1
|
Tranulis MA, Gavier-Widén D, Våge J, Nöremark M, Korpenfelt SL, Hautaniemi M, Pirisinu L, Nonno R, Benestad SL. Chronic wasting disease in Europe: new strains on the horizon. Acta Vet Scand 2021; 63:48. [PMID: 34823556 PMCID: PMC8613970 DOI: 10.1186/s13028-021-00606-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders with known natural occurrence in humans and a few other mammalian species. The diseases are experimentally transmissible, and the agent is derived from the host-encoded cellular prion protein (PrPC), which is misfolded into a pathogenic conformer, designated PrPSc (scrapie). Aggregates of PrPSc molecules, constitute proteinaceous infectious particles, known as prions. Classical scrapie in sheep and goats and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids are known to be infectious under natural conditions. In CWD, infected animals can shed prions via bodily excretions, allowing direct host-to-host transmission or indirectly via prion-contaminated environments. The robustness of prions means that transmission via the latter route can be highly successful and has meant that limiting the spread of CWD has proven difficult. In 2016, CWD was diagnosed for the first time in Europe, in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and European moose (Alces alces). Both were diagnosed in Norway, and, subsequently, more cases were detected in a semi-isolated wild reindeer population in the Nordfjella area, in which the first case was identified. This population was culled, and all reindeer (approximately 2400) were tested for CWD; 18 positive animals, in addition to the first diagnosed case, were found. After two years and around 25,900 negative tests from reindeer (about 6500 from wild and 19,400 from semi-domesticated) in Norway, a new case was diagnosed in a wild reindeer buck on Hardangervidda, south of the Nordfjella area, in 2020. Further cases of CWD were also identified in moose, with a total of eight in Norway, four in Sweden, and two cases in Finland. The mean age of these cases is 14.7 years, and the pathological features are different from North American CWD and from the Norwegian reindeer cases, resembling atypical prion diseases such as Nor98/atypical scrapie and H- and L-forms of BSE. In this review, these moose cases are referred to as atypical CWD. In addition, two cases were diagnosed in red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Norway. The emergence of CWD in Europe is a threat to European cervid populations, and, potentially, a food-safety challenge, calling for a swift, evidence-based response. Here, we review data on surveillance, epidemiology, and disease characteristics, including prion strain features of the newly identified European CWD agents.
Collapse
|
2
|
Cassmann ED, Moore SJ, Greenlee JJ. Experimental Oronasal Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Agent from White-Tailed Deer to Suffolk Sheep. Emerg Infect Dis 2021; 27:3156-3158. [PMID: 34808075 PMCID: PMC8632196 DOI: 10.3201/eid2712.204978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease of cervids. We examined host range of CWD by oronasally inoculating Suffolk sheep with brain homogenate from a CWD-positive white-tailed deer. Sixty months after inoculation, 1/7 sheep had immunoreactivity against the misfolded form of prion protein in lymphoid tissue. Results were confirmed by mouse bioassay.
Collapse
|
3
|
Cassmann ED, Frese RD, Greenlee JJ. Second passage of chronic wasting disease of mule deer to sheep by intracranial inoculation compared to classical scrapie. J Vet Diagn Invest 2021; 33:711-720. [PMID: 34047228 DOI: 10.1177/10406387211017615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids is unclear. One hypothesis suggests that CWD originated from scrapie in sheep. We compared the disease phenotype of sheep-adapted CWD to classical scrapie in sheep. We inoculated sheep intracranially with brain homogenate from first-passage mule deer CWD in sheep (sCWDmd). The attack rate in second-passage sheep was 100% (12 of 12). Sheep had prominent lymphoid accumulations of PrPSc reminiscent of classical scrapie. The pattern and distribution of PrPSc in the brains of sheep with CWDmd was similar to scrapie strain 13-7 but different from scrapie strain x124. The western blot glycoprofiles of sCWDmd were indistinguishable from scrapie strain 13-7; however, independent of sheep genotype, glycoprofiles of sCWDmd were different than x124. When sheep genotypes were evaluated individually, there was considerable overlap in the glycoprofiles that precluded significant discrimination between sheep CWD and scrapie strains. Our data suggest that the phenotype of CWD in sheep is indistinguishable from some strains of scrapie in sheep. Given our results, current detection techniques would be unlikely to distinguish CWD in sheep from scrapie in sheep if cross-species transmission occurred naturally. It is unknown if sheep are naturally vulnerable to CWD; however, the susceptibility of sheep after intracranial inoculation and lymphoid accumulation indicates that the species barrier is not absolute.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric D Cassmann
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Rylie D Frese
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Justin J Greenlee
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Ricci A, Allende A, Bolton D, Chemaly M, Davies R, Fernández Escámez PS, Gironés R, Herman L, Koutsoumanis K, Lindqvist R, Nørrung B, Robertson L, Sanaa M, Skandamis P, Snary E, Speybroeck N, Ter Kuile B, Threlfall J, Wahlström H, Benestad S, Gavier-Widen D, Miller MW, Ru G, Telling GC, Tryland M, Ortiz Pelaez A, Simmons M. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids. EFSA J 2017; 15:e04667. [PMID: 32625260 PMCID: PMC7010154 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In April and May of 2016, Norway confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a wild reindeer and a wild moose, respectively. In the light of this emerging issue, the European Commission requested EFSA to recommend surveillance activities and, if necessary, additional animal health risk-based measures to prevent the introduction of the disease and the spread into/within the EU, specifically Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden, and considering seven wild, semidomesticated and farmed cervid species (Eurasian tundra reindeer, Finnish (Eurasian) forest reindeer, moose, roe deer, white-tailed deer, red deer and fallow deer). It was also asked to assess any new evidence on possible public health risks related to CWD. A 3-year surveillance system is proposed, differing for farmed and wild or semidomesticated cervids, with a two-stage sampling programme at the farm/geographically based population unit level (random sampling) and individual level (convenience sampling targeting high-risk animals). The current derogations of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1918 present a risk of introduction of CWD into the EU. Measures to prevent the spread of CWD within the EU are dependent upon the assumption that the disease is already present; this is currently unknown. The measures listed are intended to contain (limit the geographic extent of a focus) and/or to control (actively stabilise/reduce infection rates in an affected herd or population) the disease where it occurs. With regard to the zoonotic potential, the human species barrier for CWD prions does not appear to be absolute. These prions are present in the skeletal muscle and other edible tissues, so humans may consume infected material in enzootic areas. Epidemiological investigations carried out to date make no association between the occurrence of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and exposure to CWD prions.
