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Wright EA, Reddock MB, Roberts EK, Legesse YW, Perry G, Bradley RD. Genetic characterization of the prion protein gene in camels ( Camelus) with comments on the evolutionary history of prion disease in Cetartiodactyla. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17552. [PMID: 38948234 PMCID: PMC11214740 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a fatal neurogenerative disease that include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, scrapie in sheep and goats, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and several others as well as the recently described camel prion disease (CPD). CPD originally was documented in 3.1% of camels examined during an antemortem slaughterhouse inspection in the Ouargla region of Algeria. Of three individuals confirmed for CPD, two were sequenced for the exon 3 of the prion protein gene (PRNP) and were identical to sequences previously reported for Camelus dromedarius. Given that other TSEs, such as BSE, are known to be capable of cross-species transmission and that there is household consumption of meat and milk from Camelus, regulations to ensure camel and human health should be a One Health priority in exporting countries. Although the interspecies transmissibility of CPD currently is unknown, genotypic characterization of Camelus PRNP may be used for predictability of predisposition and potential susceptibility to CPD. Herein, eight breeds of dromedary camels from a previous genetic (mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites) and morphological study were genotyped for PRNP and compared to genotypes from CPD-positive Algerian camels. Sequence data from PRNP indicated that Ethiopian camels possessed 100% sequence identity to CPD-positive camels from Algeria. In addition, the camel PRNP genotype is unique compared to other members of the Orders Cetartiodactyla and Perissodactyla and provides an in-depth phylogenetic analysis of families within Cetartiodactyla and Perissodactyla that was used to infer the evolutionary history of the PRNP gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A. Wright
- Natural Science Research Laboratory, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America
| | - Madison B. Reddock
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America
| | - Emma K. Roberts
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America
- Climate Center, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America
| | - Yoseph W. Legesse
- School of Animal and Range Sciences, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
- Institute of Pastoral and Agropastoral Development Studies, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Ethiopia
| | - Gad Perry
- Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America
| | - Robert D. Bradley
- Natural Science Research Laboratory, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America
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Inzalaco HN, Bravo-Risi F, Morales R, Walsh DP, Storm DJ, Pedersen JA, Turner WC, Lichtenberg SS. Ticks harbor and excrete chronic wasting disease prions. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7838. [PMID: 37188858 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34308-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by infectious prions (PrPCWD) affecting cervids. Circulating PrPCWD in blood may pose a risk for indirect transmission by way of hematophagous ectoparasites acting as mechanical vectors. Cervids can carry high tick infestations and exhibit allogrooming, a common tick defense strategy between conspecifics. Ingestion of ticks during allogrooming may expose naïve animals to CWD, if ticks harbor PrPCWD. This study investigates whether ticks can harbor transmission-relevant quantities of PrPCWD by combining experimental tick feeding trials and evaluation of ticks from free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Using the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay, we show that black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) fed PrPCWD-spiked blood using artificial membranes ingest and excrete PrPCWD. Combining results of RT-QuIC and protein misfolding cyclic amplification, we detected seeding activity from 6 of 15 (40%) pooled tick samples collected from wild CWD-infected white-tailed deer. Seeding activities in ticks were analogous to 10-1000 ng of CWD-positive retropharyngeal lymph node collected from deer upon which they were feeding. Estimates revealed a median infectious dose range of 0.3-42.4 per tick, suggesting that ticks can take up transmission-relevant amounts of PrPCWD and may pose a CWD risk to cervids.
