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Thackray AM, McNulty EE, Nalls AV, Cardova A, Tran L, Telling G, Benestad SL, Gilch S, Mathiason CK, Bujdoso R. Genetic modulation of CWD prion propagation in cervid PrP Drosophila. Biochem J 2023; 480:1485-1501. [PMID: 37747806 PMCID: PMC10586768 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20230247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal prion condition of cervids such as deer, elk, moose and reindeer. Secretion and excretion of prion infectivity from North American cervids with this condition causes environmental contamination and subsequent efficient lateral transmission in free-ranging and farmed cervids. Variants of cervid PrP exist that affect host susceptibility to chronic wasting disease. Cervid breeding programmes aimed at increasing the frequency of PrP variants associated with resistance to chronic wasting disease may reduce the burden of this condition in animals and lower the risk of zoonotic disease. This strategy requires a relatively rapid and economically viable model system to characterise and support selection of prion disease-modifying cervid PrP variants. Here, we generated cervid PrP transgenic Drosophila to fulfil this purpose. We have generated Drosophila transgenic for S138 wild type cervid PrP, or the N138 variant associated with resistance to chronic wasting disease. We show that cervid PrP Drosophila accumulate bona fide prion infectivity after exposure to cervid prions. Furthermore, S138 and N138 PrP fly lines are susceptible to cervid prion isolates from either North America or Europe when assessed phenotypically by accelerated loss of locomotor ability or survival, or biochemically by accumulation of prion seeding activity. However, after exposure to European reindeer prions, N138 PrP Drosophila accumulated prion seeding activity with slower kinetics than the S138 fly line. These novel data show that prion susceptibility characteristics of cervid PrP variants are maintained when expressed in Drosophila, which highlights this novel invertebrate host in modelling chronic wasting disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alana M. Thackray
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, U.K
| | - Erin E. McNulty
- Prion Research Center (PRC) and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, U.S.A
| | - Amy V. Nalls
- Prion Research Center (PRC) and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, U.S.A
| | - Alzbeta Cardova
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, U.K
| | - Linh Tran
- Department of Biohazard and Pathology, WOAH Reference Laboratory for CWD (SLB), National Veterinary Institute, Postboks 64, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Glenn Telling
- Prion Research Center (PRC) and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, U.S.A
| | - Sylvie L. Benestad
- Department of Biohazard and Pathology, WOAH Reference Laboratory for CWD (SLB), National Veterinary Institute, Postboks 64, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Prion Research Center (PRC) and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, U.S.A
| | - Raymond Bujdoso
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, U.K
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2
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Thackray AM, Lam B, McNulty EE, Nalls AV, Mathiason CK, Magadi SS, Jackson WS, Andréoletti O, Marrero-Winkens C, Schätzl H, Bujdoso R. Clearance of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease prions in vivo by the Hsp70 disaggregase system. Brain 2022; 145:3236-3249. [PMID: 35446941 PMCID: PMC9473358 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The metazoan Hsp70 disaggregase protects neurons from proteotoxicity that arises from the accumulation of misfolded protein aggregates. Hsp70 and its co-chaperones disassemble and extract polypeptides from protein aggregates for refolding or degradation. The effectiveness of the chaperone system decreases with age and leads to accumulation rather than removal of neurotoxic protein aggregates. Therapeutic enhancement of the Hsp70 protein disassembly machinery is proposed to counter late-onset protein misfolding neurodegenerative disease that may arise. In the context of prion disease, it is not known whether stimulation of protein aggregate disassembly paradoxically leads to enhanced formation of seeding competent species of disease-specific proteins and acceleration of neurodegenerative disease. Here we have tested the hypothesis that modulation of Hsp70 disaggregase activity perturbs mammalian prion-induced neurotoxicity and prion seeding activity. To do so we used prion protein (PrP) transgenic Drosophila that authentically replicate mammalian prions. RNASeq identified that Hsp70, DnaJ-1 and Hsp110 gene expression was downregulated in prion-exposed PrP Drosophila. We demonstrated that RNAi knockdown of Hsp110 or DnaJ-1 gene expression in variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease prion-exposed human PrP Drosophila enhanced neurotoxicity, whereas overexpression mitigated toxicity. Strikingly, prion seeding activity in variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease prion-exposed human PrP Drosophila was ablated or reduced by Hsp110 or DnaJ-1 overexpression, respectively. Similar effects were seen in scrapie prion-exposed ovine PrP Drosophila with modified Hsp110 or DnaJ-1 gene expression. These unique observations show that the metazoan Hsp70 disaggregase facilitates the clearance of mammalian prions and that its enhanced activity is a potential therapeutic strategy for human prion disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alana M Thackray