Collapse
|
5
|
Madsen-Bouterse SA, Schneider DA, Zhuang D, Dassanayake RP, Balachandran A, Mitchell GB, O'Rourke KI. Primary transmission of chronic wasting disease versus scrapie prions from small ruminants to transgenic mice expressing ovine or cervid prion protein. J Gen Virol 2016; 97:2451-2460. [PMID: 27393736 PMCID: PMC5042132 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of mice expressing either ovine (Tg338) or cervid (TgElk) prion protein (PrP) have aided in characterization of scrapie and chronic wasting disease (CWD), respectively. Experimental inoculation of sheep with CWD prions has demonstrated the potential for interspecies transmission but, infection with CWD versus classical scrapie prions may be difficult to differentiate using validated diagnostic platforms. In this study, mouse bioassay in Tg338 and TgElk was utilized to evaluate transmission of CWD versus scrapie prions from small ruminants. Mice (≥5 per homogenate) were inoculated with brain homogenates from clinically affected sheep or goats with naturally acquired classical scrapie, white-tailed deer with naturally acquired CWD (WTD-CWD) or sheep with experimentally acquired CWD derived from elk (sheep-passaged-CWD). Survival time (time to clinical disease) and attack rates (brain accumulation of protease resistant PrP, PrPres) were determined. Inoculation with classical scrapie prions resulted in clinical disease and 100 % attack rates in Tg338, but no clinical disease at endpoint (>300 days post-inoculation, p.i.) and low attack rates (6.8 %) in TgElk. Inoculation with WTD-CWD prions yielded no clinical disease or brain PrPres accumulation in Tg338 at endpoint (>500 days p.i.), but rapid onset of clinical disease (~121 days p.i.) and 100 % attack rate in TgElk. Sheep-passaged-CWD resulted in transmission to both mouse lines with 100 % attack rates at endpoint in Tg338 and an attack rate of ~73 % in TgElk with some culled due to clinical disease. These primary transmission observations demonstrate the potential of bioassay in Tg338 and TgElk to help differentiate possible infection with CWD versus classical scrapie prions in sheep and goats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sally A. Madsen-Bouterse
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-7040, USA
| | - David A. Schneider
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-7040, USA
- Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Pullman, WA 99164-6630, USA
| | - Dongyue Zhuang
- Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Pullman, WA 99164-6630, USA
| | - Rohana P. Dassanayake
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-7040, USA
| | - Aru Balachandran
- National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection, Agency, Ottawa Laboratory–Fallowfield, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gordon B. Mitchell
- National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection, Agency, Ottawa Laboratory–Fallowfield, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Katherine I. O'Rourke
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-7040, USA
- Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Pullman, WA 99164-6630, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Hamir AN, Miller JM, Cutlip RC, Kunkle RA, Jenny AL, Stack MJ, Chaplin MJ, Richt JA. Transmission of Sheep Scrapie to Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) by Intracerebral Inoculation: Final Outcome of the Experiment. J Vet Diagn Invest 2016; 16:316-21. [PMID: 15305743 DOI: 10.1177/104063870401600410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
This is a final report of an experimental transmission of sheep scrapie agent by intracerebral inoculation to Rocky Mountain elk ( Cervus elaphus nelsoni). It documents results obtained in experimental ( n = 6) and control ( n = 2) elk. During the first 2 years postinoculation (PI), 3 animals died or were euthanized because of infection or injuries other than spongiform encephalopathy (SE). In years 3 and 4 PI, 3 other inoculated elk died after brief terminal neurological episodes. Necropsy of these animals revealed moderate weight loss but no other gross lesions. Microscopically, characteristic lesions of SE were seen throughout the brain and spinal cord, and the tissue was positive for proteinase K-resistant prion protein (PrPres) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and by Western blot. Scrapie-associated fibrils (SAF) were observed by negative-stain electron microscopy in the brain of elk with neurologic signs. PrPres and SAF were not detected in the 3 inoculated elk necropsied during the first 2 years or in the 2 control animals. Retrospective analysis of the gene-encoding cervid PrP revealed a polymorphism at codon 132. The elk with SE were either homozygous (MM) or heterozygous (LM). These findings confirm that intracerebral inoculation of sheep scrapie agent results in SE with accumulations of PrPres in the central nervous system of elk. Based on morphologic and IHC findings, the experimentally induced SE cannot be distinguished from chronic wasting disease of elk with currently available diagnostic techniques.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amir N Hamir
- National Animal Disease Center, ARS, USDA, Ames, IA 50010, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Methods for Differentiating Prion Types in Food-Producing Animals. BIOLOGY 2015; 4:785-813. [PMID: 26580664 PMCID: PMC4690018 DOI: 10.3390/biology4040785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2015] [Revised: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Prions are an enigma amongst infectious disease agents as they lack a genome yet confer specific pathologies thought to be dictated mainly, if not solely, by the conformation of the disease form of the prion protein (PrPSc). Prion diseases affect humans and animals, the latter including the food-producing ruminant species cattle, sheep, goats and deer. Importantly, it has been shown that the disease agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is zoonotic, causing variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. Current diagnostic tests can distinguish different prion types and in food-producing animals these focus on the differentiation of BSE from the non-zoonotic agents. Whilst BSE cases are now rare, atypical forms of both scrapie and BSE have been reported, as well as two types of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids. Typing of animal prion isolates remains an important aspect of prion diagnosis and is now becoming more focused on identifying the range of prion types that are present in food-producing animals and also developing tests that can screen for emerging, novel prion diseases. Here, we review prion typing methodologies in light of current and emerging prion types in food-producing animals.
Collapse
|
8
|
Jeong HJ, Lee NH, Lee JB, Park SY, Song CS, Seo KH, Kim DW, Kim YS, Choi IS. Development of monoclonal antibodies against the abnormal prion protein isoform (PrP(res)) associated with chronic wasting disease (CWD). J Vet Sci 2013; 13:429-32. [PMID: 23271186 PMCID: PMC3539130 DOI: 10.4142/jvs.2012.13.4.429] [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] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for the abnormal prion protein isoform (PrPres) are indispensable for diagnosing chronic wasting disease (CWD). In this study, eight mAbs were developed by immunizing PrP knockout mice with recombinant elk PrP and an immunogenic PrP peptide. The reactivity of the mAbs to recombinant PrP and the PrP peptide was measured, and their isotypes were subsequently determined. Among them, four mAbs (B85-05, B85-08, B85-12, and B77-75) were shown by Western blotting to recognize proteinase K-treated brain homogenate derived from an elk suffering from CWD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hyun-Jeong Jeong
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701, Korea
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Daus ML, Beekes M. Chronic wasting disease: fingerprinting the culprit in risk assessments. Prion 2012; 6:17-22. [PMID: 22453172 DOI: 10.4161/pri.6.1.17776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (prion diseases) in animals may be associated with a zoonotic risk potential for humans as shown by the occurrence of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the wake of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy epidemic. Thus, the increasing exposure of humans in North America to cervid prions of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk and deer has prompted comprehensive risk assessments. The susceptibility of humans to CWD infections is currently under investigation in different studies using macaques as primate models. The necessity for such studies was recently reinforced when disease-associated prion protein and its seeding activity were detected in muscles of clinically inconspicuous CWD-infected white-tailed deer. Increasing evidence points to the existence of different CWD strains, and CWD prions may also change or newly emerge over time. Therefore, CWD isolates examined in macaques should be characterized as precisely as possible for their molecular identity. On this basis other CWD field samples collected in the past, present or future could be systematically compared with macaque-tested inocula in order to assess whether they are covered by the ongoing risk assessments in primates. CWD typing by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy of pathological prion protein may provide a method of choice for this purpose.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin L Daus
- P24-Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany
| | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Winters-Hilt S, Horton-Chao E, Morales E. The NTD Nanoscope: potential applications and implementations. BMC Bioinformatics 2011; 12 Suppl 10:S21. [PMID: 22166072 PMCID: PMC3236844 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-12-s10-s21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nanopore transduction detection (NTD) offers prospects for a number of highly sensitive and discriminative applications, including: (i) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection; (ii) targeted DNA re-sequencing; (iii) protein isoform assaying; and (iv) biosensing via antibody or aptamer coupled molecules. Nanopore event transduction involves single-molecule biophysics, engineered information flows, and nanopore cheminformatics. The NTD Nanoscope has seen limited use in the scientific community, however, due to lack of information about potential applications, and lack of availability for the device itself. Meta Logos Inc. is developing both pre-packaged device platforms and component-level (unassembled) kit platforms (the latter described here). In both cases a lipid bi-layer workstation is first established, then augmentations and operational protocols are provided to have a nanopore transduction detector. In this paper we provide an overview of the NTD Nanoscope applications and implementations. The NTD Nanoscope Kit, in particular, is a component-level reproduction of the standard NTD device used in previous research papers. RESULTS The NTD Nanoscope method is shown to functionalize a single nanopore with a channel current modulator that is designed to transduce events, such as binding to a specific target. To expedite set-up in new lab settings, the calibration and troubleshooting for the NTD Nanoscope kit components and signal processing software, the NTD Nanoscope Kit, is designed to include a set of test buffers and control molecules based on experiments described in previous NTD papers (the model systems briefly described in what follows). The description of the Server-interfacing for advanced signal processing support is also briefly mentioned. CONCLUSIONS SNP assaying, SNP discovery, DNA sequencing and RNA-seq methods are typically limited by the accuracy of the error rate of the enzymes involved, such as methods involving the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) enzyme. The NTD Nanoscope offers a means to obtain higher accuracy as it is a single-molecule method that does not inherently involve use of enzymes, using a functionalized nanopore instead.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Winters-Hilt
