scholarly journals SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY IN FREE-RANGING MULE DEER (ODOCOILEUS HEMIONUS), WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK (CERVUS ELAPHUS NELSONI) IN NORTHCENTRAL COLORADO

1997 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. Spraker ◽  
M. W. Miller ◽  
E. S. Williams ◽  
D. M. Getzy ◽  
W. J. Adrian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Odocoileus Virginianus ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Rocky Mountain Elk ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Transmission of Elk and Deer Prions to Transgenic Mice

2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (18) ◽  
pp. 9104-9114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gültekin Tamgüney ◽  
Kurt Giles ◽  
Essia Bouzamondo-Bernstein ◽  
Patrick J. Bosque ◽  
Michael W. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Disease ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Transmitted Disease ◽  
Wild Type Mouse ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Free Ranging

ABSTRACT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease in deer and elk. Unique among the prion diseases, it is transmitted among captive and free-ranging animals. To facilitate studies of the biology of CWD prions, we generated five lines of transgenic (Tg) mice expressing prion protein (PrP) from Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), denoted Tg(ElkPrP), and two lines of Tg mice expressing PrP common to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), denoted Tg(DePrP). None of the Tg(ElkPrP) or Tg(DePrP) mice exhibited spontaneous neurologic dysfunction at more than 600 days of age. Brain samples from CWD-positive elk, white-tailed deer, and mule deer produced disease in Tg(ElkPrP) mice between 180 and 200 days after inoculation and in Tg(DePrP) mice between 300 and 400 days. One of eight cervid brain inocula transmitted disease to Tg(MoPrP)4053 mice overexpressing wild-type mouse PrP-A in ∼540 days. Neuropathologic analysis revealed abundant PrP amyloid plaques in the brains of ill mice. Brain homogenates from symptomatic Tg(ElkPrP) mice produced disease in 120 to 190 days in Tg(ElkPrP) mice. In contrast to the Tg(ElkPrP) and Tg(DePrP) mice, Tg mice overexpressing human, bovine, or ovine PrP did not develop prion disease after inoculation with CWD prions from among nine different isolates after >500 days. These findings suggest that CWD prions from elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer can be readily transmitted among these three cervid species.

scholarly journals Aggressive Interactions of Rocky Mountain Elk, Cervus elaphus nelsoni, During the Calving Season Toward Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus, in Central Colorado

2003 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Stephens ◽  
A. William Alldredge ◽  
Gregory E. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Rocky Mountain Elk ◽  
Calving Season

We documented four aggressive interactions between Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus) and Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) during the Elk calving season of June and July 1995. In one case, we believe a fawn Mule Deer was killed by two cow Elk. In the other three cases, Elk chased Mule Deer away from an area where they were grazing. These incidents are of interest because documentation of such interactions between Elk and Mule Deer is sparse in the scientific literature and because of the concern about declining Mule Deer populations throughout the western United States.

scholarly journals PrP genotypes of captive and free-ranging Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease

1999 ◽  
Vol 80 (10) ◽  
pp. 2765-2679 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. I. O’Rourke ◽  
T. E. Besser ◽  
M. W. Miller ◽  
T. F. Cline ◽  
T. R. Spraker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
Rocky Mountain Elk ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Prp Gene

The PrP gene encodes the putative causative agent of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), a heterogeneous group of fatal, neurodegenerative disorders including human Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, ovine scrapie and chronic wasting disease (CWD) of North American deer and elk. Polymorphisms in the PrP gene are associated with variations in relative susceptibility, pathological lesion patterns, incubation times and clinical course of TSEs of humans, mice and sheep. Sequence analysis of the PrP gene from Rocky Mountain elk showed only one amino acid change (Met to Leu at cervid codon 132). Homozygosity for Met at the corresponding polymorphic site (Met to Val) in humans (human codon 129) predisposes exposed individuals to some forms of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. In this study, Rocky Mountain elk homozygous for PrP codon 132 Met were over-represented in both free- ranging and farm-raised CWD-affected elk when compared to unaffected control groups.

scholarly journals Prion protein in cardiac muscle of elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) infected with chronic wasting disease

2006 ◽  
Vol 87 (11) ◽  
pp. 3443-3450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean E. Jewell ◽  
Jeremy Brown ◽  
Terry Kreeger ◽  
Elizabeth S. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Western Blot ◽  
Odocoileus Virginianus ◽  
Prion Protein ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Striated Muscle ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni

To investigate the possible presence of disease-associated prion protein (PrPd) in striated muscle of chronic wasting disease (CWD)-affected cervids, samples of diaphragm, tongue, heart and three appendicular skeletal muscles from mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) and moose (Alces alces shirasi) were examined by ELISA, Western immunoblot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). PrPd was detected in samples of heart muscle from seven of 16 CWD-infected white-tailed deer, including one free-ranging deer, and in 12 of 17 CWD-infected elk, but not in any of 13 mule deer samples, nor in the single CWD-infected moose. For white-tailed deer, PrPd was detected by Western blot at multiple sites throughout the heart; IHC results on ventricular sections of both elk and white-tailed deer showed positive staining in cardiac myocytes, but not in conduction tissues or nerve ganglia. Levels of PrPd in cardiac tissues were estimated from Western blot band intensity to be lower than levels found in brain tissue. PrPd was not detected in diaphragm, triceps brachii, semitendinosus, latissiumus dorsi or tongue muscles for any of the study subjects. This is the first report of PrPd in cardiac tissue from transmissible spongiform encephalopathy-infected ruminants in the human food chain and the first demonstration by immunological assays of PrPd in any striated muscle of CWD-infected cervids.

