Molecular analysis of iatrogenic scrapie in Italy.
An accidental intra- and interspecies transmission of scrapie occurred in Italy in 1997 and 1998 following exposure to a vaccine against Mycoplasma agalactiae. PrP(Sc) in affected sheep and goats, collected from a single flock exposed to vaccination 2 years earlier, was molecularly typed. In five animals with iatrogenic scrapie, a PrP(Sc) type with a 20 kDa core fragment was found in all areas of the brain investigated. In three sheep and one goat, this isoform co-occurred with a fully glycosylated isoform that had a protease-resistant backbone of 17 kDa, whereas in two sheep and four goats, the two PrP(Sc) types were detected in different regions of the brain. In sheep with natural field scrapie, a PrP(Sc) type with physico-chemical properties indistinguishable from the 20 kDa isoform was found. The present results suggest the co-presence of two prion strains in mammary gland and brain homogenates used for vaccination.
Zanusso
Gianluigi
G
Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Casalone
Cristina
C
CEA Istituto Zooprofilattico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
Acutis
Pierluigi
P
CEA Istituto Zooprofilattico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
Bozzetta
Elena
E
CEA Istituto Zooprofilattico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
Farinazzo
Alessia
A
Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Gelati
Matteo
M
Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Fiorini
Michele
M
Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Forloni
Gianluigi
G
Laboratorio di Biologia delle Malattie Neurodegenerative, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milano, Italy.
Sy
Man Sun
MS
Institute of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106-1712, USA.
Monaco
Salvatore
S
Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Caramelli
Maria
M
CEA Istituto Zooprofilattico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
D000818:Animals; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006041:Goats; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D012608:Scrapie / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D012756:Sheep; D014611:Vaccination
D018620:PrPSc Proteins