- Dept of Computer Science, University of New Orleans, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Greenlee JJ, Smith JD, Kunkle RA. White-tailed deer are susceptible to the agent of sheep scrapie by intracerebral inoculation. Vet Res 2011; 42:107. [PMID: 21988781 PMCID: PMC3199251 DOI: 10.1186/1297-9716-42-107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2011] [Accepted: 10/11/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Interspecies transmission studies afford the opportunity to better understand the potential host range and origins of prion diseases. The purpose of this experiment was to determine susceptibility of white-tailed deer to the agent of scrapie after intracerebral inoculation and to compare clinical signs and lesions to those reported for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Deer (n = 5) were inoculated with 1 mL of a 10% (wt/vol) brain homogenate derived from a sheep clinically affected with scrapie. A non-inoculated deer was maintained as a negative control. Deer were observed daily for clinical signs of disease and euthanized and necropsied when unequivocal signs of scrapie were noted. One animal died 7 months post inoculation (pi) due to intercurrent disease. Examinations of brain tissue for the presence of the disease-associated abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) by western blot (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were negative whereas IHC of lymphoid tissues was positive. Deer necropsied at 15-22 months pi were positive for scrapie by IHC and WB. Deer necropsied after 20 months pi had clinical signs of depression and progressive weight loss. Tissues with PrPSc immunoreactivity included brain (at levels of cerebrum, hippocampus, colliculus, cerebellum, and brainstem), trigeminal ganglion, neurohypophysis, retina, spinal cord, and various lymphoid tissues including tonsil, retropharyngeal and mesenteric lymph nodes, Peyer's patches, and spleen. This work demonstrates for the first time that white-tailed deer are susceptible to sheep scrapie by intracerebral inoculation. To further test the susceptibility of white-tailed deer to scrapie these experiments will be repeated with a more natural route of inoculation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin J Greenlee
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, ARS, USDA, Ames, IA 50010, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Perrott MR, Sigurdson CJ, Mason GL, Hoover EA. Evidence for distinct chronic wasting disease (CWD) strains in experimental CWD in ferrets. J Gen Virol 2011; 93:212-221. [PMID: 21918005 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.035006-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an evolving prion disease of cervids (deer, elk and moose) that has been recognized in North America and Korea. Infection of non-cervid reservoir or transport species in nature is not reported. However, the ferret (Mustela putorius furo) is susceptible to CWD after experimental inoculation. Here, we report that infection of ferrets with either of two ferret CWD isolates by various routes of exposure has revealed biologically distinct strain-like properties distinguished by different clinical progression and survival period. The isolates of ferret CWD were also differentiated by the distribution of the infectious prion protein (PrP(CWD)) in the brain and periphery, and by the proteinase K sensitivity of PrP(CWD). These findings suggest that diversity in prion conformers exists in CWD-infected cervids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Perrott
- Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
| | - Christina J Sigurdson
- Dept Pathology, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Gary L Mason
- Dept Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Edward A Hoover
- Dept Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Wang P, Hatcher KL, Bartz JC, Chen SG, Skinner P, Richt J, Liu H, Sreevatsan S. Selection and characterization of DNA aptamers against PrP(Sc). Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2011; 236:466-76. [PMID: 21444369 DOI: 10.1258/ebm.2011.010323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of zoonotic and fatal neurodegenerative disorders that affect humans and animals. The pathogenesis of TSEs involves a conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrP) into abnormal isoforms. Currently, cellular and pathological forms of PrP are differentiated using specific antibody-based analyses that are resource intensive and not applicable to all species and strains. Thus, there is an urgent need for sensitive and efficient assays that can detect pathological forms of PrP. Using systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment, we developed DNA aptamers that can differentiate normal and abnormal PrP isoforms. These aptamers represent the first reagents that can identify pathological isoforms of PrP across multiple host species. Second, they are able to distinguish different strains of prions. Third, they can be used to detect prions in peripheral blood cells, which are otherwise undetectable using conventional antibody-based detection methods. Thus, DNA aptamers offer promise for the development of presymptomatic screens of tissue, blood and other body fluids for prion contamination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ping Wang
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Joint Scientific Opinion on any possible epidemiological or molecular association between TSEs in animals and humans. EFSA J 2011. [DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2011.1945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
|
15
|
Gilch S, Chitoor N, Taguchi Y, Stuart M, Jewell JE, Schätzl HM. Chronic wasting disease. Top Curr Chem (Cham) 2011; 305:51-77. [PMID: 21598099 DOI: 10.1007/128_2011_159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of free-ranging and farmed ungulates (deer, elk, and moose) in North America and South Korea. First described by the late E.S. Williams and colleagues in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming in the 1970s, CWD has increased tremendously both in numerical and geographical distribution, reaching prevalence rates as high as 50% in free-ranging and >90% in captive deer herds in certain areas of USA and Canada. CWD is certainly the most contagious prion infection, with significant horizontal transmission of infectious prions by, e.g., urine, feces, and saliva. Dissemination and persistence of infectivity in the environment combined with the appearance in wild-living and migrating animals make CWD presently uncontrollable, and pose extreme challenges to wild-life disease management. Whereas CWD is extremely transmissible among cervids, its trans-species transmission seems to be restricted, although the possible involvement of rodent and carnivore species in environmental transmission has not been fully evaluated. Whether or not CWD has zoonotic potential as had Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has yet to be answered. Of note, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) was only detected because clinical presentation and age of patients were significantly different from classical CJD. Along with further understanding of the molecular biology and pathology of CWD, its transmissibility and species restrictions and development of methods for preclinical diagnosis and intervention will be crucial for effective containment of this highly contagious prion disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Gilch
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82070, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
Sandberg MK, Al-Doujaily H, Sigurdson CJ, Glatzel M, O'Malley C, Powell C, Asante EA, Linehan JM, Brandner S, Wadsworth JDF, Collinge J. Chronic wasting disease prions are not transmissible to transgenic mice overexpressing human prion protein. J Gen Virol 2010; 91:2651-7. [PMID: 20610667 PMCID: PMC3052602 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.024380-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects free-ranging and captive cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, Rocky Mountain elk and moose. CWD-infected cervids have been reported in 14 USA states, two Canadian provinces and in South Korea. The possibility of a zoonotic transmission of CWD prions via diet is of particular concern in North America where hunting of cervids is a popular sport. To investigate the potential public health risks posed by CWD prions, we have investigated whether intracerebral inoculation of brain and spinal cord from CWD-infected mule deer transmits prion infection to transgenic mice overexpressing human prion protein with methionine or valine at polymorphic residue 129. These transgenic mice have been utilized in extensive transmission studies of human and animal prion disease and are susceptible to BSE and vCJD prions, allowing comparison with CWD. Here, we show that these mice proved entirely resistant to infection with mule deer CWD prions arguing that the transmission barrier associated with this prion strain/host combination is greater than that observed with classical BSE prions. However, it is possible that CWD may be caused by multiple prion strains. Further studies will be required to evaluate the transmission properties of distinct cervid prion strains as they are characterized.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Malin K Sandberg
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
17
|
Meyerett C, Michel B, Pulford B, Spraker TR, Nichols TA, Johnson T, Kurt T, Hoover EA, Telling GC, Zabel MD. In vitro strain adaptation of CWD prions by serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification. Virology 2008; 382:267-76. [PMID: 18952250 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2008.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2008] [Revised: 09/08/2008] [Accepted: 09/12/2008] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
We used serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) to amplify the D10 strain of CWD prions in a linear relationship over two logs of D10 dilutions. The resultant PMCA-amplified D10 induced terminal TSE disease in CWD-susceptible Tg(cerPrP)1536 mice with a survival time approximately 80 days shorter than the original D10 inoculum, similar to that produced by in vivo sub-passage of D10 in Tg(cerPrP)1536 mice. Both in vitro-amplified and mouse-passaged D10 produced brain lesion profiles, glycoform ratios and conformational stabilities significantly different than those produced by the original D10 inoculum in Tg(cerPrP)1536 mice. These findings demonstrate that sPMCA can amplify and adapt prion strains in vitro as effectively and much more quickly than in vivo strain adaptation by mouse passage. Thus sPMCA may represent a powerful tool to assess prion strain adaptation and species barriers in vitro.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Crystal Meyerett
