Early induction of protein nexin-I in scrapie

WE used RNA fingerprinting by arbitrary primed PCR to identify genes whose expression is up-regulated in the brain of hamsters affected by prion disea se. One gene implicated by RNA fingerprinting encoded the hamster homologue of protein nexin-I (PN-I), a serine proteinase inhibitor, and was further investigated by Northern blot analysis. PN-I mRNA levels were increased at pre-clinical stages (19 days after inoculation) and remained elevated when the spongiform encephalopathy was anatomopathologically and clinically evid ent (at 50 and 80 days). Future RNA screening conducted as illustrated may help to reveal a spectrum of genes relevant for the etiopathogenesis and/or diagnosis of prion disease. NeuroReport 10:1677-1681 (C) 1999 Lippincott W illiams & Wilkins.