scholarly journals Absence of Evidence for a Causal Link between Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Strain Variant L-BSE and Known Forms of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in Human PrP Transgenic Mice

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (23) ◽  
pp. 10867-10874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Jaumain ◽  
Isabelle Quadrio ◽  
Laetitia Herzog ◽  
Fabienne Reine ◽  
Human Rezaei ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPrions are proteinaceous pathogens responsible for subacute spongiform encephalopathies in animals and humans. The prions responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are zoonotic agents, causing variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. The transfer of prions between species is limited by a species barrier, which is thought to reflect structural incompatibilities between the host cellular prion protein (PrPC) and the infecting pathological PrP assemblies (PrPSc) constituting the prion. A BSE strain variant, designated L-BSE and responsible for atypical, supposedly spontaneous forms of prion diseases in aged cattle, demonstrates zoonotic potential, as evidenced by its capacity to propagate more easily than classical BSE in transgenic mice expressing human PrPCand in nonhuman primates. In humanized mice, L-BSE propagates without any apparent species barrier and shares similar biochemical PrPScsignatures with the CJD subtype designated MM2-cortical, thus opening the possibility that certain CJD cases classified as sporadic may actually originate from L-type BSE cross-transmission. To address this issue, we compared the biological properties of L-BSE and those of a panel of CJD subtypes representative of the human prion strain diversity using standard strain-typing criteria in human PrP transgenic mice. We found no evidence that L-BSE causes a known form of sporadic CJD.IMPORTANCESince the quasi-extinction of classical BSE, atypical BSE forms are the sole BSE variants circulating in cattle worldwide. They are observed in rare cases of old cattle, making them difficult to detect. Extrapolation of our results suggests that L-BSE may propagate in humans as an unrecognized form of CJD, and we urge both the continued utilization of precautionary measures to eliminate these agents from the human food chain and active surveillance for CJD phenotypes in the general population.

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 29-32
Author(s):  
S.O. Sowemimo-Coker

Prion diseases (TSEs, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies) are fatal neurodegenerative diseases that affect both humans and animals, including scrapie in sheep, BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in cattle and CJD (Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease) and its variant (vCJD) in humans. The recent occurrences of probable cases of transmission of vCJD through blood transfusion raises concerns about the safety of the blood supply and the possibility of transmission of the causative agent by blood transfusion from asymptomatic infected individuals.


2012 ◽  
Vol 93 (7) ◽  
pp. 1624-1629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rona Wilson ◽  
Chris Plinston ◽  
Nora Hunter ◽  
Cristina Casalone ◽  
Cristiano Corona ◽  
...  

The association between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) has demonstrated that cattle transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) can pose a risk to human health and raises the possibility that other ruminant TSEs may be transmissible to humans. In recent years, several novel TSEs in sheep, cattle and deer have been described and the risk posed to humans by these agents is currently unknown. In this study, we inoculated two forms of atypical BSE (BASE and H-type BSE), a chronic wasting disease (CWD) isolate and seven isolates of atypical scrapie into gene-targeted transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the human prion protein (PrP). Upon challenge with these ruminant TSEs, gene-targeted Tg mice expressing human PrP did not show any signs of disease pathology. These data strongly suggest the presence of a substantial transmission barrier between these recently identified ruminant TSEs and humans.


2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 382-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. E. Green

The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies include human diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and kuru as well as animal diseases such as scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The emergence of variant CJD, which is causally related to BSE, has generated much interest in the development of rapid and sensitive diagnostic tests for the pre-mortem diagnosis of CJD. In 1986 two proteins were detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with sporadic CJD. These proteins were later demonstrated to be members of the 14-3-3 family, and tests for the detection of CSF 14-3-3 were developed. A number of studies have shown that the detection of CSF 14-3-3 is an accurate test for sporadic CJD, although the results with variant CJD are less promising.


1999 ◽  
Vol 67 (12) ◽  
pp. 6591-6595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harmale Tiwana ◽  
Clyde Wilson ◽  
John Pirt ◽  
William Cartmell ◽  
Alan Ebringer

ABSTRACT Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a neurological disorder, predominantly of British cattle, which belongs to the group of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies together with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), kuru, and scrapie. Autoantibodies to brain neurofilaments have been previously described in patients with CJD and kuru and in sheep affected by scrapie. Spongiform-like changes have also been observed in chronic experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, at least in rabbits and guinea pigs, and in these conditions autoantibodies to myelin occur. We report here that animals with BSE have elevated levels of immunoglobulin A autoantibodies to brain components, i.e., neurofilaments (P < 0.001) and myelin (P < 0.001), as well as toAcinetobacter calcoaceticus (P < 0.001), saprophytic microbes found in soil which have sequences cross-reacting with bovine neurofilaments and myelin, but there were no antibody elevations against Agrobacterium tumefaciens orEscherichia coli. The relevance of such mucosal autoantibodies or antibacterial antibodies to the pathology of BSE and its possible link to prions requires further evaluation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 273-278
Author(s):  
Steve Dealler

Steve Dealler is a medical microbiologist with Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust. His work on on the diagnosis, epidemiology and potential treatment of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies has brought him inter-national recognition. He has been at the forefront of work on the epidemiology of human food containing the vector for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and the development of prophylaxis against variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). He is currently working on a potential treatment, pentosan polysulphate. Here he describes the current state of knowledge in the battle against this devastating disease and the political inertia that frustrated earlier attempts to prevent the epidemic.