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
18
|
Perucchini M, Griffin K, Miller MW, Goldmann W. PrP genotypes of free-ranging wapiti (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease. J Gen Virol 2008; 89:1324-1328. [PMID: 18420812 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.83424-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in PrP prion gene sequence appears to modulate susceptibility to chronic wasting disease (CWD), a naturally occurring prion disease affecting four North American species of the family Cervidae. Wapiti (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) PrP is polymorphic at codon 132 [methionine (M) or leucine (L)]. We genotyped 171 samples, collected between 2002 and 2005 from CWD-infected and uninfected wapiti from three free-ranging populations in Colorado, USA, to study influences of PrP polymorphisms on CWD susceptibility further. Overall genotype frequencies for 124 apparently uninfected animals were 65.3 % MM132, 32.3 % ML132 and 2.4 % LL132; for 47 CWD-infected animals, these frequencies were 70.2 % MM132, 27.7 % ML132 and 2.1 % LL132. Surprisingly, our data revealed that, among recent (approx. 2002--2005) CWD cases detected in free-ranging Colorado wapiti, the three PrP codon 132 genotypes were represented in proportion to their abundance in sampled populations (P> or =0.24) and all three genotypes showed equivalent susceptibility to infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Karen Griffin
- Wildlife Research Center, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Michael W Miller
- Wildlife Research Center, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
19
|
Béringue V, Vilotte JL, Laude H. Prion agent diversity and species barrier. Vet Res 2008; 39:47. [PMID: 18519020 DOI: 10.1051/vetres:2008024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2008] [Accepted: 05/30/2008] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian prions are the infectious agents responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), a group of fatal, neurodegenerative diseases, affecting both domestic animals and humans. The most widely accepted view to date is that these agents lack a nucleic acid genome and consist primarily of PrP(Sc), a misfolded, aggregated form of the host-encoded cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) that propagates by autocatalytic conversion and accumulates mainly in the brain. The BSE epizooty, allied with the emergence of its human counterpart, variant CJD, has focused much attention on two characteristics that prions share with conventional infectious agents. First, the existence of multiple prion strains that impose, after inoculation in the same host, specific and stable phenotypic traits such as incubation period, molecular pattern of PrP(Sc) and neuropathology. Prion strains are thought to be enciphered within distinct PrP(Sc) conformers. Second, a transmission barrier exists that restricts the propagation of prions between different species. Here we discuss the possible situations resulting from the confrontation between species barrier and prion strain diversity, the molecular mechanisms involved and the potential of interspecies transmission of animal prions, including recently discovered forms of TSE in ruminants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Béringue
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UR892, Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, F-78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
20
|
Sigurdson CJ. A prion disease of cervids: chronic wasting disease. Vet Res 2008; 39:41. [PMID: 18381058 DOI: 10.1051/vetres:2008018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2007] [Accepted: 03/31/2008] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of deer, elk, and moose, initially recognized in Colorado mule deer. The discovery of CWD beyond the borders of Colorado and Wyoming, in Canada and as far east as New York, has led to its emergence as a prion disease of international importance. Epidemiological studies indicate that CWD is horizontally transmitted among free-ranging animals, potentially indirectly by prion-containing secreta or excreta contaminating the environment. Experimental CWD transmission attempts to other wild and domestic mammals and to transgenic mice expressing the prion protein of cattle, sheep, and humans have shed light on CWD species barriers. Transgenic mice expressing the cervid prion protein have proven useful for assessing the genetic influences of Prnp polymorphisms on CWD susceptibility. Accumulating evidence of CWD pathogenesis indicates that the misfolded prion protein or prion infectivity seems to be widely disseminated in many nonneural organs and in blood. This review highlights contemporary research findings in this prion disease of free-ranging wildlife.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christina J Sigurdson
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0612, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Hamir AN, Kunkle RA, Nicholson EM, Miller JM, Hall SM, Schoenenbruecher H, Brunelle BW, Richt JA. Preliminary observations on the experimental transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) from elk and white-tailed deer to fallow deer. J Comp Pathol 2008; 138:121-30. [PMID: 18336829 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2007.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2007] [Accepted: 12/05/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
To determine the transmissibility of chronic wasting disease (CWD) to fallow deer (Dama dama) and to provide information about clinical course, lesions and suitability of currently used diagnostic procedures for detection of CWD in this species, 13 fawns were inoculated intracerebrally with CWD brain suspension from elk (n=6) or white-tailed deer (n=7). Three other fawns were kept as uninfected controls. Three CWD-inoculated deer were killed 7.6 months post-inoculation (mpi). None had abnormal prion protein (PrPd) in their tissues. One sick deer died at 24 mpi and one deer without clinical signs was killed at 26 mpi. Both animals had a small focal accumulation of PrPd in the midbrain. Between 29 and 37 mpi, three other deer became sick and were killed. All had shown gradual decrease in appetite and some loss of body weight. Microscopical lesions of spongiform encephalopathy were not observed, but PrPd was detected in tissues of the central nervous system (CNS) by immunohistochemistry, western blot and by two commercially available rapid diagnostic tests. This study demonstrates that intracerebrally inoculated fallow deer amplified CWD PrPd from white-tailed deer and elk in the absence of lesions of spongiform encephalopathy. Four years after CWD inoculation, the remaining five inoculated and two control deer are alive and apparently healthy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A N Hamir
- National Animal Disease Center, ARS, USDA, 2300 Dayton Avenue, P.O. Box 70, Ames, IA 50010, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
22
|
Masujin K, Shimada K, Kimura KM, Imamura M, Yoshida A, Iwamaru Y, Mohri S, Yokoyama T. Applicability of current bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) diagnostic procedures for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Microbiol Immunol 2007; 51:1039-43. [PMID: 17951994 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2007.tb03988.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids is one of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies ; however, its risk to humans is still obscure. An increase in number of diseased deer in North America has raised concerns regarding the CWD risk to humans. We demonstrated that the con-firmatory procedures and the commercial diagnostic kits for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) can be adopted for the diagnosis of CWD. No CWD case was confirmed in the surveillance of 558 cervids that were examined between 2003 and 2006 in Japan.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kentaro Masujin
- Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856, Japan
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
23
|
Race BL, Meade-White KD, Ward A, Jewell J, Miller MW, Williams ES, Chesebro B, Race RE. Levels of abnormal prion protein in deer and elk with chronic wasting disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2007; 13:824-30. [PMID: 17553219 PMCID: PMC2792865 DOI: 10.3201/eid1306.070186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk is a widespread health concern because its potential for crossspecies transmission is undetermined. CWD prevalence in wild elk is much lower than its prevalence in wild deer, and whether CWD-infected deer and elk differ in ability to infect other species is unknown. Because lymphoid tissues are important in the pathogenesis of some transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as sheep scrapie, we investigated whether CWD-affected elk and deer differ in distribution or quantity of disease-associated prion protein (PrPres) in lymphoid tissues. Immunoblot quantification of PrPres from tonsil and retropharyngeal lymph nodes showed much higher levels of PrPres in deer than in elk. This difference correlated with the natural prevalence of CWD in these species and suggested that CWD-infected deer may be more likely than elk to transmit the disease to other cervids and have a greater potential to transmit CWD to noncervids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anne Ward
- Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Jean Jewell
- University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Trifilo MJ, Ying G, Teng C, Oldstone MB. Chronic wasting disease of deer and elk in transgenic mice: oral transmission and pathobiology. Virology 2007; 365:136-43. [PMID: 17451773 PMCID: PMC1950321 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2007.03.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2007] [Revised: 02/21/2007] [Accepted: 03/15/2007] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
To study the pathogenesis of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk, transgenic (tg) mice were generated that expressed the prion protein (PrP) of deer containing a glycine at amino acid (aa) 96 and a serine at aa 225 under transcriptional control of the murine PrP promoter. This construct was introduced into murine PrP-deficient mice. As anticipated, neither non-tg mice nor PrP ko mice were susceptible when inoculated intracerebrally (i.c.) or orally with CWD brain material (scrapie pool from six mule deer) and followed for 600+ days (dpi). Deer PrP tg mice were not susceptible to i.c. inoculation with murine scrapie. In contrast, a fatal neurologic disease occurred accompanied by conversion of deer PrPsen to PrPres by western blot and immunohistochemistry after either i.c. inoculation with CWD brain into two lines of tg mice studied (312+32 dpi [mean+2 standard errors] for the heterozygous tg line 33, 275+46 dpi for the heterozygous tg line 39 and 210 dpi for the homozygous tg line 33) or after oral inoculation (381+55 dpi for the homozygous tg line 33 and 370+26 dpi for the homozygous tg line 39). Kinetically, following oral inoculation of CWD brain, PrPres was observed by day 200 when mice were clinically healthy in the posterior surface of the dorsum of the tongue primarily in serous and mucous glands, in the intestines, in large cells at the splenic marginal zone that anatomically resembled follicular dendritic cells and macrophages and in the olfactory bulb and brain stem but did not occur in the cerebellum, cerebral cortex or hippocampus or in hearts, lungs and livers of infected mice. After 350 days when mice become clinically ill the cerebellum, cerebral cortex and hippocampus became positive for PrPres and displayed massive spongiosis, neuronal drop out, gliosis and florid plaques.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Trifilo
