1
|
Sohn HJ, Mitchell G, Lee YH, Kim HJ, Park KJ, Staskevicus A, Walther I, Soutyrine A, Balachandran A. Experimental oral transmission of chronic wasting disease to sika deer ( Cervus nippon). Prion 2020; 14:271-277. [PMID: 33300452 PMCID: PMC7734081 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2020.1857038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) affects a broad array of cervid species and continues to be detected in an expanding geographic range. Initially introduced into the Republic of Korea through the importation of CWD-infected elk (Cervus canadensis), additional cases of CWD were subsequently detected in farmed Korean elk and sika deer (Cervus nippon). Wild and farmed sika deer are found in many regions of Asia, North America, and Europe, although natural transmission to this species has not been detected outside of the Republic of Korea. In this study, the oral transmission of CWD to sika deer was investigated using material from CWD-affected elk. Pathological prion (PrPCWD) immunoreactivity was detected in oropharyngeal lymphoid tissues of one sika deer at 3.9 months post-inoculation (mpi) and was more widely distributed in a second sika deer examined at 10.9 mpi. The remaining four sika deer progressed to clinical disease between 21 and 24 mpi. Analysis of PrPCWD tissue distribution in clinical sika deer revealed widespread deposition in central and peripheral nervous systems, lymphoreticular tissues, and the gastrointestinal tract. Prion protein gene (PRNP) sequences of these sika deer were identical and consistent with those reported in natural sika deer populations. These findings demonstrate the efficient oral transmission of CWD from elk to sika deer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hyun-Joo Sohn
- Foreign Animal Disease Division, Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency , Gimcheon-si, Republic of Korea
| | - Gordon Mitchell
- National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection Agency , Ottawa, Canada
| | - Yoon Hee Lee
- Foreign Animal Disease Division, Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency , Gimcheon-si, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyo Jin Kim
- Foreign Animal Disease Division, Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency , Gimcheon-si, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung-Je Park
- Foreign Animal Disease Division, Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency , Gimcheon-si, Republic of Korea
| | - Antanas Staskevicus
- National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection Agency , Ottawa, Canada
| | - Ines Walther
- National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection Agency , Ottawa, Canada
| | - Andrei Soutyrine
- National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection Agency , Ottawa, Canada
| | - Aru Balachandran
- National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection Agency , Ottawa, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Slota JA, Medina SJ, Klassen M, Gorski D, Mesa CM, Robertson C, Mitchell G, Coulthart MB, Pritzkow S, Soto C, Booth SA. Identification of circulating microRNA signatures as potential biomarkers in the serum of elk infected with chronic wasting disease. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19705. [PMID: 31873177 PMCID: PMC6928025 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56249-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging infectious prion disorder that is spreading rapidly in wild populations of cervids in North America. The risk of zoonotic transmission of CWD is as yet unclear but a high priority must be to minimize further spread of the disease. No simple diagnostic tests are available to detect CWD quickly or in live animals; therefore, easily accessible biomarkers may be useful in identifying infected animals. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, non-coding RNA molecules that circulate in blood and are promising biomarkers for several infectious diseases. In this study we used next-generation sequencing to characterize the serum miRNA profiles of 35 naturally infected elk that tested positive for CWD in addition to 35 elk that tested negative for CWD. A total of 21 miRNAs that are highly conserved amongst mammals were altered in abundance in sera, irrespective of hemolysis in the samples. A number of these miRNAs have previously been associated with prion diseases. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the discriminative potential of these miRNAs as biomarkers for the diagnosis of CWD. We also determined that a subgroup of 6 of these miRNAs were consistently altered in abundance in serum from hamsters experimentally infected with scrapie. This suggests that common miRNA candidate biomarkers could be selected for prion diseases in multiple species. Furthermore, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses pointed to a strong correlation for 3 of these miRNAs, miR-148a-3p, miR-186-5p, miR-30e-3p, with prion disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jessy A Slota
- Zoonotic Diseases & Special Pathogens, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3R2, Canada
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 730 William Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0W3, Canada
| | - Sarah J Medina
- Zoonotic Diseases & Special Pathogens, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3R2, Canada
| | - Megan Klassen
- Zoonotic Diseases & Special Pathogens, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3R2, Canada
| | - Damian Gorski
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin St., Houston, Texas, 77030, USA
| | - Christine M Mesa
- Zoonotic Diseases & Special Pathogens, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3R2, Canada
| | - Catherine Robertson
- Zoonotic Diseases & Special Pathogens, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3R2, Canada
| | - Gordon Mitchell
- National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa Laboratory Fallowfield, Ottawa, ON, K2H 8P9, Canada
| | - Michael B Coulthart
- Canadian Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance System, Centre for Foodborne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0K9, Canada
| | - Sandra Pritzkow
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin St., Houston, Texas, 77030, USA
| | - Claudio Soto
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin St., Houston, Texas, 77030, USA
| | - Stephanie A Booth
- Zoonotic Diseases & Special Pathogens, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3R2, Canada.
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 730 William Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0W3, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Plummer IH, Wright SD, Johnson CJ, Pedersen JA, Samuel MD. Temporal patterns of chronic wasting disease prion excretion in three cervid species. J Gen Virol 2017; 98:1932-1942. [PMID: 28708047 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the only naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting free-ranging wildlife populations. Transmission of CWD occurs by direct contact or through contaminated environments; however, little is known about the temporal patterns of CWD prion excretion and shedding in wild cervids. We tested the urine and faeces of three species of captive cervids (elk, mule and white-tailed deer) at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after oral inoculation to evaluate the temporal, species- and genotype-specific factors affecting the excretion of CWD prions. Although none of the animals exhibited clinical signs of CWD during the study, we determined that all three cervid species were excreting CWD prions by 6 months post-inoculation. Faecal samples were consistently positive for CWD prions for all three cervid species (88 %), and were more likely to be positive than urine samples (28 %). Cervids with genotypes encoding for the prion protein (PRNP) that were considered to be more susceptible to CWD were more likely to excrete CWD prions (94 %) than cervids with genotypes considered to be less susceptible (64 %). All cervids with CWD prions in their urine also had positive faeces (n=5), but the converse was not true. Our study is the first to demonstrate CWD prion excretion in urine by asymptomatic elk and mule deer. Our results indicate that the excretion of CWD prions in faeces and, to a lesser extent, urine may provide an important avenue for depositing prions in the environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ian H Plummer
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Scott D Wright
- US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA.,Present address: 4730 Toepfer Road, Middleton, Wisconsin 53562, USA
| | - Chad J Johnson
- Departments of Soil Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Chemistry, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1525 Observatory Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Joel A Pedersen
- Departments of Soil Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Chemistry, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1525 Observatory Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Michael D Samuel
- Retired, US Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 204 Russell Labs, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| |
Collapse
|