Interspecies Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions to Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

ABSTRACT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging prion disease of deer and elk. The risk of CWD transmission to humans following exposure to CWD-infected tissues is unknown. To assess the susceptibility of nonhuman primates to CWD, two squirrel monkeys were inoculated with brain tissue from a CWD-infected mule deer. The CWD-inoculated squirrel monkeys developed a progressive neurodegenerative disease and were euthanized at 31 and 34 months postinfection. Brain tissue from the CWD-infected squirrel monkeys contained the abnormal isoform of the prion protein, PrP-res, and displayed spongiform degeneration. This is the first reported transmission of CWD to primates.

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Transmission of Prions from Mule Deer and Elk with Chronic Wasting Disease to Transgenic Mice Expressing Cervid PrP

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.78.23.13345-13350.2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 78 (23) ◽

pp. 13345-13350 ◽

Cited By ~ 128

Author(s):

Shawn R. Browning ◽

Gary L. Mason ◽

Tanya Seward ◽

Mike Green ◽

Gwyneth A. J. Eliason ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transgenic Mice ◽

Prion Protein ◽

Chronic Wasting Disease ◽

Mule Deer ◽

Amyloid Plaques ◽

Neurological Dysfunction ◽

Wasting Disease ◽

Prion Strain ◽

Spongiform Degeneration ◽

Transmission Studies

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 ∼230 days following intracerebral inoculation with four CWD isolates. Inoculated transgenic mice homozygous for the transgene array developed disease after ∼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.

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Humanized Transgenic Mice Are Resistant to Chronic Wasting Disease Prions From Norwegian Reindeer and Moose

The Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/infdis/jiab033 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jonathan D F Wadsworth ◽

Susan Joiner ◽

Jacqueline M Linehan ◽

Kezia Jack ◽

Huda Al-Doujaily ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transgenic Mice ◽

Brain Tissue ◽

Chronic Wasting Disease ◽

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽

Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽

Zoonotic Potential ◽

Wasting Disease ◽

Human Prion Protein ◽

Prion Transmission ◽

Wild Reindeer

Abstract Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or prion disease affecting cervids. In 2016, the first cases of CWD were reported in Europe in Norwegian wild reindeer and moose. The origin and zoonotic potential of these new prion isolates remain unknown. In this study to investigate zoonotic potential we inoculated brain tissue from CWD-infected Norwegian reindeer and moose into transgenic mice overexpressing human prion protein. After prolonged postinoculation survival periods no evidence for prion transmission was seen, suggesting that the zoonotic potential of these isolates is low.

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Tonsillar Biopsy Test for Chronic Wasting Disease: Two Sampling Approaches in Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer

Journal of Wildlife Diseases ◽

10.7589/0090-3558-41.4.820 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 820-824 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Krysten L. Schuler ◽

Jonathan A. Jenks ◽

Christopher S. DePerno ◽

Margaret A. Wild ◽

Christopher C. Swanson

Keyword(s):

Chronic Wasting Disease ◽

Mule Deer ◽

Wasting Disease

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Differing Neurohistologic Images of Scrapie, Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy, and Chronic Wasting Disease of Mule Deer and Elk

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽

10.1007/978-1-4612-2406-8_11 ◽

1996 ◽

pp. 122-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

William J. Hadlow

Keyword(s):

Chronic Wasting Disease ◽

Mule Deer ◽

Wasting Disease ◽

Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy

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Failure To Detect Prion Infectivity in Ticks following Prion-Infected Blood Meal

mSphere ◽

10.1128/msphere.00741-20 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Ronald A. Shikiya ◽

Anthony E. Kincaid ◽

Jason C. Bartz ◽

Travis J. Bourret

Keyword(s):

Prion Disease ◽

Blood Meal ◽

Red Deer ◽

Chronic Wasting Disease ◽

Mule Deer ◽

Geographic Range ◽

Lymphoid Tissues ◽

Wasting Disease ◽

Prion Infection ◽

Prion Infectivity

ABSTRACT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging and fatal contagious prion disease that affects cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, red deer reindeer, elk, and moose. CWD prions are widely distributed throughout the bodies of CWD-infected animals and are found in the nervous system, lymphoid tissues, muscle, blood, urine, feces, and antler velvet. The mechanism of CWD transmission in natural settings is unknown. Potential mechanisms of transmission include horizontal, maternal, or environmental routes. Due to the presence of prions in the blood of CWD-infected animals, the potential exists for invertebrates that feed on mammalian blood to contribute to the transmission of CWD. The geographic range of the Rocky Mountain Wood tick, Dermancentor andersoni, overlaps with CWD throughout the northwest United States and southwest Canada, raising the possibility that D. andersoni parasitization of cervids may be involved in CWD transmission. We investigated this possibility by examining the blood meal of D. andersoni that fed upon prion-infected hamsters for the presence of prion infectivity by animal bioassay. None of the hamsters inoculated with a D. andersoni blood meal that had been ingested from prion-infected hamsters developed clinical signs of prion disease or had evidence for a subclinical prion infection. Overall, the data do not demonstrate a role for D. andersoni in the transmission of prion disease. IMPORTANCE Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging prion disease that affects cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, red deer reindeer, elk, and moose. The mechanism of CWD transmission in unknown. Due to the presence of prions in the blood of CWD-infected animals, it is possible for invertebrates that feed on cervid blood to contribute to the transmission of CWD. We examined the blood meal of D. andersoni, a tick with a similar geographic range as cervids, that fed upon prion-infected hamsters for the presence of prion infectivity by animal bioassay. None of the D. andersoni blood meals that had been ingested from prion-infected hamsters yielded evidence of prion infection. Overall, the data do not support a role of D. andersoni in the transmission of prion disease.

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