- Viral-Immunobiology Laboratory, Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Ge Ying
- Viral-Immunobiology Laboratory, Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Chao Teng
- Viral-Immunobiology Laboratory, Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Michael B.A. Oldstone
- Viral-Immunobiology Laboratory, Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Department of Infectology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- *Corresponding author. Fax: 858-784-9981. E-mail address: (M.B.A. Oldstone)
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Mawhinney S, Pape WJ, Forster JE, Anderson CA, Bosque P, Miller MW. Human prion disease and relative risk associated with chronic wasting disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2007; 12:1527-35. [PMID: 17176567 PMCID: PMC3290936 DOI: 10.3201/eid1210.060019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Colorado death certificate data from 1979 through 2001 show that the risk for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease did not increase for residents of counties where chronic wasting disease is endemic among deer and elk. The transmission of the prion disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to humans raises concern about chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease of deer and elk. In 7 Colorado counties with high CWD prevalence, 75% of state hunting licenses are issued locally, which suggests that residents consume most regionally harvested game. We used Colorado death certificate data from 1979 through 2001 to evaluate rates of death from the human prion disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The relative risk (RR) of CJD for CWD-endemic county residents was not significantly increased (RR 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40–1.63), and the rate of CJD did not increase over time (5-year RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.73–1.16). In Colorado, human prion disease resulting from CWD exposure is rare or nonexistent. However, given uncertainties about the incubation period, exposure, and clinical presentation, the possibility that the CWD agent might cause human disease cannot be eliminated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Mawhinney
- University of Colorado at Denver, Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado 80262, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
26
|
Raymond GJ, Raymond LD, Meade-White KD, Hughson AG, Favara C, Gardner D, Williams ES, Miller MW, Race RE, Caughey B. Transmission and adaptation of chronic wasting disease to hamsters and transgenic mice: evidence for strains. J Virol 2007; 81:4305-14. [PMID: 17287284 PMCID: PMC1866158 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02474-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In vitro screening using the cell-free prion protein conversion system indicated that certain rodents may be susceptible to chronic wasting disease (CWD). Therefore, CWD isolates from mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk were inoculated intracerebrally into various rodent species to assess the rodents' susceptibility and to develop new rodent models of CWD. The species inoculated were Syrian golden, Djungarian, Chinese, Siberian, and Armenian hamsters, transgenic mice expressing the Syrian golden hamster prion protein, and RML Swiss and C57BL10 wild-type mice. The transgenic mice and the Syrian golden, Chinese, Siberian, and Armenian hamsters had limited susceptibility to certain of the CWD inocula, as evidenced by incomplete attack rates and long incubation periods. For serial passages of CWD isolates in Syrian golden hamsters, incubation periods rapidly stabilized, with isolates having either short (85 to 89 days) or long (408 to 544 days) mean incubation periods and distinct neuropathological patterns. In contrast, wild-type mouse strains and Djungarian hamsters were not susceptible to CWD. These results show that CWD can be transmitted and adapted to some species of rodents and suggest that the cervid-derived CWD inocula may have contained or diverged into at least two distinct transmissible spongiform encephalopathy strains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory J Raymond
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch, NIAID, NIH, Rocky Mountain Labs, 903 S. 4th St., Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
LaFauci G, Carp RI, Meeker HC, Ye X, Kim JI, Natelli M, Cedeno M, Petersen RB, Kascsak R, Rubenstein R. Passage of chronic wasting disease prion into transgenic mice expressing Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) PrPC. J Gen Virol 2006; 87:3773-3780. [PMID: 17098997 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.82137-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is one of three naturally occurring forms of prion disease, the others being Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans and scrapie in sheep. In the last few decades, CWD has spread among captive and free-ranging cervids in 13 US states, two Canadian provinces and recently in Korea. The origin of the CWD agent(s) in cervids is not known. This study describes the development of a transgenic mouse line (TgElk) homozygous for a transgene array encoding the elk prion protein (PrPC) and its use in propagating and simulating CWD in mice. Intracerebral injection of one mule deer and three elk CWD isolates into TgElk mice led to disease with incubation periods of 127 and 95 days, respectively. Upon secondary passage, the incubation time was reduced to 108 and 90 days, respectively. Upon passage into TgElk mice, CWD prions (PrPSc) maintained the characteristic Western blot profiles seen in CWD-affected mule deer and elk and produced histopathological modifications consistent with those observed in the natural disease. The short incubation time observed on passage from cervid to mouse with both mule deer and elk CWD brain homogenates and the demonstrated capacity of the animals to propagate (mouse to mouse) CWD agents make the TgElk line a valuable model to study CWD agents in cervid populations. In addition, these results with this new transgenic line suggest the intriguing hypothesis that there could be more than one strain of CWD agent in cervids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe LaFauci
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| | - Richard I Carp
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| | - Harry C Meeker
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| | - Xuemin Ye
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| | - Jae I Kim
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| | - Michael Natelli
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| | - Marisol Cedeno
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| | - Robert B Petersen
- Case Western Reserve University - Institute of Pathology, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44120, USA
| | - Richard Kascsak
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| | - Richard Rubenstein
- New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Konold T, Lee YH, Stack MJ, Horrocks C, Green RB, Chaplin M, Simmons MM, Hawkins SAC, Lockey R, Spiropoulos J, Wilesmith JW, Wells GAH. Different prion disease phenotypes result from inoculation of cattle with two temporally separated sources of sheep scrapie from Great Britain. BMC Vet Res 2006; 2:31. [PMID: 17044917 PMCID: PMC1636635 DOI: 10.1186/1746-6148-2-31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2006] [Accepted: 10/17/2006] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Given the theoretical proposal that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) could have originated from sheep scrapie, this study investigated the pathogenicity for cattle, by intracerebral (i.c.) inoculation, of two pools of scrapie agents sourced in Great Britain before and during the BSE epidemic. Two groups of ten cattle were each inoculated with pools of brain material from sheep scrapie cases collected prior to 1975 and after 1990. Control groups comprised five cattle inoculated with sheep brain free from scrapie, five cattle inoculated with saline, and for comparison with BSE, naturally infected cattle and cattle i.c. inoculated with BSE brainstem homogenate from a parallel study. Phenotypic characterisation of the disease forms transmitted to cattle was conducted by morphological, immunohistochemical, biochemical and biological methods. Results Disease occurred in 16 cattle, nine inoculated with the pre-1975 inoculum and seven inoculated with the post-1990 inoculum, with four cattle still alive at 83 months post challenge (as at June 2006). The different inocula produced predominantly two different disease phenotypes as determined by histopathological, immunohistochemical and Western immunoblotting methods and biological characterisation on transmission to mice, neither of which was identical to BSE. Whilst the disease presentation was uniform in all scrapie-affected cattle of the pre-1975 group, the post-1990 inoculum produced a more variable disease, with two animals sharing immunohistochemical and molecular profile characteristics with animals in the pre-1975 group. Conclusion The study has demonstrated that cattle inoculated with different pooled scrapie sources can develop different prion disease phenotypes, which were not consistent with the phenotype of BSE of cattle and whose isolates did not have the strain typing characteristics of the BSE agent on transmission to mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Timm Konold
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - Yoon Hee Lee
- National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, Anyang, Republic of Korea
| | - Michael J Stack
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - Claire Horrocks
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - Robert B Green
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - Melanie Chaplin
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - Marion M Simmons
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - Steve AC Hawkins
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - Richard Lockey
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - John Spiropoulos
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| | - John W Wilesmith
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 1A Page Street, London, UK
| | - Gerald AH Wells
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, UK