- University of Cambridge, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Brian Lam
- Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science-Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Erin E McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Amy V Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Candace K Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Srivathsa Subramanya Magadi
- Wallenberg Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Walker S Jackson
- Wallenberg Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225 -Hôtes-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Cristóbal Marrero-Winkens
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary TRW 2D10, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 4Z6
| | - Hermann Schätzl
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary TRW 2D10, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 4Z6
| | - Raymond Bujdoso
- University of Cambridge, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
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Westrich JA, McNulty EE, Edmonds MJ, Nalls AV, Miller MR, Foy BD, Rovnak J, Perera R, Mathiason CK. Characterization of subclinical ZIKV infection in immune-competent guinea pigs and mice. J Gen Virol 2021; 102. [PMID: 34410903 PMCID: PMC8513637 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
An infectious agent’s pathogenic and transmission potential is heavily influenced by early events during the asymptomatic or subclinical phase of disease. During this phase, the presence of infectious agent may be relatively low. An important example of this is Zika virus (ZIKV), which can cross the placenta and infect the foetus, even in mothers with subclinical infections. These subclinical infections represent roughly 80 % of all human infections. Initial ZIKV pathogenesis studies were performed in type I interferon receptor (IFNAR) knockout mice. Blunting the interferon response resulted in robust infectivity, and increased the utility of mice to model ZIKV infections. However, due to the removal of the interferon response, the use of these models impedes full characterization of immune responses to ZIKV-related pathologies. Moreover, IFNAR-deficient models represent severe disease whereas less is known regarding subclinical infections. Investigation of the anti-viral immune response elicited at the maternal-foetal interface is critical to fully understand mechanisms involved in foetal infection, foetal development, and disease processes recognized to occur during subclinical maternal infections. Thus, immunocompetent experimental models that recapitulate natural infections are needed. We have established subclinical intravaginal ZIKV infections in mice and guinea pigs. We found that these infections resulted in: the presence of both ZIKV RNA transcripts and infectious virus in maternal and placental tissues, establishment of foetal infections and ZIKV-mediated CXCL10 expression. These models will aid in discerning the mechanisms of subclinical ZIKV mother-to-offspring transmission, and by extension can be used to investigate other maternal infections that impact foetal development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A Westrich
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Erin E McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Marisa J Edmonds
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Amy V Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Megan R Miller
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Brian D Foy
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Joel Rovnak
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Rushika Perera
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Candace K Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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Denkers ND, Hoover CE, Davenport KA, Henderson DM, McNulty EE, Nalls AV, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA. Very low oral exposure to prions of brain or saliva origin can transmit chronic wasting disease. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0237410. [PMID: 32817706 PMCID: PMC7446902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The minimum infectious dose required to induce CWD infection in cervids remains unknown, as does whether peripherally shed prions and/or multiple low dose exposures are important factors in CWD transmission. With the goal of better understand CWD infection in nature, we studied oral exposures of deer to very low doses of CWD prions and also examined whether the frequency of exposure or prion source may influence infection and pathogenesis. We orally inoculated white-tailed deer with either single or multiple divided doses of prions of brain or saliva origin and monitored infection by serial longitudinal tissue biopsies spanning over two years. We report that oral exposure to as little as 300 nanograms (ng) of CWD-positive brain or to saliva containing seeding activity equivalent to 300 ng of CWD-positive brain, were sufficient to transmit CWD disease. This was true whether the inoculum was administered as a single bolus or divided as three weekly 100 ng exposures. However, when the 300 ng total dose was apportioned as 10, 30 ng doses delivered over 12 weeks, no infection occurred. While low-dose exposures to prions of brain or saliva origin prolonged the time from inoculation to first detection of infection, once infection was established, we observed no differences in disease pathogenesis. These studies suggest that the CWD minimum infectious dose approximates 100 to 300 ng CWD-positive brain (or saliva equivalent), and that CWD infection appears to conform more with a threshold than a cumulative dose dynamic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel D. Denkers
