenz

Department of Veterinary Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, U.S.A.

Plasma membrane-enriched preparations from scrapie-infected and healthy hamster brains were detergent-extracted, then separated by equilibrium density centrifugation in continuous Nycodenz® gradients. The highest level of infectivity was always associated with the insoluble residue which sedimented through 40% Nycodenz. The degree of aggregation in these insoluble complexes varied depending upon treatment. Centrifugation in gradients containing 2 M- to 8 M-urea resulted in the formation of large insoluble aggregates which seemed to retain a high level of infectivity when measured by the method of incubation interval assay. However, measurement of infectivity in these same samples by endpoint titration of tenfold dilutions resulted in values a thousand times lower. These observations reinforce previous findings that scrapie infectivity exists as a macromolecular complex and, furthermore, they emphasize the necessity for using non-denaturing conditions for purification of the scrapie agent.

Keywords: scrapie, equilibrium centrifugation, insoluble residue

Received 17 May 1984; accepted 11 July 1984.