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Biomedical subjects

R Gabizon

Publications and source records attributed to R Gabizon.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Properties of scrapie prion proteins in liposomes and amyloid rods.

The scrapie prion protein (PrP 27-30) has been demonstrated to be required for infectivity. Aggregates of PrP 27-30 form insoluble amyloid rods which resist dissociation by non-denaturing detergents. Mixtures of the detergent cholate and phospholipids were found to solubilize PrP 27-30 with full retention of scrapie prion infectivity. No evidence for a prion-associated nucleic acid could be found when the phospholipid vesicles with PrP 27-30 were digested with nucleases and Zn2+. Under digestion conditions which allowed hydrolysis of exogenous nucleic acids, no diminution of prion infectivity was observed. Tobacco mosaic virions added to the liposomes at a concentration 100 times lower than the scrapie prion titre could be seen by electron microscopy. These studies indicate that there is no subpopulation of filamentous scrapie viruses hidden amongst the prion rods - indeed, they would have been observed among the liposomes. The partitioning of PrP 27-30 and scrapie infectivity into phospholipid vesicles argues for a central role of PrP 27-30 in scrapie pathogenesis and establishes that the prion amyloid rods are not essential for infectivity.

Amyloid↗
PubMed1988

Scrapie prion liposomes and rods exhibit target sizes of 55,000 Da.

Scrapie is a degenerative neurologic disease in sheep and goats which can be experimentally transmitted to laboratory rodents. Considerable evidence suggests that the scrapie agent is composed largely, if not entirely, of an abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrPSc). Inactivation of scrapie prions by ionizing radiation exhibited single-hit kinetics and gave a target size of 55,000 +/- 9000 mol wt. The inactivation profile was independent of the form of the prion. Scrapie agent infectivity in brain homogenates, microsomal fractions, detergent-extracted microsomes, purified amyloid rods, and liposomes exhibited the same inactivation profile. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that the infectious particle causing scrapie contains approximately 2 PrPSc molecules.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Immunoaffinity purification and neutralization of scrapie prion infectivity.

Prions are unusual infectious pathogens causing scrapie of sheep and goats as well as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease of humans. Biochemical and genetic studies contend that the scrapie isoform of the prion protein (PrPSc) is a major component of the prion. Limited proteinase K digestion of PrPSc produced a protein of 27-30 kDa. After dispersion of brain microsomes isolated from scrapie-infected hamsters into detergent-lipid-protein complexes, copurification of PrPSc and scrapie infectivity was obtained with scrapie prion protein of 27-30 kDa monoclonal antibody-affinity columns. PrPSc was enriched approximately equal to 5700-fold with respect to total brain protein, whereas scrapie prion infectivity was enriched approximately equal to 4000-fold. The ratio of prion titer to PrPSc remained constant throughout purification. Heterologous monoclonal antibody columns failed to bind either PrPSc or scrapie infectivity. Polyclonal rabbit prion protein antiserum raised against NaDodSO4/PAGE-purified scrapie prion protein of 27-30 kDa reduced scrapie infectivity dispersed into detergent-lipid-protein complexes by a factor of 100. These results represent direct immunologic and chromatographic demonstrations of a relationship between PrPSc and prion infectivity as well as providing additional support for the contention that PrPSc is a major component of the infectious scrapie particle. That PrPSc is a host-encoded protein is an important feature distinguishing prions from viruses.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

On the biology of prions.

Prions cause scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD); these infectious pathogens are composed largely, if not entirely, of protein molecules. No prion-specific polynucleotide has been identified. Purified preparations of scrapie prions contain high titers (greater than or equal to 10(9.5) ID50/ml), one protein (PrP 27-30) and amyloid rods (10-20 nm in diameter X 100-200 nm in length). Considerable evidence indicates that PrP 27-30 is required for and inseparable from scrapie infectivity. PrP 27-30 is encoded by a cellular gene and is derived from a larger protein, denoted PrPSc or PrP 33-35Sc, by protease digestion. A cellular isoform, designated PrPC or PrP 33-35C, is encoded by the same gene as PrPSc and both proteins appear to be translated from the same 2.1 kb mRNA. Monoclonal antibodies to PrP 27-30, as well as antisera to PrP synthetic peptides, specifically react with both PrPC and PrPSc, establishing their relatedness. PrPC is digested by proteinase K, while PrPSc is converted to PrP 27-30 under the same conditions. Prion proteins are synthesized with signal peptides and are integrated into membranes. Detergent extraction of microsomal membranes isolated from scrapie-infected hamster brains solubilizes PrPC but induces PrPSc to polymerize into amyloid rods. This procedure allows separation of the two prion protein isoforms and the demonstration that PrPSc accumulates during scrapie infection, while the level of PrPC does not change. The prion amyloid rods generated by detergent extraction are identical morphologically, except for length, to extracellular collections of prion amyloid filaments which form plaques in scrapie- and CJD-infected brains. The prion amyloid plaques stain with antibodies to PrP 27-30 and PrP peptides. PrP 33-35C does not accumulate in the extracellular space. Prion rods composed of PrP 27-30 can be dissociated into phospholipid vesicles with full retention of scrapie infectivity. The murine PrP gene (Prn-p) is linked to the Prn-i gene which controls the length of the scrapie incubation period. Prolonged incubation times are a cardinal feature of scrapie and CJD. While the central role of PrPSc in scrapie pathogenesis is well established, the chemical as well as conformational differences between PrPC and PrPSc are unknown but probably arise from post-translational modifications.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1987

