The first non-prion pathogen identified: neurotropic influenza virus.


Central residues in prion protein PrPC are crucial for its conversion into the pathogenic isoform


Virus Infection, Genetic Mutations, and Prion Infection in Prion Protein Conversion.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences


Ethanolamine Is a New Anti-Prion Compound

Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by accumulation of proteinaceous infectious particles, or prions, which mainly consist of the abnormally folded, amyloidogenic prion protein, designated PrP. PrP is produced through conformational conversion of the cellular isoform of prion protein, PrP, in the brain. To date, no effective therapies for prion diseases have been developed. In this study, we incidentally noticed that mouse neuroblastoma N2a cells persistently infected with 22L scrapie prions, termed N2aC24L1-3 cells, reduced PrP levels when cultured in advanced Dulbecco's modified eagle medium (DMEM) but not in classic DMEM. PrP levels remained unchanged in prion-uninfected parent N2aC24 cells cultured in advanced DMEM. These results suggest that advanced DMEM may contain an anti-prion compound(s). We then successfully identified ethanolamine in advanced DMEM has an anti-prion activity. Ethanolamine reduced PrP levels in N2aC24L1-3 cells, but not PrP levels in N2aC24 cells. Also, oral administration of ethanolamine through drinking water delayed prion disease in mice intracerebrally inoculated with RML scrapie prions. These results suggest that ethanolamine could be a new anti-prion compound.


Neurotropic influenza A virus infection causes prion protein misfolding into infectious prions in neuroblastoma cells.


Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide and Ozone Gas Synergistically Reduce Prion Infectivity on Stainless Steel Wire.

Prions are infectious agents causing prion diseases, which include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. Several cases have been reported to be transmitted through medical instruments that were used for preclinical CJD patients, raising public health concerns on iatrogenic transmissions of the disease. Since preclinical CJD patients are currently difficult to identify, medical instruments need to be adequately sterilized so as not to transmit the disease. In this study, we investigated the sterilizing activity of two oxidizing agents, ozone gas and vaporized hydrogen peroxide, against prions fixed on stainless steel wires using a mouse bioassay. Mice intracerebrally implanted with prion-contaminated stainless steel wires treated with ozone gas or vaporized hydrogen peroxide developed prion disease later than those implanted with control prion-contaminated stainless steel wires, indicating that ozone gas and vaporized hydrogen peroxide could reduce prion infectivity on wires. Incubation times were further elongated in mice implanted with prion-contaminated stainless steel wires treated with ozone gas-mixed vaporized hydrogen peroxide, indicating that ozone gas mixed with vaporized hydrogen peroxide reduces prions on these wires more potently than ozone gas or vaporized hydrogen peroxide. These results suggest that ozone gas mixed with vaporized hydrogen peroxide might be more useful for prion sterilization than ozone gas or vaporized hydrogen peroxide alone.


Strain-Dependent Prion Infection in Mice Expressing Prion Protein with Deletion of Central Residues 91-106.

Conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein, PrP, into the abnormally folded isoform, PrP, is a key pathogenic event in prion diseases. However, the exact conversion mechanism remains largely unknown. Transgenic mice expressing PrP with a deletion of the central residues 91-106 were generated in the absence of endogenous PrP, designated Tg(PrP∆91-106)/ mice and intracerebrally inoculated with various prions. Tg(PrP∆91-106)/ mice were resistant to RML, 22L and FK-1 prions, neither producing PrP∆91-106 or prions in the brain nor developing disease after inoculation. However, they remained marginally susceptible to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions, developing disease after elongated incubation times and accumulating PrP∆91-106 and prions in the brain after inoculation with BSE prions. Recombinant PrP∆91-104 converted into PrP∆91-104 after incubation with BSE-PrP-prions but not with RML- and 22L-PrP-prions, in a protein misfolding cyclic amplification assay. However, digitonin and heparin stimulated the conversion of PrP∆91-104 into PrP∆91-104 even after incubation with RML- and 22L-PrP-prions. These results suggest that residues 91-106 or 91-104 of PrP are crucially involved in prion pathogenesis in a strain-dependent manner and may play a similar role to digitonin and heparin in the conversion of PrP into PrP.


