title: Molecular analysis of iatrogenic scrapie in Italy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zanusso
authors.affiliation: CEA Istituto Zooprofilattico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casalone
authors.affiliation: CEA Istituto Zooprofilattico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Acutis
authors.affiliation: CEA Istituto Zooprofilattico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bozzetta
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farinazzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gelati
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiorini
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Biologia delle Malattie Neurodegenerative, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Forloni
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106-1712, USA.
authors.forename: Man Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sy
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale L. A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monaco
authors.affiliation: CEA Istituto Zooprofilattico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caramelli
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D018620:PrPSc Proteins