Purified prion proteins and scrapie infectivity copartition into liposomes.

Considerable evidence indicates that the scrapie prion protein (PrP 27-30) is required for infectivity. Aggregates of PrP 27-30 form insoluble amyloid rods that resist dissociation by nondenaturing detergents. Mixtures of the detergent cholate and phospholipids were found to solubilize purified PrP 27-30 in the form of detergent-lipid-protein complexes. Removal of the cholate by dialysis resulted in the formation of closed liposomes. Both the detergent-lipid-protein complexes and the liposomes often but not always exhibited a 10-fold increase in scrapie infectivity compared to that observed with the rods. No evidence for a prion-associated nucleic acid could be found when the phospholipid vesicles containing PrP 27-30 were digested with nucleases and Zn2+ under conditions that allowed hydrolysis of exogenously added nucleic acids. No filamentous or rod-shaped particles were found amongst prion liposomes by electron microscopy in our search for a putative filamentous "scrapie virus." The partitioning of PrP 27-30 and scrapie infectivity into phospholipid vesicles contends that PrP 27-30 has a central role in scrapie pathogenesis, establishes that the prion amyloid rods are not essential for infectivity, and argues that prions are fundamentally different from viruses.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The amine transporter from bovine chromaffin granules. Partial purification.

We have partially purified the amine transporter from bovine adrenal chromaffin granules in a single step utilizing affinity chromatography. A 5-hydroxytryptamine moiety has been coupled to a Sepharose 4B matrix in a position ortho to the hydroxyl group. When membranes solubilized with sodium cholate are chromatographed on the above matrix a 45,000 Mr polypeptide is highly enriched. The enrichment is dependent on the presence of the proper ligand on the matrix and is inhibited if the column is previously equilibrated with a soluble ligand. Enrichment of the above polypeptide is accompanied by an increase in the specific activity of the transporter as measured by its labeling by 4-azido-3-nitrophenylazo(5-hydroxytryptamine). The ability of reserpine, a competitive inhibitor of binding and transport, to inhibit labeling of the purified transporter correlates well with its known kinetic constants in the native membranes. The polypeptide purified is identical to the one previously identified as the putative transporter based on specific labeling by a photoaffinity label (Gabizon, R., Yetinzon, T., and Schuldiner, S. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 15145-15150). The results clearly support the contention that the 45,000 Mr peptide is the amine transporter or one of its subunits.

Amines↗
PubMed1982

Photoinactivation and identification of the biogenic amine transporter in chromaffin granules from bovine adrenal medulla.

We have synthesized a new derivative of 5-hydroxytryptamine, a substrate of the biogenic amine transporter in bovine chromaffin granules. This new compound, 4-azido,3-nitrophenyl-azo-(5-hydroxytryptamine), is a competitive, reversible, and specific inhibitor of the biogenic amine transporter in the dark (Ki = 2 microM)., Upon illumination, the inactivation of the transporter becomes irreversible and follows an apparent first order rate kinetics (KINAC = 4 microM). The transporter can be protected if other substrates are present during illumination. When [3H]4-azido,3-nitrophenyl-azo-(5-hydroxytryptamine) is used, preferential labeling of one polypeptide (Mr approximately 45,000) is observed in the light, provided no other substrates of the transporter are present during illumination. We have tentatively identified this polypeptide as the transporter itself or one of its subunits.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Apolipoprotein Eepsilon4 allele, a risk factor for late onset nonfamilial Alzheimer's disease among Israeli Jews.

Apolipoprotein (apoE) genotypes were determined in 90 Israeli Jews with late onset sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and in 90 age- and sex-matched non-demented controls. The percentage of subjects carrying at least one apoEepsilon4 allele was 6% among the controls, and 42% among the patients (P<0.001), indicating a strong association between late onset sporadic AD and the apoEepsilon4 allele. However, no association was found between the apoEepsilon4 allele in demented and non-demented Jewish Israeli patients with Down's syndrome or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The data presented in this paper confirmed several recent reports, suggesting that the apoEepsilon4 allele is a risk factor for the development of AD but not for the development of CJD or Down's syndrome among Israeli Jews.

Journal Article↗