In vitro propagation of the scrapie agent
Markovits, P.; Dauthville, C.; Dormont, D.; Viret, J.; Davlos, D.; Court, L.; Dianoux, L.; Delpech, B.; Latarjet, R.
Biology of the Cell 45(2): 313
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0248-4900 DOI: 10.1007/bf00685350
Accession: 028501700
Seven cell lines including glia cells from mouse brains and mouse neuroblastoma cells were infected with the mouse-adapted scrapie strain c-506. During the early in vitro passages, a stimulation of growth was already observed but cellular morphology and differentiation did not alter. Later on, after 12-16 passages, six of the seven infected lines displayed cell proliferation and morphological alterations, suggesting an in vitro morphological transformation. At this stage, differentiation was no longer observed in the scrapie-infected neuroblastoma cells and all the scrapie-infected cells formed two to four times more colonies in liquid medium than the controls, and developed large tridimensional colonies in agar. The part played by the scrapie agent in these changes is discussed.