N-terminal Regions of Prion Protein: Functions and Roles in Prion Diseases.

The normal cellular isoform of prion protein, designated PrP, is constitutively converted to the abnormally folded, amyloidogenic isoform, PrP, in prion diseases, which include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals. PrP is a membrane glycoprotein consisting of the non-structural -terminal domain and the globular C-terminal domain. During conversion of PrP to PrP, its 2/3 C-terminal region undergoes marked structural changes, forming a protease-resistant structure. In contrast, the N-terminal region remains protease-sensitive in PrP. Reverse genetic studies using reconstituted PrP-knockout mice with various mutant PrP molecules have revealed that the N-terminal domain has an important role in the normal function of PrP and the conversion of PrP to PrP. The N-terminal domain includes various characteristic regions, such as the positively charged residue-rich polybasic region, the octapeptide repeat (OR) region consisting of five repeats of an octapeptide sequence, and the post-OR region with another positively charged residue-rich polybasic region followed by a stretch of hydrophobic residues. We discuss the normal functions of PrP, the conversion of PrP to PrP, and the neurotoxicity of PrP by focusing on the roles of the N-terminal regions in these topics.


Prion protein signaling induces M2 macrophage polarization and protects from lethal influenza infection in mice.

The cellular prion protein, PrPC, is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchored-membrane glycoprotein expressed most abundantly in neuronal and to a lesser extent in non-neuronal cells. Its conformational conversion into the amyloidogenic isoform in neurons is a key pathogenic event in prion diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals. However, the normal functions of PrPC remain largely unknown, particularly in non-neuronal cells. Here we show that stimulation of PrPC with anti-PrP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) protected mice from lethal infection with influenza A viruses (IAVs), with abundant accumulation of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages with activated Src family kinases (SFKs) in infected lungs. A SFK inhibitor dasatinib inhibited M2 macrophage accumulation in IAV-infected lungs after treatment with anti-PrP mAbs and abolished the anti-PrP mAb-induced protective activity against lethal influenza infection in mice. We also show that stimulation of PrPC with anti-PrP mAbs induced M2 polarization in peritoneal macrophages through SFK activation in vitro and in vivo. These results indicate that PrPC could activate SFK in macrophages and induce macrophage polarization to an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype after stimulation with anti-PrP mAbs, thereby eliciting protective activity against lethal infection with IAVs in mice after treatment with anti-PrP mAbs. These results also highlight PrPC as a novel therapeutic target for IAV infection.


The N-Terminal Polybasic Region of Prion Protein Is Crucial in Prion Pathogenesis Independently of the Octapeptide Repeat Region

Conformational conversion of the cellular isoform of prion protein, designated PrP, into the abnormally folded, amyloidogenic isoform, PrP, is an essential pathogenic event in prion diseases. However, the exact conversion mechanism remains largely unknown. Lines of evidence indicate that the N-terminal domain, which includes the N-terminal, positively charged polybasic region and the octapeptide repeat (OR) region, is important for PrP to convert into PrP after infection with prions. To further gain insights into the role of the polybasic region and the OR region in prion pathogenesis, we generated two different transgenic mice, designated Tg(PrP3K3A)/Prnp and Tg(PrP3K3A∆OR)/Prnp mice, which express PrP with lysine residues at codons 23, 24, and 27 in the polybasic region mutated with or without a deletion of the OR region on the Prnp background, respectively, and intracerebrally inoculated them with RML and 22L prions. We show that Tg(PrP3K3A)/Prnp mice were highly resistant to the prions, indicating that lysine residues at 23, 24, and 27 could be important for the polybasic region to support prion infection. Tg(PrP3K3A∆OR)/Prnp mice also had reduced susceptibility to RML and 22L prions equivalent to Tg(PrP3K3A)/Prnp mice. The pre-OR region, including the polybasic region, of PrP3K3A∆OR, but not PrP3K3A, was unusually converted to a protease-resistant structure during conversion to PrP3K3A∆OR. These results suggest that, while the OR region could affect the conformation of the polybasic region during conversion of PrP into PrP, the polybasic region could play a crucial role in prion pathogenesis independently of the OR region.