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Affiliation(s)
- H N Inzalaco
- Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
| | - F Bravo-Risi
- Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
- Centro Integrativo de Biologia y Quimica Aplicada (CIBQA), Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Santiago, Chile
| | - R Morales
- Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
- Centro Integrativo de Biologia y Quimica Aplicada (CIBQA), Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Santiago, Chile
| | - D P Walsh
- U.S. Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - D J Storm
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Eau Claire, WI, USA
| | - J A Pedersen
- Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - W C Turner
- Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - S S Lichtenberg
- Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Raudabaugh DB, Ishida Y, Haley NJ, Brown WM, Novakofski J, Roca AL, Mateus-Pinilla NE. County-wide assessments of Illinois white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) prion protein gene variation using improved primers and potential implications for management. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274640. [PMID: 36449540 PMCID: PMC9710747 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, highly infectious prion disease that affects captive and wild cervids. Chronic wasting disease is the only known transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting free-ranging wildlife. In CWD-positive deer, some haplotypes of the prion protein gene PRNP are detected at lower frequencies as compared to CWD-negative deer, as are some variants of the prion protein PrP. Here, we examined wild, hunter-harvested CWD-negative white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to determine whether there were geographical or temporal differences in the PRNP haplotypes, PRNP diplotypes, PrP proteoforms, and in the proportion of deer with at least one protective haplotype. We sampled 96-100 hunter-harvested deer per county at two time points in the Illinois counties of Jo Daviess, LaSalle, and Winnebago, chosen based on their geographic locations and known occurrence of CWD. The entire coding region of PRNP was sequenced, with haplotypes, diplotypes, and PrP proteoforms inferred. Across time, in Winnebago there was a significant increase in PrP proteoform F (p = 0.034), which is associated with a lower vulnerability to CWD. In every county, there was an increase over time in the frequency of deer carrying at least one protective haplotype to CWD, with a significant increase (p = 0.02) in the Jo Daviess County CWD infected region. We also found that primer combination was important as there was an 18.7% difference in the number of the deer identified as homozygous depending on primer usage. Current Illinois state management practices continue to remove CWD infected deer from locally infected areas helping to keep CWD prevalence low. Nonetheless, continued research on spatial and temporal changes in PRNP haplotypes, PrP proteoforms, and levels of deer vulnerability among Illinois deer will be important for the management of CWD within the state of Illinois and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel B. Raudabaugh
- Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail: (NEMP); (DBR)
| | - Yasuko Ishida
- Department of Animal Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Nicholas J. Haley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, United States of America
| | - William M. Brown
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Jan Novakofski
- Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Animal Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Alfred L. Roca
- Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Animal Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Nohra E. Mateus-Pinilla
- Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Animal Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail: (NEMP); (DBR)
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Chronic wasting disease prions in mule deer interdigital glands. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275375. [PMID: 36190981 PMCID: PMC9529147 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a geographically expanding, fatal neurodegenerative disease in cervids. The disease can be transmitted directly (animal-animal) or indirectly via infectious prions shed into the environment. The precise mechanisms of indirect CWD transmission are unclear but known sources of the infectious prions that contaminate the environment include saliva, urine and feces. We have previously identified PrPC expression in deer interdigital glands, sac-like exocrine structures located between the digits of the hooves. In this study, we assayed for CWD prions within the interdigital glands of CWD infected deer to determine if they could serve as a source of prion shedding and potentially contribute to CWD transmission. Immunohistochemical analysis of interdigital glands from a CWD-infected female mule deer identified disease-associated PrPCWD within clusters of infiltrating leukocytes adjacent to sudoriferous and sebaceous glands, and within the acrosyringeal epidermis of a sudoriferous gland tubule. Proteinase K-resistant PrPCWD material was amplified by serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) from soil retrieved from between the hoof digits of a clinically affected mule deer. Blinded testing of interdigital glands from 11 mule deer by real-time quake-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) accurately identified CWD-infected animals. The data described suggests that interdigital glands may play a role in the dissemination of CWD prions into the environment, warranting future investigation.
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Silva CJ. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Cervids and the Consequences of a Mutable Protein Conformation. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:12474-12492. [PMID: 35465121 PMCID: PMC9022204 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c00155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of cervids (deer, elk, moose, etc.). It spreads readily from CWD-contaminated environments and among wild cervids. As of 2022, North American CWD has been found in 29 states, four Canadian provinces and South Korea. The Scandinavian form of CWD originated independently. Prions propagate their pathology by inducing a natively expressed prion protein (PrPC) to adopt the prion conformation (PrPSc). PrPC and PrPSc differ solely in their conformation. Like other prion diseases, transmissible CWD prions can arise spontaneously. The CWD prions can respond to selection pressures resulting in the emergence of new strain phenotypes. Annually, 11.5 million Americans hunt and harvest nearly 6 million deer, indicating that CWD is a potential threat to an important American food source. No tested CWD strain has been shown to be zoonotic. However, this may not be true for emerging strains. Should a zoonotic CWD strain emerge, it could adversely impact the hunting economy and game meat consumers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J. Silva
- Produce Safety & Microbiology
Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research
Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Albany, California 94710, United States of America
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