Figure 6

AChE levels are altered in the brain and spleen of prion-infected mice. Left panels: Western blot analysis of cerebral cortex-enriched homogenates (a), brain extracts containing the remaining structures (b), and spleen homogenates (c) prepared from tg338 mice expressing ovine PrP (VRQ/VRQ PrP genotype) and infected with LA21K fast prions or not (controls, Ctr). All inoculated mice (n = 5) developed prion disease, as indicated by the presence of PrP^Sc, and showed altered AChE protein levels compared to age-matched, mock-infected controls (n = 5). β-actin or GAPDH levels are shown as loading control. Molecular weighs (in kilodaltons) are indicated on the left of the blots. Right panels: Vertical bar charts comparing the levels of AChE transcripts, protein and enzymatic activity in control and infected mice. Values are presented as fold change relative to control mice. Data are the mean ± SEM obtained from the indicated number of mice. mRNA levels of total AChE transcripts were normalized to HPRT expression in the same cDNA preparations. Densitometric quantification of AChE protein was normalized to β-actin (brain) or GAPDH (spleen). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.005, ***P < 0.001 compared to controls (one-way ANOVA).