Type I interferon protects neurons from prions in in vivo models

Ishibashi, Daisuke; Homma, Takujiro; Nakagaki, Takehiro; Fuse, Takayuki; Sano, Kazunori; Satoh, Katsuya; Mori, Tsuyoshi; Atarashi, Ryuichiro; Nishida, Noriyuki

and spleens were significantly less (50% reduction) than in the vehicle-treated brains at 100 dpi. PrP Sc suppression in the spleens of RO8191-treated mice was observed until the terminal stage (Fig. 6B ). RO8191 treatment significantly inhibited the levels of vacuolation and PrP Sc deposition in some regions, including the cortex and spleen, compared with vehicle treatment at 100 dpi. Likewise, we also evaluated gliosis levels in the brains of RO8191-treated mice at 100 dpi. At 100 dpi, RO8191 treatment significantly reduced the expression of Iba-1 and GFAP, which are markers of activated microglia and astrocytes, in multiple regions of the cortex, thalamus and pons. However, RO8191 treatment resulted in no changes in expression in any of the regions at terminal phase (Fig. 6C, D and Supplementary Fig. 4B ). These results indicate that RO8191 might have the potential to suppress prion formation in several tissues of the body following exogenous prion infection.