Figure 4.

PrP^Sc and spongiform degeneration in voles inoculated with supernatant and pellet fractions from GSS-A117V. (A) Representative western blot of PrP^res from voles inoculated with the original brain homogenate (untreated BH) or with supernatant (PE_SN2 or PK_SN2) and pellet (PE_P2 or PK_P2) fractions from GSS-A117V. Membranes were probed with antibody 9A2. (B) Patterns of neurodegeneration analysed by semiquantitative assessment of spongiform degeneration in different brain regions (lesion profiles) of voles inoculated with the untreated brain homogenate or with the different purification fractions from GSS-A117V, as indicated at the top of the graph. Brain scoring areas are: medulla (1), cerebellum (2), superior colliculus (3), hypothalamus (4), thalamus (5), hippocampus (6), septum (7), retrosplenial and adjacent motor cortex (8), cingulate and adjacent motor cortex (9). Each point represents the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) of at least four individual voles.