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Clare E. Hoover
- AstraZeneca Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Kristen A. Davenport
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Davin M. Henderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Erin E. McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Amy V. Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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McNulty EE, Nalls AV, Xun R, Denkers ND, Hoover EA, Mathiason CK. In vitro detection of haematogenous prions in white-tailed deer orally dosed with low concentrations of chronic wasting disease. J Gen Virol 2020; 101:347-361. [PMID: 31846418 PMCID: PMC7416609 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Infectivity associated with prion disease has been demonstrated in blood throughout the course of disease, yet the ability to detect blood-borne prions by in vitro methods remains challenging. We capitalized on longitudinal pathogenesis studies of chronic wasting disease (CWD) conducted in the native host to examine haematogenous prion load by real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and protein misfolding cyclic amplification. Our study demonstrated in vitro detection of amyloid seeding activity (prions) in buffy-coat cells harvested from deer orally dosed with low concentrations of CWD positive (+) brain (1 gr and 300 ng) or saliva (300 ng RT-QuIC equivalent). These findings make possible the longitudinal assessment of prion disease and deeper investigation of the role haematogenous prions play in prion pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E. McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Amy V. Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Randy Xun
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Nathaniel D. Denkers
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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6
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McNulty E, Nalls AV, Mellentine S, Hughes E, Pulscher L, Hoover EA, Mathiason CK. Comparison of conventional, amplification and bio-assay detection methods for a chronic wasting disease inoculum pool. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216621. [PMID: 31071138 PMCID: PMC6508678 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Longitudinal studies of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the native host have provided considerable understanding of how this prion disease continues to efficiently spread among cervid species. These studies entail great cost in animal, time and financial support. A variety of methods have emerged including transgenic mouse bioassay, western blot, enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA), immunohistochemistry (IHC), serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) and real time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC), that deepen our understanding of this and other protein misfolding disorders. To further characterize an inoculum source used for ongoing CWD studies and to determine how the readouts from each of these assays compare, we assayed a CWD-positive brain pool homogenate (CBP6) and a mouse dilutional bioassay of this homogenate using the above detection methods. We demonstrate that: (i) amplification assays enhanced detection of amyloid seeding activity in the CWD+ cervid brain pool to levels beyond mouse LD50, (ii) conventional detection methods (IHC and western blot) performed well in identifying the presence of PrPSc in terminal brain tissue yet lack sufficient detection sensitivity to identify all CWD-infected mice, and (iii) the incorporation of amplification assays enhanced detection of CWD-infected mice near the LD50. This cross-platform analysis provides a basis to calibrate the relative sensitivities of CWD detection assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Amy V. Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Samuel Mellentine
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Erin Hughes
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Laura Pulscher
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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McNulty E, Selariu AI, Anderson K, Hayes-Klug J, Nalls AV, Powers JG, Hoover EA, Mathiason CK. Aspects of the husbandry and management of captive cervids. Lab Anim (NY) 2016; 45:140-2. [PMID: 27003353 DOI: 10.1038/laban.972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
In a continuing effort to better understand the transmission and persistence of chronic wasting disease in wild populations of cervids, Colorado State University, Fort Collins houses two species of deer indoors to study the pathogenesis of chronic wasting disease. Here we report key aspects regarding the husbandry and medication of Reeves' muntjac and white-tailed deer in captivity for research purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Anca I Selariu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Kelly Anderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Jeanette Hayes-Klug
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Amy V Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Jenny G Powers