Tracking and clarifying differential traits of classical- and atypical L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions after transmission from cattle to cynomolgus monkeys.

Classical- (C-) and atypical L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions cause different pathological phenotypes in cattle brains, and the disease-associated forms of each prion protein (PrPSc) has a dissimilar biochemical signature. Bovine C-BSE prions are the causative agent of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. To date, human infection with L-BSE prions has not been reported, but they can be transmitted experimentally from cows to cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis), a non-human primate model. When transmitted to monkeys, C- and L-BSE prions induce different pathological phenotypes in the brain. However, when isolated from infected brains, the two prion proteins (PrPSc) have similar biochemical signatures (i.e., electrophoretic mobility, glycoforms, and resistance to proteinase K). Such similarities suggest the possibility that L-BSE prions alter their virulence to that of C-BSE prions during propagation in monkeys. To clarify this possibility, we conducted bioassays using inbred mice. C-BSE prions with or without propagation in monkeys were pathogenic to mice, and exhibited comparable incubation periods in secondary passage in mice. By contrast, L-BSE prions, either with or without propagation in monkeys, did not cause the disease in mice, indicating that the pathogenicity of L-BSE prions does not converge towards a C-BSE prion type in this primate model. These results suggest that, although C- and L-BSE prions propagated in cynomolgus monkeys exhibit similar biochemical PrPSc signatures and consist of the monkey amino acid sequence, the two prions maintain strain-specific conformations of PrPSc in which they encipher and retain unique pathogenic traits.


Prion protein protects mice from lethal infection with influenza A viruses.

The cellular prion protein, designated PrPC, is a membrane glycoprotein expressed abundantly in brains and to a lesser extent in other tissues. Conformational conversion of PrPC into the amyloidogenic isoform is a key pathogenic event in prion diseases. However, the physiological functions of PrPC remain largely unknown, particularly in non-neuronal tissues. Here, we show that PrPC is expressed in lung epithelial cells, including alveolar type 1 and 2 cells and bronchiolar Clara cells. Compared with wild-type (WT) mice, PrPC-null mice (Prnp0/0) were highly susceptible to influenza A viruses (IAVs), with higher mortality. Infected Prnp0/0 lungs were severely injured, with higher inflammation and higher apoptosis of epithelial cells, and contained higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) than control WT lungs. Treatment with a ROS scavenger or an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase (XO), a major ROS-generating enzyme in IAV-infected lungs, rescued Prnp0/0 mice from the lethal infection with IAV. Moreover, Prnp0/0 mice transgenic for PrP with a deletion of the Cu-binding octapeptide repeat (OR) region, Tg(PrPOR)/Prnp0/0 mice, were also highly susceptible to IAV infection. These results indicate that PrPC has a protective role against lethal infection with IAVs through the Cu-binding OR region by reducing ROS in infected lungs. Cu content and the activity of anti-oxidant enzyme Cu/Zn-dependent superoxide dismutase, SOD1, were lower in Prnp0/0 and Tg(PrPOR)/Prnp0/0 lungs than in WT lungs. It is thus conceivable that PrPC functions to maintain Cu content and regulate SOD1 through the OR region in lungs, thereby reducing ROS in IAV-infected lungs and eventually protecting them from lethal infection with IAVs. Our current results highlight the role of PrPC in protection against IAV infection, and suggest that PrPC might be a novel target molecule for anti-influenza therapeutics.


Prion Protein Devoid of the Octapeptide Repeat Region Delays BSE Pathogenesis in Mice.

