Alper T, Haig D A, Clarke M C
J Gen Virol. 1978 Dec;41(3):503-16. doi: 10.1099/0022-1317-41-3-503.
Exposure of the scrapie agent to u.v. light at various wavelengths has shown that light of 237 nm is 4 to 5 times as effective in inactivating it as 'germicidal' wavelengths (250 to 270 nm); whereas with systems that depend on RNA or DNA for function, inactivation is most effective by wavelengths in the germicidal range and there is a minimum of response in the wavelength region round 240 nm. The action spectrum for the scrapie agent is reminiscent of the absorption spectrum for purified bacterial endotoxin, identified as a lipopolysaccharide complex. Dilute aqueous suspensions of scrapie agent were exposed to ionizing radiations in the presence or absence of oxygen. In dilute suspensions of test systems depending on the integrity of nucleic acid or protein, oxygen is almost invariably protective, but it was extremely sensitizing for inactivation of the scrapie agent, to an extent approached only in the case of membranous systems like lysosomes. Results of these two methods argue against dependence of the scrapie agent on an intrinsic nucleic acid moiety for ability to replicate. They suggest that a lipid fraction is an important component and to that extent provide additional support for the 'membrane hypothesis'.
将瘙痒病病原体暴露于不同波长的紫外线中，结果显示，波长为237nm的光在使其失活方面的效果是“杀菌”波长（250至270nm）的4至5倍；而对于依赖RNA或DNA发挥功能的系统，杀菌范围内的波长使其失活的效果最为显著，在240nm左右的波长区域反应最小。瘙痒病病原体的作用光谱让人联想到纯化的细菌内毒素（被鉴定为脂多糖复合物）的吸收光谱。在有氧或无氧条件下，将瘙痒病病原体的稀水悬浮液暴露于电离辐射中。在依赖核酸或蛋白质完整性的测试系统的稀悬浮液中，氧气几乎总是起到保护作用，但它对瘙痒病病原体的失活极具敏感性，其敏感程度仅在溶酶体等膜系统的情况下才接近。这两种方法的结果表明，瘙痒病病原体在复制能力方面并不依赖于内在的核酸部分。它们表明脂质部分是一个重要组成部分，在这一程度上为“膜假说”提供了额外支持。