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Sigurdson CJ, Manco G, Schwarz P, Liberski P, Hoover EA, Hornemann S, Polymenidou M, Miller MW, Glatzel M, Aguzzi A. Strain fidelity of chronic wasting disease upon murine adaptation. J Virol 2006; 80:12303-11. [PMID: 17020952 PMCID: PMC1676299 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01120-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease of deer and elk, is highly prevalent in some regions of North America. The establishment of mouse-adapted CWD prions has proven difficult due to the strong species barrier between mice and deer. Here we report the efficient transmission of CWD to transgenic mice overexpressing murine PrP. All mice developed disease 500 +/- 62 days after intracerebral CWD challenge. The incubation period decreased to 228 +/- 103 days on secondary passage and to 162 +/- 6 days on tertiary passage. Mice developed very large, radially structured cerebral amyloid plaques similar to those of CWD-infected deer and elk. PrP(Sc) was detected in spleen, indicating that murine CWD was lymphotropic. PrP(Sc) glycoform profiles maintained a predominantly diglycosylated PrP pattern, as seen with CWD in deer and elk, across all passages. Therefore, all pathological, biochemical, and histological strain characteristics of CWD appear to persist upon repetitive serial passage through mice. These findings indicate that the salient strain-specific properties of CWD are encoded by agent-intrinsic components rather than by host factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christina J Sigurdson
- UniversitätsSpital Zürich, Institute of Neuropathology, Department of Pathology, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091 Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
30
|
Langeveld JPM, Jacobs JG, Erkens JHF, Bossers A, van Zijderveld FG, van Keulen LJM. Rapid and discriminatory diagnosis of scrapie and BSE in retro-pharyngeal lymph nodes of sheep. BMC Vet Res 2006; 2:19. [PMID: 16764717 PMCID: PMC1544330 DOI: 10.1186/1746-6148-2-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2006] [Accepted: 06/09/2006] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Diagnosis based on prion detection in lymph nodes of sheep and goats can improve active surveillance for scrapie and, if it were circulating, for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). With sizes that allow repetitive testing and a location that is easily accessible at slaughter, retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLN) are considered suitable organs for testing. Western blotting (WB) of brain homogenates is, in principle, a technique well suited to both detect and discriminate between scrapie and BSE. In this report, WB is developed for rapid diagnosis in RLN and to study biochemical characteristics of PrPres. RESULTS Optimal PrPres detection in RLN by WB was achieved by proper tissue processing, antibody choice and inclusion of a step for PrPresconcentration. The analyses were performed on three different sheep sources. Firstly, in a study with preclinical scrapie cases, WB of RLN from infected sheep of VRQ/VRQ genotype--VRQ represents, respectively, polymorphic PrP amino acids 136, 154, and 171--allowed a diagnosis 14 mo earlier compared to WB of brain stem. Secondly, samples collected from sheep with confirmed scrapie in the course of passive and active surveillance programmes in the period 2002-2003 yielded positive results depending on genotype: all sheep with genotypes ARH/VRQ, VRQ/VRQ, and ARQ/VRQ scored positive for PrPres, but ARQ/ARQ and ARR/VRQ were not all positive. Thirdly, in an experimental BSE study, detection of PrPres in all 11 ARQ/ARQ sheep, including 7 preclinical cases, was possible. In all instances, WB and IHC were almost as sensitive. Moreover, BSE infection could be discriminated from scrapie infection by faster electrophoretic migration of the PrPres bands. Using dual antibody staining with selected monoclonal antibodies like 12B2 and L42, these differences in migration could be employed for an unequivocal differentiation between BSE and scrapie. With respect to glycosylation of PrPres, BSE cases exhibited a greater diglycosylated fraction than scrapie cases. Furthermore, a slight time dependent increase of diglycosylated PrPres was noted between individual sheep, which was remarkable in that it occurred in both scrapie and BSE study. CONCLUSION The present data indicate that, used in conjunction with testing in brain, WB of RLN can be a sensitive tool for improving surveillance of scrapie and BSE, allowing early detection of BSE and scrapie and thereby ensuring safer sheep and goat products.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan PM Langeveld
- Central Institute for Animal Disease Control Lelystad (CIDC-Lelystad), PO Box 2004, 8203 AA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Jorg G Jacobs
- Central Institute for Animal Disease Control Lelystad (CIDC-Lelystad), PO Box 2004, 8203 AA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Jo HF Erkens
- Central Institute for Animal Disease Control Lelystad (CIDC-Lelystad), PO Box 2004, 8203 AA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Alex Bossers
- Central Institute for Animal Disease Control Lelystad (CIDC-Lelystad), PO Box 2004, 8203 AA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Fred G van Zijderveld
- Central Institute for Animal Disease Control Lelystad (CIDC-Lelystad), PO Box 2004, 8203 AA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Lucien JM van Keulen
- Central Institute for Animal Disease Control Lelystad (CIDC-Lelystad), PO Box 2004, 8203 AA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Gavier-Widén D, Stack MJ, Baron T, Balachandran A, Simmons M. Diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in animals: a review. J Vet Diagn Invest 2006; 17:509-27. [PMID: 16475509 DOI: 10.1177/104063870501700601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in animals include, among others, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), scrapie, chronic wasting disease, and atypical forms of prion diseases. Diagnosis of TSEs is based on identification of characteristic lesions or on detection of the abnormal prion proteins in tissues, often by use of their partial proteinase K resistance property. Correctly sampling of target tissues is of utmost importance as this has a considerable effect on test sensitivity. Most of the rapid or screening tests are based on ELISA or Western immunoblot (WB) analysis, and many are officially approved. Confirmatory testing is normally performed by use of histologic examination, immunohistochemical analysis, certain WB protocols, or detection of prion fibrils by use of electron microscopy (scrapie-associated fibril). The discriminatory methods for diagnostic use are mostly based on WB technology and provide initial identification of the prion strain, particularly for differentiation of BSE from scrapie in small ruminants. Definitive prion strain characterization is performed by use of bioassays, usually in mice. A burgeoning number of transgenic mice have been developed for TSE studies. Development of new tests with higher sensitivity and of more reliable diagnostic applications for live animals tested for food safety reasons is a rapidly developing field. Ultimately, the choice of a test for TSE diagnosis depends on the rationale for the testing.
Collapse
|
32
|
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a unique transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (O. virginianus), and Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). The natural history of CWD is incompletely understood, but it differs from scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) by virtue of its occurrence in nondomestic and free-ranging species. CWD has many features in common with scrapie, including early widespread distribution of disease-associated prion protein (PrP(d)) in lymphoid tissues, with later involvement of central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral tissues. This distribution likely contributes to apparent efficiency of horizontal transmission and, in this, is similar to scrapie and differs from BSE. Clinical features and lesions of CWD are qualitatively similar to the other animal TSEs. Microscopically, marked spongiform lesions occur in the central nervous system (CNS) after a prolonged incubation period and variable course of clinical disease. During incubation, PrP(d) can be identified in tissues by antibody-based detection systems. Although CWD can be transmitted by intracerebral inoculation to cattle, sheep, and goats, ongoing studies have not demonstrated that domestic livestock are susceptible via oral exposure, the presumed natural route of exposure to TSEs. Surveillance efforts for CWD in captive and free-ranging cervids will continue in concert with similar activities for scrapie and BSE. Eradication of CWD in farmed cervids is the goal of state, federal, and industry programs, but eradication of CWD from free-ranging populations of cervids is unlikely with currently available management techniques.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- E S Williams
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wtoming, Laramie, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Xie Z, O’Rourke KI, Dong Z, Jenny AL, Langenberg JA, Belay ED, Schonberger LB, Petersen RB, Zou W, Kong Q, Gambetti P, Chen SG. Chronic wasting disease of elk and deer and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: comparative analysis of the scrapie prion protein. J Biol Chem 2005; 281:4199-206. [PMID: 16338930 PMCID: PMC4484765 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m509052200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a transmissible prion disease that affects elk and deer, poses new challenges to animal and human health. Although the transmission of CWD to humans has not been proven, it remains a possibility. If this were to occur, it is important to know whether the "acquired" human prion disease would show a phenotype including the scrapie prion protein (PrP(Sc)) features that differ from those associated with human sporadic prion disease. In this study, we have compared the pathological profiles and PrP(Sc) characteristics in brains of CWD-affected elk and deer with those in subjects with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), as well as CJD-affected subjects who might have been exposed to CWD, using histopathology, immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting, conformation stability assay, and N-terminal protein sequencing. Spongiform changes and intense PrP(Sc) staining were present in several brain regions of CWD-affected animals. Immunoblotting revealed three proteinase K (PK)-resistant bands in CWD, representing different glycoforms of PrP(Sc). The unglycosylated PK-resistant PrP(Sc) of CWD migrated at 21 kDa with an electrophoretic mobility similar to that of type 1 human PrP(Sc) present in sporadic CJD affecting subjects homozygous for methionine at codon 129 (sCJDMM1). N-terminal sequencing showed that the PK cleavage site of PrP(Sc) in CWD occurred at residues 82 and 78, similar to that of PrP(Sc) in sCJDMM1. Conformation stability assay also showed no significant difference between elk CWD PrP(Sc) and the PrP(Sc) species associated with sCJDMM1. However, there was a major difference in glycoform ratio of PrP(Sc) between CWD and sCJDMM1 affecting both subjects potentially exposed to CWD and non-exposed subjects. Moreover, PrP(Sc) of CWD exhibited a distinct constellation of glycoforms distinguishable from that of sCJDMM1 in two-dimensional immunoblots. These findings underline the importance of detailed PrP(Sc) characterization in trying to detect novel forms of acquired prion disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhiliang Xie
- Institute of Pathology and National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Katherine I. O’Rourke
- United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Services, Animal Disease Research Unit, Pullman, Washington 99164
| | - Zhiqian Dong
- Institute of Pathology and National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Allen L. Jenny