Conformational conversion of the cellular isoform of prion protein, PrP, into the abnormally folded, amyloidogenic isoform, PrP, is a key pathogenic event in prion diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in animals. We previously reported that the octapeptide repeat (OR) region could be dispensable for converting PrP into PrP after infection with RML prions. We demonstrated that mice transgenically expressing mouse PrP with deletion of the OR region on the PrP knockout background, designated Tg(PrPΔOR)/ mice, did not show reduced susceptibility to RML scrapie prions, with abundant accumulation of PrPΔOR in their brains. We show here that Tg(PrPΔOR)/ mice were highly resistant to BSE prions, developing the disease with markedly elongated incubation times after infection with BSE prions. The conversion of PrPΔOR into PrPΔOR was markedly delayed in their brains. These results suggest that the OR region may have a crucial role in the conversion of PrP into PrP after infection with BSE prions. However, Tg(PrPΔOR)/ mice remained susceptible to RML and 22L scrapie prions, developing the disease without elongated incubation times after infection with RML and 22L prions. PrPΔOR accumulated only slightly less in the brains of RML- or 22L-infected Tg(PrPΔOR)/ mice than PrP in control wild-type mice. Taken together, these results indicate that the OR region of PrP could play a differential role in the pathogenesis of BSE prions and RML or 22L scrapie prions. Structure-function relationship studies of PrP conformational conversion into PrP are worthwhile to understand the mechanism of the conversion of PrP into PrP We show here that, by inoculating Tg(PrPΔOR)/ mice with the three different strains of RML, 22L, and BSE prions, the OR region could play a differential role in the conversion of PrP into PrP after infection with RML or 22L scrapie prions and BSE prions. PrPΔOR was efficiently converted into PrPΔOR after infection with RML and 22L prions. However, the conversion of PrPΔOR into PrPΔOR was markedly delayed after infection with BSE prions. Further investigation into the role of the OR region in the conversion of PrP into PrP after infection with BSE prions might be helpful for understanding the pathogenesis of BSE prions.


Prions amplify through degradation of the VPS10P sorting receptor sortilin.

Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by prions, which consist mainly of the abnormally folded isoform of prion protein, PrPSc. A pivotal pathogenic event in prion disease is progressive accumulation of prions, or PrPSc, in brains through constitutive conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein, PrPC, into PrPSc. However, the cellular mechanism by which PrPSc is progressively accumulated in prion-infected neurons remains unknown. Here, we show that PrPSc is progressively accumulated in prion-infected cells through degradation of the VPS10P sorting receptor sortilin. We first show that sortilin interacts with PrPC and PrPSc and sorts them to lysosomes for degradation. Consistently, sortilin-knockdown increased PrPSc accumulation in prion-infected cells. In contrast, overexpression of sortilin reduced PrPSc accumulation in prion-infected cells. These results indicate that sortilin negatively regulates PrPSc accumulation in prion-infected cells. The negative role of sortilin in PrPSc accumulation was further confirmed in sortilin-knockout mice infected with prions. The infected mice had accelerated prion disease with early accumulation of PrPSc in their brains. Interestingly, sortilin was reduced in prion-infected cells and mouse brains. Treatment of prion-infected cells with lysosomal inhibitors, but not proteasomal inhibitors, increased the levels of sortilin. Moreover, sortilin was reduced following PrPSc becoming detectable in cells after infection with prions. These results indicate that PrPSc accumulation stimulates sortilin degradation in lysosomes. Taken together, these results show that PrPSc accumulation of itself could impair the sortilin-mediated sorting of PrPC and PrPSc to lysosomes for degradation by stimulating lysosomal degradation of sortilin, eventually leading to progressive accumulation of PrPSc in prion-infected cells.


Effects of prion protein devoid of the N-terminal residues 25-50 on prion pathogenesis in mice.

