Key result
Psoralens at concentrations up to 500 times greater than required for conventional viruses did not influence scrapie agent titers in preparations from murine spleen and hamster brain.
The scrapie agent is resistant to inactivation by psoralens, suggesting it may be devoid of nucleic acid, its protein coat prevents penetration, or its nucleic acid is unreactive.
Psoralens fail to inactivate scrapie; leaves open protein-only infectious agent hypothesis for further validation.
Abstract –In searching for a nucleic acid within the scrapie agent, we employed psoralens which penetrate the coats of most conventional viruses, form photoadducts with their genomes, and block replication of the viruses. Five psoralens, at concentrations up to 500 times greater than those required to inactivate conventional viruses, did not influence scrapie agent titers in partially purified preparations from murine spleen and hamster brain. 3 H‐psoralens were used to monitor the formation of photoadducts within nucleic acid standards added to preparations of the scrapie agent. Since no inhibition of psoralen photoadduct formation was observed in these preparations, one of three possibilities seems likely: the scrapie agent is devoid of nucleic acid, the psoralens failed to penetrate the protein coat of the agent, or its nucleic acid is unreactive with psoralens.
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Mckinley et al. (1983) studied Scrapie. Psoralens was evaluated on Scrapie agent titers and photoadduct formation. Psoralens at concentrations up to 500 times greater than required for conventional viruses did not influence scrapie agent titers in preparations from murine spleen and hamster brain.
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