'Tubulofilamentous particles' are not scrapie-specific and are unrelated to tubulovesicular structures

Abstract

'Tubulofilamentous particles' has been defined as 'thick' tubules, apparently distinguishable from other cytoskeletal elements, in touch-preparations from scrapie- and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)-infected brains. I report here that 'tubulofilamentous particles' are nonspecific findings unrelated to the subacute spongiform virus encephalopathies (SSVE) as they are observed in brains of control animals. I further suggest that these 'tubulofilamentous particles' are unrelated to 'tubulovesicular structures' (TVS) which are the only particles consistently observed in brains of naturally occurring and experimentally induced SSVE.