Decreased receptor-mediated calcium response in prion-infected cells correlates with decreased membrane fluidity and IP sub 3 release

The most characteristic neuropathologic features of prion diseases are accumulation of PrP sup Sc in the brain and vacuolation of neurons.Neuronal vacuolation suggests plasma membrane dysfunction. In an earlier study, we found that bradykinin (Bk)-stimulated Ca²+ responses in scrapie-infected ScN₂ a cells were reduced by 30 to 50% compared with uninfected N₂ a cells. In this study, we investigated the cause. The IP₃ second-messenger response to Bk stimulation was reduced by 90%, indicating that a defect occurs in the plasma membrane. Receptor-binding assays showed a 3- to 4-fold increase in Bk receptor numbers on ScN₂ a cells; however, their binding affinity was reduced 5- to 13-fold, which may account for the decreased IP₃ and Ca²+ responses. These results argue that scrapie causes a more fundamental change in the properties of the plasma membrane. We verified this by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) analysis with a lipid probe that measures lateral membrane fluidity. A 7-fold reduction of fluidity was found. These results support the hypothesis that the conversion of PrP^C to PrP^Sc or the accumulation of PrP^Sc in scrapie-infected cells alters the composition of their plasma membranes that secondarily causes the abnormal receptor-mediated function. NEUROLOGY 1996;47: 741-750