- United States Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Ames, Iowa 50010
| | - Julie A. Langenberg
- Wildlife Health Program, Bureau of Wildlife Management, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin 53707
| | - Ermias D. Belay
- National Center for Infectious Diseases, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333
| | - Lawrence B. Schonberger
- National Center for Infectious Diseases, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333
| | - Robert B. Petersen
- Institute of Pathology and National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Wenquan Zou
- Institute of Pathology and National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Qingzhong Kong
- Institute of Pathology and National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Institute of Pathology and National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Shu G. Chen
- Institute of Pathology and National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 216-368-8925; Fax: 216-368-2546;
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Donofrio G, Heppner FL, Polymenidou M, Musahl C, Aguzzi A. Paracrine inhibition of prion propagation by anti-PrP single-chain Fv miniantibodies. J Virol 2005; 79:8330-8. [PMID: 15956578 PMCID: PMC1143714 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.13.8330-8338.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are characterized by the deposition of PrP(Sc), an abnormal form of the cellular prion protein PrP(C). A growing body of evidence suggests that antibodies to PrP(C) can antagonize deposition of PrP(Sc). However, host tolerance hampers the induction of immune responses to PrP(C), and cross-linking of PrP(C) by bivalent anti-PrP antibodies is neurotoxic. In order to obviate these problems, we explored the antiprion potential of recombinant single-chain antibody (scFv) fragments. scFv fragments derived from monoclonal anti-PrP antibody 6H4, flagged with c-myc and His6 tags, were correctly processed and secreted by mammalian RD-4 rhabdomyosarcoma cells. When cocultured with cells secreting anti-PrP scFv, chronically prion-infected neuroblastoma cells ceased to produce PrP(Sc), even if antibody-producing cells were physically separated from target cells in transwell cultures. Expression of scFv with irrelevant specificity, or of similarly tagged molecules, was not curative. Therefore, eukaryotically expressed scFv exerts a paracrine antiprion activity. The effector functions encoded by immunoglobulin constant domains are unnecessary for this effect. Because of their small size and their monovalent binding, scFv fragments may represent candidates for gene transfer-based immunotherapy of prion diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gaetano Donofrio
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091 Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
35
|
Zhu BT. Human and animal spongiform encephalopathies are autoimmune diseases: a novel theory and its supporting evidence. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2005; 63:155-90. [PMID: 15797468 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7742(05)63006-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bao Ting Zhu
- Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Abstract
Antibody-based immunotherapy may represent a realistic approach against prion diseases, given that antibodies to the cellular prion protein PrPC have been shown to antagonize deposition of the disease-associated prion protein (termed PrPSc) in in vitro assays and in laboratory animals. However, induction of protective antiprion immune responses in wild-type animals is difficult because of host tolerance to the endogenous PrPC. Several studies indicate that it might be possible to overcome tolerance to PrPC and induce immune responses to bacterially expressed, recombinant PrP. However, it is much more difficult to induce antibodies capable of recognizing native cell-surface PrPC, and there is reason to believe that the latter immune responses correlate with anti-prion protection. The difficulties involved in eliciting development of such anti-native PrPC immune responses may be partly intrinsic to B cells and, in addition, may reside in peripheral T helper tolerance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frank L Heppner
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091, Switzerland.
| | | |
Collapse
|
37
|
Browning SR, Mason GL, Seward T, Green M, Eliason GAJ, Mathiason C, Miller MW, Williams ES, Hoover E, Telling GC. Transmission of prions from mule deer and elk with chronic wasting disease to transgenic mice expressing cervid PrP. J Virol 2004; 78:13345-50. [PMID: 15542685 PMCID: PMC524991 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.78.23.13345-13350.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We generated mice expressing cervid prion protein to produce a transgenic system simulating chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk. While normal mice were resistant to CWD, these transgenic mice uniformly developed signs of neurological dysfunction approximately 230 days following intracerebral inoculation with four CWD isolates. Inoculated transgenic mice homozygous for the transgene array developed disease after approximately 160 days. The brains of sick transgenic mice exhibited widespread spongiform degeneration and contained abnormal prion protein and abundant amyloid plaques, many of which were florid plaques. Transmission studies indicated that the same prion strain caused CWD in the analyzed mule deer and elk. These mice provide a new and reliable tool for detecting CWD prions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shawn R Browning
- Department of Microbiology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose St., Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Spraker TR, Balachandran A, Zhuang D, O'Rourke KI. Variable patterns of distribution of PrP(CWD) in the obex and cranial lymphoid tissues of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with subclinical chronic wasting disease. Vet Rec 2004; 155:295-302. [PMID: 15478500 DOI: 10.1136/vr.155.10.295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Sections of medulla oblongata, taken at the level of the obex, palatine tonsil and medial retropharyngeal lymph node from 10,269 captive Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), were examined by immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibody for the prion protein associated with the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids, chronic wasting disease (PrP(CWD)). The protein was detected in 226 of them. On the basis of the anatomical location of the deposits in the brainstem of 183 elk, four distinct patterns of distribution of PrP(CWD) within the parasympathetic region of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve and the adjacent nuclei were observed. Mild gross lesions of chronic wasting disease (serous atrophy of fat) were observed in only three elk, all with spongiform degeneration; the other elk were considered to be in the preclinical stage of the disease. In contrast with the relatively predictable distribution of prion protein (PrP) in the brain and cranial nodes of sheep and mule deer, the distribution of PrP(CWD) in the brain and nodes of the elk was more variable and unrelated to their PrP genotype. One hundred and fifty-five of the 226 positive elk had deposits of PrP(CWD) in the brainstem and lymphoid tissues, 43 had deposits only in the lymphoid tissue and 28 had deposits only in the brainstem.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- T R Spraker
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Stack MJ, Balachandran A, Chaplin M, Davis L, Czub S, Miller B. The first Canadian indigenous case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has molecular characteristics for prion protein that are similar to those of BSE in the United Kingdom but differ from those of chronic wasting disease in captive elk and deer. THE CANADIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL = LA REVUE VETERINAIRE CANADIENNE 2004; 45:825-30. [PMID: 15532881 PMCID: PMC545986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
Brain tissue from a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from Alberta was subjected to a Western immunoblotting technique to ascertain the molecular profile of any disease-specific, abnormal prion protein, that is, prion protein that is protease-resistant (PrP(res)). This technique can discriminate between isolates from BSE, ovine scrapie, and sheep experimentally infected with BSE. Isolates of brain tissue from the BSE case in Alberta, 3 farmed elk with chronic wasting disease (CWD) from different parts of Saskatchewan, and 1 farmed white-tailed deer with CWD from Edmonton, Alberta, were examined alongside isolates of brain tissue from BSE, ovine scrapie, and sheep experimentally infected with BSE from the United Kingdom (UK). The molecular weights of PrP(res) and the cross reactions to 2 specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were determined for each sample. The BSE isolates from Canada and the UK had very similar PrP(res) molecular weights and reacted with only 1 of the 2 mAbs. The PrP(res) isolated from both elk and white-tailed deer with CWD had a higher molecular weight profile than did the corresponding PrP(res) from the scrapie and BSE isolates. The PrP(res) from CWD cases cross reacted with both mAbs, a property shared with PrP(res) in isolates from scrapie but not with PrP(res) isolates from BSE or sheep experimentally infected with BSE. The results from this study seem to confirm that the PrP(res) isolated from the BSE case in Alberta has similar molecular properties to the PrP(res) isolated from a BSE case in the UK, and that it differs in its molecular and immunological characteristics from the CWD and scrapie cases studied.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Stack
- Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Molecular Biology Department, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom KT15 3NB
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
40
|
Polymenidou M, Heppner FL, Pellicioli EC, Urich E, Miele G, Braun N, Wopfner F, Schätzl HM, Becher B, Aguzzi A. Humoral immune response to native eukaryotic prion protein correlates with anti-prion protection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004; 101 Suppl 2:14670-6. [PMID: 15292505 PMCID: PMC521983 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0404772101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are characterized by the deposition of an abnormal form (termed PrP(Sc)) of the cellular prion protein (PrP(C)). Because antibodies to PrP(C) can antagonize deposition of PrP(Sc) in cultured cells and mice, they may be useful for anti-prion therapy. However, induction of protective anti-prion immune responses in WT animals may be hindered by host tolerance. Here, we studied the cellular and molecular basis of tolerance to PrP(C). Immunization of Prnp(o/o) mice with bacterially expressed PrP (PrP(REC)) resulted in vigorous humoral immune responses to PrP(REC) and native cell-surface PrP(C). Instead, WT mice yielded antibodies that failed to recognize native PrP(C) despite immunoreactivity with PrP(REC), even after immunization with PrP-PrP polyprotein and/or upon administration of anti-OX40 antibodies. Consequently, immunized WT mice experienced insignificantly delayed prion pathogenesis upon peripheral prion challenge. Anti-PrP immune responses in Prnp(o/o) mice were completely abrogated by transgenic expression of PrP(C) in B cells, T cells, neurons, or hepatocytes, but only moderately reduced by expression in myelinating cells, despite additional thymic Prnp transcription in each case. We conclude that tolerance to PrP(C) can coexist with immunoreactivity to PrP(REC) and does not depend on thymic PrP(C) expression. Its circumvention might represent an important step toward the development of effective anti-prion immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Magdalini Polymenidou