- National Park Service, Biological Resources Division, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Edward A Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Candace K Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
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Seelig DM, Nalls AV, Flasik M, Frank V, Eaton S, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA. Lesion profiling and subcellular prion localization of cervid chronic wasting disease in domestic cats. Vet Pathol 2014; 52:107-19. [PMID: 24577721 DOI: 10.1177/0300985814524798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an efficiently transmitted, fatal, and progressive prion disease of cervids with an as yet to be fully clarified host range. While outbred domestic cats (Felis catus) have recently been shown to be susceptible to experimental CWD infection, the neuropathologic features of the infection are lacking. Such information is vital to provide diagnostic power in the event of natural interspecies transmission and insights into host and strain interactions in interspecies prion infection. Using light microscopy and immunohistochemistry, we detail the topographic pattern of neural spongiosis (the "lesion profile") and the distribution of misfolded prion protein in the primary and secondary passage of feline CWD (Fel(CWD)). We also evaluated cellular and subcellular associations between misfolded prion protein (PrP(D)) and central nervous system neurons and glial cell populations. From these studies, we (1) describe the novel neuropathologic profile of Fel(CWD), which is distinct from either cervid CWD or feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE), and (2) provide evidence of serial passage-associated interspecies prion adaptation. In addition, we demonstrate through confocal analysis the successful co-localization of PrP(D) with neurons, astrocytes, microglia, lysosomes, and synaptophysin, which, in part, implicates each of these in the neuropathology of Fel(CWD). In conclusion, this work illustrates the simultaneous role of both host and strain in the development of a unique Fel(CWD) neuropathologic profile and that such a profile can be used to discriminate between Fel(CWD) and FSE.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Seelig
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - A V Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - M Flasik
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - V Frank
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - S Eaton
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - C K Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - E A Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Abstract
Reeves' muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi) are a small cervid species native to southeast Asia, and are currently being investigated as a potential model of prion disease transmission and pathogenesis. Vertical transmission is an area of interest among researchers studying infectious diseases, including prion disease, and these investigations require efficient methods for evaluating the effects of maternal infection on reproductive performance. Ultrasonographic examination is a well-established tool for diagnosing pregnancy and assessing fetal health in many animal species(1-7), including several species of farmed cervids(8-19), however this technique has not been described in Reeves' muntjac deer. Here we describe the application of transabdominal ultrasound to detect pregnancy in muntjac does and to evaluate fetal growth and development throughout the gestational period. Using this procedure, pregnant animals were identified as early as 35 days following doe-buck pairing and this was an effective means to safely monitor the pregnancy at regular intervals. Future goals of this work will include establishing normal fetal measurement references for estimation of gestational age, determining sensitivity and specificity of the technique for diagnosing pregnancy at various stages of gestation, and identifying variations in fetal growth and development under different experimental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly D Walton
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University
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10
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Elder AM, Henderson DM, Nalls AV, Wilham JM, Caughey BW, Hoover EA, Kincaid AE, Bartz JC, Mathiason CK. In vitro detection of prionemia in TSE-infected cervids and hamsters. PLoS One 2013; 8:e80203. [PMID: 24224043 PMCID: PMC3815098 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2013] [Accepted: 09/30/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Blood-borne transmission of infectious prions during the symptomatic and asymptomatic stages of disease occurs for both human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The geographical distribution of the cervid TSE, chronic wasting disease (CWD), continues to spread across North America and the prospective number of individuals harboring an asymptomatic infection of human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in the United Kingdom has been projected to be ~1 in 3000 residents. Thus, it is important to monitor cervid and human blood products to ensure herd health and human safety. Current methods for detecting blood-associated prions rely primarily upon bioassay in laboratory animals. While bioassay provides high sensitivity and specificity, it requires many months, animals, and it is costly. Here we report modification of the real time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay to detect blood-borne prions in whole blood from prion-infected preclinical white-tailed deer, muntjac deer, and Syrian hamsters, attaining sensitivity of >90% while maintaining 100% specificity. Our results indicate that RT-QuIC methodology as modified can provide consistent and reliable detection of blood-borne prions in preclinical and symptomatic stages of two animal TSEs, offering promise for prionemia detection in other species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan M. Elder
