Detection of PrPsc in blood from sheep infected with the scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy agents.

The role of blood in the iatrogenic transmission of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) or prion disease has become an increasing concern since the reports of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) transmission through blood transfusion from humans with subclinical infection. The development of highly sensitive rapid assays to screen for prion infection in blood is of high priority in order to facilitate the prevention of transmission via blood and blood products. In the present study we show that PrP(sc), a surrogate marker for TSE infection, can be detected in cells isolated from the blood from naturally and experimentally infected sheep by using a rapid ligand-based immunoassay. In sheep with clinical disease, PrP(sc) was detected in the blood of 55% of scrapie agent-infected animals (n = 80) and 71% of animals with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (n = 7). PrP(sc) was also detected several months before the onset of clinical signs in a subset of scrapie agent-infected sheep, followed from 3 months of age to clinical disease. This study confirms that PrP(sc) is associated with the cellular component of blood and can be detected in preclinical sheep by an immunoassay in the absence of in vitro or in vivo amplification.

Addressing weight bias and discrimination: moving beyond raising awareness to creating change.

Weight discrimination is the unjust treatment of individuals because of their weight. There have been very few interventions to address weight discrimination, due in part to the lack of consensus on key messages and strategies. The objective of the third Canadian Weight Bias Summit was to review current evidence and move towards consensus on key weight bias and obesity discrimination reduction messages and strategies. Using a modified brokered dialogue approach, participants, including researchers, health professionals, policy makers and people living with obesity, reviewed the evidence and moved towards consensus on key messages and strategies for future interventions. Participants agreed to these key messages: (1) Weight bias and obesity discrimination should not be tolerated in education, health care and public policy sectors; (2) obesity should be recognized and treated as a chronic disease in health care and policy sectors; and (3) in the education sector, weight and health need to be decoupled. Consensus on future strategies included (1) creating resources to support policy makers, (2) using personal narratives from people living with obesity to engage audiences and communicate anti-discrimination messages and (3) developing a better clinical definition for obesity. Messages and strategies should be implemented and evaluated using consistent theoretical frameworks and methodologies.

Detection of bovine heart mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase dimers in Triton X-100 and phospholipid vesicles by chemical cross-linking.

Bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase is a multisubunit enzyme whose oligomeric state is dependent on its detergent or phospholipid environment. We have utilized the cleavable, heterobifunctional cross-linking reagent N-succinimidyl 3-[(4-azidophenyl)dithio]propionate (SADP) to detect cytochrome c oxidase dimers. Monomeric or dimeric enzyme dispersed in Triton X-100 (as assessed by sedimentation velocity measurements) was reacted with SADP. A unique intersubunit cross-link having an apparent molecular mass of 136 kDa was identified in the dimeric enzyme; this product was insensitive to limited proteolysis by trypsin and contained a cross-link between two adjacent monomers. Two-dimensional NaDodSO4-PAGE (the second dimension containing beta-mercaptoethanol to cleave the cross-linking reagent) indicated that subunit I was the major component of the dimer-specific cross-link. The dimer-specific cross-link created by SADP was observed in phospholipid vesicles [cardiolipin/phosphatidylcholine (1:20, w/w)] containing dimeric (2 microM heme aa3) enzyme; a low yield of dimer-specific cross-link was observed in liposomes containing 6 microM (heme aa3) monomeric enzyme. The 136-kDa cross-link was not observed in liposomes containing 2 microM (heme aa3) monomeric enzyme. These results indicate that subunit I from each monomer may provide one site of interaction between monomers in the dimeric form of the enzyme and that cytochrome c oxidase monomers may reassociate to form dimeric complexes in phospholipid vesicles.

Chemical labeling studies on bovine heart mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase dispersed in nonionic detergents.

In order to investigate the structural interactions of nonionic detergents with bovine heart mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX), a series of hydrophilic chemical modification reagents were used to map regions on COX which are not shielded by dodecyl beta-D-maltoside (DM), Triton X-100 (TX-100), and Tween 80 (TW-80). Low levels of incorporation of the chemical reagents [35S]benzenediazoniumsulfonate (DABS) and N-succinimidyl [3H]propionate (SP) into COX dispersed in TW-80 indicate that the bulky headgroup and hydrophobic moiety of this detergent effectively shield the enzyme from the aqueous environment. Subunits II and Va/Vb [nomenclature of Merle, P., & Kadenbach, B. (1982) Eur. J. Biochem. 125, 239-244] show an increased reactivity to [35S]DABS and [3H]SP in TW-80 and may reflect an increased exposure of these subunits to the aqueous phase in comparison to COX dispersed in TX-100 or DM. More [35S]DABS is incorporated into COX in DM than TX-100-dispersed enzyme; DABS heavily labels subunits III, VIa, and VIb in DM. While COX in TX-100 is more reactive with [3H]SP than DM-dispersed enzyme, there is no difference in the distribution of label (either DABS or SP) within the subunits of COX in DM or TX-100. Increased surface exposure of COX in TX-100 is indicated by an enhanced sensitivity of COX electron-transfer activity in enzyme chemically modified by the cross-linking reagent N-succinimidyl 3-[(4-azidophenyl)dithio]propionate (SADP) in TX-100 as compared to enzyme chemically cross-linked in the other detergents.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Determination of catecholamine permeability coefficients for passive diffusion across phospholipid vesicle membranes.

A convenient catecholamine transport assay has been developed which permits continuous, instantaneous monitoring of transmembrane flux. Epinephrine transport has been examined by spectrophotometrically monitoring adrenochrome formation resulting from the passive diffusion of catecholamine into unilamellar phospholipid vesicles containing entrapped potassium ferricyanide. Ferricyanide oxidation of epinephrine under the conditions employed is fast compared to membrane transport, which obviates the need for intravesicular concentration or volume determinations. Epinephrine transport data over a pH 6 to 7 range have been fitted to an integrated rate equation from which a permeability coefficient for neutral epinephrine of 2.7 1.5 X 10-6 cm/sec has been obtained.