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1454
Author(s):  
Satish K. Nemani ◽  
Jennifer L. Myskiw ◽  
Lise Lamoureux ◽  
Stephanie A. Booth ◽  
Valerie L. Sim

The majority of human prion diseases are sporadic, but acquired disease can occur, as seen with variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) following consumption of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). With increasing rates of cervid chronic wasting disease (CWD), there is concern that a new form of human prion disease may arise. Currently, there is no evidence of transmission of CWD to humans, suggesting the presence of a strong species barrier; however, in vitro and in vivo studies on the zoonotic potential of CWD have yielded mixed results. The emergence of different CWD strains is also concerning, as different strains can have different abilities to cross species barriers. Given that venison consumption is common in areas where CWD rates are on the rise, increased rates of human exposure are inevitable. If CWD was to infect humans, it is unclear how it would present clinically; in vCJD, it was strain-typing of vCJD prions that proved the causal link to BSE. Therefore, the best way to screen for CWD in humans is to have thorough strain-typing of harvested cervids and human CJD cases so that we will be in a position to detect atypical strains or strain shifts within the human CJD population.


Author(s):  
James W. Ironside ◽  
Matthew P. Frosch ◽  
Bernardino Ghetti

This chapter describes and illustrates the neuropathology of prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. These diseases are characterized pathologically by varying combinations of spongiform change, neuronal loss, reactive gliosis, and prion protein (PrP) deposition. The morphologic pattern depends on the etiology of the disease and the genotype of the patient. Different clinicopathological phenotypes of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) have been described depending on the PRNP codon 129 genotype and the PrP isotype. A novel form known as variably protease-sensitive prionopathy has been recently identified. Familial prion diseases include familial CJD, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease, and fatal familial insomnia. Over 40 different PRNP mutations have been identified. Acquired prion diseases include Kuru; iatrogenic CJD, particularly in recipients of contaminated human pituitary hormone, and variant CJD, which seems closely related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideyuki Hara ◽  
Hironori Miyata ◽  
Nandita Rani Das ◽  
Junji Chida ◽  
Tatenobu Yoshimochi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTConformational conversion of the cellular isoform of prion protein, PrPC, into the abnormally folded, amyloidogenic isoform, PrPSc, is a key pathogenic event in prion diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in animals. We previously reported that the octapeptide repeat (OR) region could be dispensable for converting PrPCinto PrPScafter infection with RML prions. We demonstrated that mice transgenically expressing mouse PrP with deletion of the OR region on the PrP knockout background, designated Tg(PrPΔOR)/Prnp0/0mice, did not show reduced susceptibility to RML scrapie prions, with abundant accumulation of PrPScΔOR in their brains. We show here that Tg(PrPΔOR)/Prnp0/0mice were highly resistant to BSE prions, developing the disease with markedly elongated incubation times after infection with BSE prions. The conversion of PrPΔOR into PrPScΔOR was markedly delayed in their brains. These results suggest that the OR region may have a crucial role in the conversion of PrPCinto PrPScafter infection with BSE prions. However, Tg(PrPΔOR)/Prnp0/0mice remained susceptible to RML and 22L scrapie prions, developing the disease without elongated incubation times after infection with RML and 22L prions. PrPScΔOR accumulated only slightly less in the brains of RML- or 22L-infected Tg(PrPΔOR)/Prnp0/0mice than PrPScin control wild-type mice. Taken together, these results indicate that the OR region of PrPCcould play a differential role in the pathogenesis of BSE prions and RML or 22L scrapie prions.IMPORTANCEStructure-function relationship studies of PrPCconformational conversion into PrPScare worthwhile to understand the mechanism of the conversion of PrPCinto PrPSc. We show here that, by inoculating Tg(PrPΔOR)/Prnp0/0mice with the three different strains of RML, 22L, and BSE prions, the OR region could play a differential role in the conversion of PrPCinto PrPScafter infection with RML or 22L scrapie prions and BSE prions. PrPΔOR was efficiently converted into PrPScΔOR after infection with RML and 22L prions. However, the conversion of PrPΔOR into PrPScΔOR was markedly delayed after infection with BSE prions. Further investigation into the role of the OR region in the conversion of PrPCinto PrPScafter infection with BSE prions might be helpful for understanding the pathogenesis of BSE prions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 87 (12) ◽  
pp. 3763-3771 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Cordier ◽  
A. Bencsik ◽  
S. Philippe ◽  
D. Bétemps ◽  
F. Ronzon ◽  
...  

Transgenic mice expressing the prion protein (PrP) of species affected by transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) have recently been produced to facilitate experimental transmission of these diseases by comparison with wild-type mice. However, whilst wild-type mice have largely been described for the discrimination of different TSE strains, including differentiation of agents involved in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie, this has been only poorly described in transgenic mice. Here, two ovine transgenic mouse lines (TgOvPrP4 and TgOvPrP59), expressing the ovine PrP (A136 R154 Q171) under control of the neuron-specific enolase promoter, were studied; they were challenged with brainstem or spinal cord from experimentally BSE-infected sheep (AA136 RR154 QQ171 and AA136 RR154 RR171 genotypes) or brainstem from cattle BSE and natural sheep scrapie. The disease was transmitted successfully from all of these sources, with a mean of approximately 300 days survival following challenge with material from two ARQ-homozygous BSE-infected sheep in TgOvPrP4 mice, whereas the survival period in mice challenged with material from the ARR-homozygous BSE-infected sheep was 423 days on average. It was shown that, in the two ovine transgenic mouse lines, the Western blot characteristics of protease-resistant PrP (PrPres) were similar, whatever the BSE source, with a low apparent molecular mass of the unglycosylated glycoform, a poor labelling by P4 monoclonal antibody and high proportions of the diglycosylated form. With all BSE sources, but not with scrapie, florid plaques were observed in the brains of mice from both transgenic lines. These data reinforce the potential of this recently developed experimental model for the discrimination of BSE from scrapie agents.


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