The N-terminal polybasic region of the normal prion protein, PrP(C), which encompasses residues 23-31, is important for prion pathogenesis by affecting conversion of PrP(C) into the pathogenic isoform, PrP(Sc). We previously reported transgenic mice expressing PrP with residues 25-50 deleted in the PrP-null background, designated as Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice. Here, we produced two new lines of Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice, each expressing the mutant protein, PrPpreOR, 1.1 and 1.6 times more than PrP(C) in wild-type mice, and subsequently intracerebrally inoculated RML and 22L prions into them. The lower expresser showed slightly reduced susceptibility to RML prions but not to 22L prions. The higher expresser exhibited enhanced susceptibility to both prions. No prion transmission barrier was created in Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice against full-length PrP(Sc). PrP(Sc)preOR accumulated in the brains of infected Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice less than PrP(Sc) in control wild-type mice, although lower in RML-infected Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice than in 22L-infected mice. Prion infectivity in infected Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice was also lower than that in wild-type mice. These results indicate that deletion of residues 25-50 only slightly affects prion susceptibility, the conversion of PrP(C) into PrP(Sc), and prion infectivity in a strain-specific way. PrPpreOR retains residues 23-24 and lacks residues 25-31 in the polybasic region. It is thus conceivable that residues 23-24 rather than 25-31 are important for the polybasic region to support prion pathogenesis. However, other investigators have reported that residues 27-31 not 23-24 are important to support prion pathogenesis. Taken together, the polybasic region might support prion pathogenesis through multiple sites including residues 23-24 and 27-31.


Melanin or melanin-like substance interacts with the N-terminal portion of prion protein and inhibits abnormal prion protein formation in prion-infected cells.

Prion diseases are progressive fatal neurodegenerative illnesses caused by the accumulation of transmissible abnormal prion protein (PrP). To find treatments for prion diseases, we searched for substances from natural resources that inhibit abnormal PrP formation in prion-infected cells. We found that high-molecular-weight components from insect cuticle extracts reduced abnormal PrP levels. The chemical nature of these components was consistent with that of melanin. In fact, synthetic melanin produced from tyrosine or 3-hydroxy-l-tyrosine inhibited abnormal PrP formation. Melanin did not modify cellular or cell surface PrP levels, nor did it modify lipid raft or cellular cholesterol levels. Neither did it enhance autophagy or lysosomal function. Melanin was capable of interacting with PrP at two N-terminal domains. Specifically, it strongly interacted with the PrP region of amino acids 23 to 50 including a positively charged amino acid cluster and weakly interacted with the PrP octarepeat peptide region of residues 51 to 90. However, the in vitro and in vivo data were inconsistent with those of prion-infected cells. Abnormal PrP formation in protein misfolding cyclic amplification was not inhibited by melanin. Survival after prion infection was not significantly altered in albino mice or exogenously melanin-injected mice compared with that of control mice. These data suggest that melanin, a main determinant of skin color, is not likely to modify prion disease pathogenesis, even though racial differences in the incidence of human prion diseases have been reported. Thus, the findings identify an interaction between melanin and the N terminus of PrP, but the pathophysiological roles of the PrP-melanin interaction remain unclear.IMPORTANCE The N-terminal region of PrP is reportedly important for neuroprotection, neurotoxicity, and abnormal PrP formation, as this region is bound by many factors, such as metal ions, lipids, nucleic acids, antiprion compounds, and several proteins, including abnormal PrP in prion disease and the Aβ oligomer in Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, melanin, a main determinant of skin color, was newly found to interact with this N-terminal region and inhibits abnormal PrP formation in prion-infected cells. However, the data for prion infection in mice lacking melanin production suggest that melanin is not associated with the prion disease mechanism, although the incidence of prion disease is reportedly much higher in white people than in black people. Thus, the roles of the PrP-melanin interaction remain to be further elucidated, but melanin might be a useful competitive tool for evaluating the functions of other ligands at the N-terminal region.


Mouse-Hamster Chimeric Prion Protein (PrP) Devoid of N-terminal Residues 23-88 Restores Susceptibility to 22L Prions, But Not to RML Prions in PrP-Knockout Mice.