- Institute of Neuropathology, Neuroimmunology Unit, University Hospital, Schmelzbergstrasse 12 and Frauenklinikstrasse 10, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Bastian FO, Dash S, Garry RF. Linking chronic wasting disease to scrapie by comparison of Spiroplasma mirum ribosomal DNA sequences. Exp Mol Pathol 2004; 77:49-56. [PMID: 15215050 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2004.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2004] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) are fatal neurodegenerative diseases of man and animals and are transmitted by a filterable pathogen whose identity is currently unresolved. Our data indicates that Spiroplasma, a wall-less bacterium, is involved in the pathogenesis of TSE. We searched for Spiroplasma ribosomal gene sequences in 10 scrapie-infected sheep brains and 10 normal sheep brains, 7 cervid samples infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD), and 7 normal cervid brains. DNA was extracted from these tissue samples and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers specific for Spiroplasma-specific 16S rDNA. Specificity of the amplicon was determined by Southern blotting and DNA sequence analyses. Spiroplasma 16S rDNA was found in 8 of 10 scrapie-infected sheep brains and 6 of 7 CWD-infected tissue samples. All normal animal brain samples were negative. Spiroplasma 16S rDNA was also found in two human Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseased (CJD) brains but not in two age-matched normal human brains. DNA sequence analyses of the amplified PCR products from human and animal TSE cases revealed greater than 99% nucleotide sequence homology with Spiroplasma mirum. The presence of Spiroplasma DNA in TSE-infected tissues supports our hypothesis that Spiroplasma may be involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frank O Bastian
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
Opinion of the Scientific Panel on biological hazards (BIOHAZ) on a surveillance programme for Chronic Wasting Disease in the European Union. EFSA J 2004. [DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2004.70] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
|
43
|
Thuring CMA, Erkens JHF, Jacobs JG, Bossers A, Van Keulen LJM, Garssen GJ, Van Zijderveld FG, Ryder SJ, Groschup MH, Sweeney T, Langeveld JPM. Discrimination between scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in sheep by molecular size, immunoreactivity, and glycoprofile of prion protein. J Clin Microbiol 2004; 42:972-80. [PMID: 15004040 PMCID: PMC356877 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.42.3.972-980.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A procedure for discrimination between scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in sheep is of importance for establishing whether BSE has entered the sheep population. Since BSE has not yet been found in sheep at the farm level, such discrimination procedures can be developed only with experimental sheep BSE. Two distinctive molecular features of the prion protein (PrP)-molecular size and glycosylation profile-in proteinase K digests of brain stem tissue from sheep were used here; upon Western blotting, these features led to an unequivocal discrimination among natural scrapie, experimental scrapie, and experimental BSE. The higher electrophoretic mobility of PrP in sheep BSE could be best observed after deglycosylation treatment with N-glycosidase F. A simpler method for confirmation of this size difference involved comparison of the ratios for the binding of two monoclonal antibodies: P4 and 66.94b4. Based on epitope mapping studies with P4 and peptides, it appeared that N-terminal amino acid sequence WGQGGSH was intact only in sheep scrapie digests. Another feature typical for PrP in sheep BSE was the large fraction of diglycosylated PrP (70% or more). These data were obtained for a large group of positive sheep, consisting of 7 sheep with experimental BSE infection (genotypes: six ARQ/ARQ and one AHQ/AHQ), 48 sheep naturally infected with scrapie (six different genotypes), and 3 sheep with primary experimental scrapie infection. Routine tests of slaughter material serve well for the initial detection of both BSE and scrapie. With Western blotting as a rapid follow-up test, a 66.94b4/P4 antibody binding ratio above 1.5 is a practical indicator for serious suspicion of BSE infection in sheep.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C M A Thuring
- Central Institute for Animal Disease Control, 8203 AA 2004 Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
44
|
Silveira JR, Caughey B, Baron GS. Prion protein and the molecular features of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 2004; 284:1-50. [PMID: 15148986 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-08441-0_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) diseases, or prion diseases, are neurodegenerative diseases found in a number of mammals, including man. Although they are generally rare, TSEs are always fatal, and as of yet there are no practical therapeutic avenues to slow the course of disease. The epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the UK greatly increased the awareness of TSE diseases. Although it appears that BSE has not spread to North America, chronic wasting disease (CWD), a TSE found in cervids, is causing significant concern. Despite decades of investigation, the exact nature of the infectious agent of the TSEs is still controversial. Although many questions remain, substantial efforts have been made to understand the molecular features of TSE agents, with the hope of enhancing diagnosis and treatment of disease, as well as understanding the fundamental nature of the infectious agent itself. This review summarizes the current understanding of these molecular features, focusing on the role of the prion protein (PrP(c)) and its relationship to the disease-associated isoform (PrP(Sc)).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J R Silveira
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, NIAID, NIH, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, 903 S. 4th St., Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
45
|
Dabaghian RH, Mortimer PP, Clewley JP. Prospects for the development of pre-mortem laboratory diagnostic tests for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Rev Med Virol 2004; 14:345-61. [PMID: 15495196 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
At present the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and related transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in humans is based on clinical criteria and (at post-mortem) the histopathological and immunological examination of brain tissue. The misfolded prion protein, PrPSc, is the single most significant marker, but its recognition by standard serological methods is complicated by its antigenic similarity to the normal prion protein, PrPC. Although there are commercial diagnostic assays available for bovine spongiform encephalopathy using brain specimens taken at slaughter, there are no suitable pre-mortem assays for cattle and none either for pre-mortem human disease. Especially in view of the recent report of variant CJD transmission by blood transfusion, it is important that tests for pre-symptomatic infections are developed. This will safeguard the blood supply and, for example, prevent the transmission of CJD in neurosurgery. This paper reviews the current and prospective approaches to the pre-mortem diagnosis of CJD, in particular its variant form.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Reza H Dabaghian
- TSE Unit, Sexually Transmitted and Blood Borne Virus Laboratory, Specialist and Reference Microbiology Division, Health Protection Agency, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT, UK
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
46
|
Nonno R, Esposito E, Vaccari G, Conte M, Marcon S, Di Bari M, Ligios C, Di Guardo G, Agrimi U. Molecular analysis of cases of Italian sheep scrapie and comparison with cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and experimental BSE in sheep. J Clin Microbiol 2003; 41:4127-33. [PMID: 12958236 PMCID: PMC193806 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.41.9.4127-4133.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2003] [Revised: 05/11/2003] [Accepted: 06/22/2003] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Concerns have been raised about the possibility that the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent could have been transmitted to sheep populations via contaminated feedstuffs. The objective of our study was to investigate the suitability of molecular strain typing methods as a surveillance tool for studying scrapie strain variations and for differentiating PrP(Sc) from sheep scrapie, BSE, and sheep BSE. We studied 38 Italian sheep scrapie cases from 13 outbreaks, along with a British scrapie case, an experimental ovine BSE, and 3 BSE cases, by analyzing the glycoform patterns and the apparent molecular masses of the nonglycosylated forms of semipurified, proteinase-treated PrP(Sc). Both criteria were able to clearly differentiate sheep scrapie from BSE and ovine experimental BSE. PrP(Sc) from BSE and sheep BSE showed a higher glycoform ratio and a lower molecular mass of the nonglycosylated form compared to scrapie PrP(Sc). Scrapie cases displayed homogeneous PrP(Sc) features regardless of breed, flock, and geographic origin. The glycoform patterns observed varied with the antibody used, but either a monoclonal antibody (MAb) (F99/97.6.1) or a polyclonal antibody (P7-7) was able to distinguish scrapie from BSE PrP(Sc). While more extensive surveys are needed to further corroborate these findings, our results suggest that large-scale molecular screening of sheep populations for BSE surveillance may be eventually possible.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Romolo Nonno
- Laboratory of Veterinary Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana, Rome, Italy.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
47
|
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of cervids such as deer and elk in North America. Unlike other transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) such as scrapie, CWD occurs in both captive and wild ranging animals, but not in domestic ruminants such as sheep and cattle. In this paper, the history of the disease, pathogenesis of CWD, susceptibility of animals, its transmission mechanisms, potential origins of the disease, diagnostic methods in the field and laboratory tests, surveillance and survey systems in the USA and Canada, control strategies, economic impact of the disease, food and feed safety, and the risks in human and animals are reviewed and summarized. Although there is no evidence that CWD has been transmitted to humans, it may have the potential to infect humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mo D Salman
- College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| |
Collapse
|