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Olech M. Conventional and State-of-the-Art Detection Methods of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087135. [PMID: 37108297 PMCID: PMC10139118 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). It is believed that the infectious agent responsible for prion diseases is abnormally folded prion protein (PrPSc), which derives from a normal cellular protein (PrPC), which is a cell surface glycoprotein predominantly expressed in neurons. There are three different types of BSE, the classical BSE (C-type) strain and two atypical strains (H-type and L-type). BSE is primarily a disease of cattle; however, sheep and goats also can be infected with BSE strains and develop a disease clinically and pathogenically indistinguishable from scrapie. Therefore, TSE cases in cattle and small ruminants require discriminatory testing to determine whether the TSE is BSE or scrapie and to discriminate classical BSE from the atypical H- or L-type strains. Many methods have been developed for the detection of BSE and have been reported in numerous studies. Detection of BSE is mainly based on the identification of characteristic lesions or detection of the PrPSc in the brain, often by use of their partial proteinase K resistance properties. The objective of this paper was to summarize the currently available methods, highlight their diagnostic performance, and emphasize the advantages and drawbacks of the application of individual tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Olech
- Department of Pathology, National Veterinary Research Institute, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
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Salamat MKF, Stewart P, Brown H, Tan KBC, Smith A, de Wolf C, Alejo Blanco AR, Turner M, Manson JC, McCutcheon S, Houston EF. Subclinical infection occurs frequently following low dose exposure to prions by blood transfusion. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10923. [PMID: 35764688 PMCID: PMC9240018 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15105-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Infectious prion diseases have very long incubation periods, and the role that subclinical infections play in transmission, persistence and re-emergence of these diseases is unclear. In this study, we used a well-established model of vCJD (sheep experimentally infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE) to determine the prevalence of subclinical infection following exposure by blood transfusion from infected donors. Many recipient sheep survived for years post-transfusion with no clinical signs and no disease-associated PrP (PrPSc) found in post mortem tissue samples by conventional tests. Using a sensitive protein misfolding cyclic amplification assay (PMCA), we found that the majority of these sheep had detectable PrPSc in lymph node samples, at levels approximately 105-106 times lower than in equivalent samples from clinically positive sheep. Further testing revealed the presence of PrPSc in other tissues, including brain, but not in blood samples. The results demonstrate that subclinical infection is a frequent outcome of low dose prion infection by a clinically relevant route for humans (blood transfusion). The long term persistence of low levels of infection has important implications for prion disease control and the risks of re-emergent infections in both humans and animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Khalid F Salamat
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Paula Stewart
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Helen Brown
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Kyle B C Tan
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Allister Smith
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Christopher de Wolf
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - A Richard Alejo Blanco
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Marc Turner
- Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), The Jack Copland Centre, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jean C Manson
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sandra McCutcheon
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - E Fiona Houston
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK.
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