Prion infection induces conformational conversion of the normal prion protein PrPC, into the pathogenic isoform PrPSc, in prion diseases. It has been shown that PrP-knockout (Prnp0/0) mice transgenically reconstituted with a mouse-hamster chimeric PrP lacking N-terminal residues 23-88, or Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice, neither developed the disease nor accumulated MHM2Sc23-88 in their brains after inoculation with RML prions. In contrast, RML-inoculated Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice developed the disease with abundant accumulation of MHM2Sc23-88 in their brains. These results indicate that MHM223-88 itself might either lose or greatly reduce the converting capacity to MHM2Sc23-88, and that the co-expressing wild-type PrPC can stimulate the conversion of MHM223-88 to MHM2Sc23-88 in trans. In the present study, we confirmed that Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice remained resistant to RML prions for up to 730 days after inoculation. However, we found that Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice were susceptible to 22L prions, developing the disease with prolonged incubation times and accumulating MHM2Sc23-88 in their brains. We also found accelerated conversion of MHM223-88 into MHM2Sc23-88 in the brains of RML- and 22L-inoculated Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice. However, wild-type PrPSc accumulated less in the brains of these inoculated Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice, compared with RML- and 22L-inoculated Prnp 0/+ mice. These results show that MHM223-88 itself can convert into MHM2Sc23-88 without the help of the trans-acting PrPC, and that, irrespective of prion strains inoculated, the co-expressing wild-type PrPC stimulates the conversion of MHM223-88 into MHM2Sc23-88, but to the contrary, the co-expressing MHM223-88 disturbs the conversion of wild-type PrPC into PrPSc.


Species-barrier phenomenon in prion transmissibility from a viewpoint of protein science

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are fatal infectious neurodegenerative disorders. Their causative agents are prions, which are composed of disease-associated forms of prion protein (PrP(Sc)). Naturally occurring cases of TSEs are found in several mammalian species including humans, sheep, goats, minks, cattle and deer. Prions are also experimentally transmissible to other mammals such as mice, hamsters and monkeys, but interspecies transmission is often inefficient due to the 'species-barrier'. Studies have suggested that the barrier is not only simply determined by differences in amino acid sequences of cellular PrP (PrP(C)) among animal species, but also by prion strains which are closely associated with conformational properties of PrP(Sc) aggregates. Although the conformational properties of PrP(Sc) remain largely unknown, recent investigation of local structures of PrP(C) and, in particular, structural modelling of PrP(Sc) aggregates have provided molecular insight into this field. In this review, we discuss the species-barrier phenomenon in terms of the protein science.


Mouse Prion Protein (PrP) Segment 100 to 104 Regulates Conversion of PrPC to PrPSc in Prion-Infected Neuroblastoma Cells

Prion diseases are characterized by the replicative propagation of disease-associated forms of prion protein (PrP(Sc); PrP refers to prion protein). The propagation is believed to proceed via two steps; the initial binding of the normal form of PrP (PrP(C)) to PrP(Sc) and the subsequent conversion of PrP(C) to PrP(Sc). We have explored the two-step model in prion-infected mouse neuroblastoma (ScN2a) cells by focusing on the mouse PrP (MoPrP) segment 92-GGTHNQWNKPSKPKTN-107, which is within a region previously suggested to be part of the binding interface or shown to differ in its accessibility to anti-PrP antibodies between PrP(C) and PrP(Sc). Exchanging the MoPrP segment with the corresponding chicken PrP segment (106-GGSYHNQKPWKPPKTN-121) revealed the necessity of MoPrP residues 99 to 104 for the chimeras to achieve the PrP(Sc) state, while segment 95 to 98 was replaceable with the chicken sequence. An alanine substitution at position 100, 102, 103, or 104 of MoPrP gave rise to nonconvertible mutants that associated with MoPrP(Sc) and interfered with the conversion of endogenous MoPrP(C). The interference was not evoked by a chimera (designated MCM2) in which MoPrP segment 95 to 104 was changed to the chicken sequence, though MCM2 associated with MoPrP(Sc). Incubation of the cells with a synthetic peptide composed of MoPrP residues 93 to 107 or alanine-substituted cognates did not inhibit the conversion, whereas an anti-P8 antibody recognizing the above sequence in PrP(C) reduced the accumulation of PrP(Sc) after 10 days of incubation of the cells. These results suggest the segment 100 to 104 of MoPrP(C) plays a key role in conversion after binding to MoPrP(Sc).