FIG 7.
Abundance and PMCA conversion capacity of dehydrated CWD PrPSc remain unchanged after repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. (A and B) Western blot analysis (A) and quantification (B) of dehydrated brain homogenate from elk infected with CWD before (0) and after 300 or 500 cycles of freezing and thawing (D.F.T.) in both unadsorbed and SCL-adsorbed forms. (C and D) Western blot analysis (C) and quantification (D) of PMCA reactions seeded with dehydrated CWD PrPSc before (0) and after 300 or 500 cycles of freezing and thawing (D.F.T.) in both unadsorbed and SCL-adsorbed forms. Samples were subjected to one round of PMCA (two rounds for SCL-adsorbed CWD). The abundance and amplification of treated samples (F.T. 300 and 500) were normalized to the untreated control (F.T. 0). All samples were digested with PK. Error bars represent standard errors of the means. Asterisks indicate significant differences between treated and untreated samples (n = 3; P value of <0.01).