Neuropathology of Chronic Wasting Disease of Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni)

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Williams ◽  
S. Young
Keyword(s):  
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Neuronal Degeneration ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Amyloid Plaques ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni

The pathology of the central nervous system of nine mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus) and six elk ( Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease, a spongiform encephalopathy of mule deer and elk, was studied by light microscopy. Lesions were similar in both species and were characterized by spongiform transformation of gray matter, intracytoplasmic vacuolation of neurons, neuronal degeneration and loss, astrocytic hypertrophy and hyperplasia, occurrence of amyloid plaques, and absence of significant inflammatory response. Distribution and severity of lesions were evaluated at 57 locations; there were only minor differences between deer and elk. Consistent, severe lesions occurred in olfactory tubercle and cortex, hypothalamus, and the parasympathetic vagal nucleus of deer, and sections examined from these regions would be sufficient to establish a diagnosis of chronic wasting disease. Lesions were milder in these locations in elk but were sufficiently apparent to be of diagnostic value. Other differences included increased severity of lesions in some thalamic nuclei in elk in contrast to deer, the occurrence of amyloid plaques demonstrable by hematoxylin and eosin and histochemical stains in deer in contrast to elk, and the presence of mild white matter lesions in elk but not in deer. Lesions of chronic wasting disease were qualitatively comparable to those of scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, transmissible mink encephalopathy, and the human spongiform encephalopathies. Topographic distribution and lesion severity of chronic wasting disease were most similar to those of scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Duration of clinical disease did not significantly influence lesion distribution or severity in either species.

scholarly journals Effects of GonaCon immunocontraceptive vaccine in free-ranging female Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni)

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 650-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny G. Powers ◽  
Ryan J. Monello ◽  
Margaret A. Wild ◽  
Terry R. Spraker ◽  
James P. Gionfriddo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Rocky Mountain Elk ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Immunocontraceptive Vaccine

Field Validation and Assessment of an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detecting Chronic Wasting Disease in Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus), White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), and Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni)

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles P. Hibler ◽  
Kathi L. Wilson ◽  
Terry R. Spraker ◽  
Michael W. Miller ◽  
Robert R. Zink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Field Application ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Validation Phase ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni

Tissue samples ( n = 25,050 total) from 23,256 mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus), Rocky Mountain elk ( Cervus elaphus nelsoni), and white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) collected statewide in Colorado were examined for chronic wasting disease (CWD) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay developed by Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (brELISA), in a 2-phase study. In the validation phase of this study, a total of 4,175 retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLN) or obex (OB) tissue samples were examined independently by brELISA and immunohistochemistry (IHC). There were 137 IHC-positive samples and 4,038 IHC-negative samples. Optical density (OD) values from brELISA were classified as “not detected” or “suspect” based on recommended cutoff values during the validation phase. Using IHC-positive cases as known CWD-infected individuals and assuming IHC-negative cases as uninfected, the relative sensitivity of brELISA depending on species ranged from 98.3% to 100% for RLN samples and 92.1% to 93.3% for OB samples; the relative specificity of brELISA depending on species ranged from 99.9% to 100% for RLN samples and was 100% for OB samples. Overall agreement between brELISA and IHC was ≥97.6% in RLN samples and ≥95.7% in OB samples of all species where values could be calculated; moreover, mean brELISA OD values were ≥46× higher in IHC-positive samples than in IHC-negative samples. Discrepancies were observed only in early-stage cases of CWD. Based on the validation phase data, only RLN samples were collected for the field application phase of this study and only samples with brELISA OD values ≤0.1 were examined by IHC. Among 20,875 RLN samples screened with brELISA during this second testing phase, 155 of 8,877 mule deer, 33 of 11,731 elk, and 9 of 267 white-tailed deer samples (197 total) had OD values ≤0.1 and were further evaluated by IHC to confirm evidence of CWD infection. Of cases flagged for IHC follow-up, 143 of 155 mule deer, 29 of 33 elk, and all 9 white-tailed deer were confirmed positive. Mean (±SE) OD values for IHC-positive cases detected during the field application phase were comparable with those measured in RLN tissues during the validation phase. Based on these data, brELISA was determined to be an excellent rapid test for screening large numbers of samples in surveys designed to detect CWD infections in deer and elk populations.

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