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Davin M. Henderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Amy V. Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Jason M. Wilham
- Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Byron W. Caughey
- Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Anthony E. Kincaid
- Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Jason C. Bartz
- Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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11
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Henderson DM, Manca M, Haley NJ, Denkers ND, Nalls AV, Mathiason CK, Caughey B, Hoover EA. Rapid antemortem detection of CWD prions in deer saliva. PLoS One 2013; 8:e74377. [PMID: 24040235 PMCID: PMC3770611 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Accepted: 07/31/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an efficiently transmitted prion disease of cervids, now identified in 22 United States, 2 Canadian provinces and Korea. One hallmark of CWD is the shedding of infectious prions in saliva, as demonstrated by bioassay in deer. It is also clear that the concentration of prions in saliva, blood, urine and feces is much lower than in the nervous system or lymphoid tissues. Rapid in vitro detection of CWD (and other) prions in body fluids and excreta has been problematic due to the sensitivity limits of direct assays (western blotting, ELISA) and the presence of inhibitors in these complex biological materials that hamper detection. Here we use real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC) to demonstrate CWD prions in both diluted and prion-enriched saliva samples from asymptomatic and symptomatic white-tailed deer. CWD prions were detected in 14 of 24 (58.3%) diluted saliva samples from CWD-exposed white-tailed deer, including 9 of 14 asymptomatic animals (64.2%). In addition, a phosphotungstic acid enrichment enhanced the RT-QuIC assay sensitivity, enabling detection in 19 of 24 (79.1%) of the above saliva samples. Bioassay in Tg[CerPrP] mice confirmed the presence of infectious prions in 2 of 2 RT-QuIC-positive saliva samples so examined. The modified RT-QuIC analysis described represents a non-invasive, rapid ante-mortem detection of prions in complex biologic fluids, excreta, or environmental samples as well as a tool for exploring prion trafficking, peripheralization, and dissemination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davin M. Henderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Matteo Manca
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
| | - Nicholas J. Haley
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Nathaniel D. Denkers
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Amy V. Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Nalls AV, McNulty E, Powers J, Seelig DM, Hoover C, Haley NJ, Hayes-Klug J, Anderson K, Stewart P, Goldmann W, Hoover EA, Mathiason CK. Mother to offspring transmission of chronic wasting disease in reeves' muntjac deer. PLoS One 2013; 8:e71844. [PMID: 23977159 PMCID: PMC3743758 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2013] [Accepted: 07/03/2013] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The horizontal transmission of prion diseases has been well characterized in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk and scrapie of sheep, and has been regarded as the primary mode of transmission. Few studies have monitored the possibility of vertical transmission occurring within an infected mother during pregnancy. To study the potential for and pathway of vertical transmission of CWD in the native cervid species, we used a small cervid model-the polyestrous breeding, indoor maintainable, Reeves' muntjac deer-and determined that the susceptibility and pathogenesis of CWD in these deer reproduce that in native mule and white-tailed deer. Moreover, we demonstrate here that CWD prions are transmitted from doe to fawn. Maternal CWD infection also appears to result in lower percentage of live birth offspring. In addition, evolving evidence from protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) assays on fetal tissues suggest that covert prion infection occurs in utero. Overall, our findings demonstrate that transmission of prions from mother to offspring can occur, and may be underestimated for all prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy V. Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Erin McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Jenny Powers
- Biological Resource Management Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Davis M. Seelig
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Clare Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Nicholas J. Haley
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Jeanette Hayes-Klug
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Kelly Anderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Paula Stewart
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Wilfred Goldmann
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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