MS-8209, A NEW AMPHOTERICIN-B DERIVATIVE, PROVIDES ENHANCED EFFICACY IN DELAYING HAMSTER SCRAPIE

To test the efficacy of a new amphotericin B derivative, MS-8209, in delaying scrapie, hamsters were infected intracerebrally with the 263K scrapie agent and treated,vith MS-8209 either early in the course of the disease or continuously, The results show that (i) all treatments lengthened the incubation period of hamster scrapie, (ii) continuous treatment with MS-8209 doubled the length of the incubation period compared with that observed in infected, untreated animals, and (iii) all treatments delayed the accumulation of a proteinase-resistant prion protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein in the brain, These findings suggest that MS-8209 is a powerful tool for investigating the pathogenesis of transmissible subacute spongiform encephalopathies.