PrPSc accumulation in myocytes from sheep incubating natural scrapie.
Because variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans probably results from consumption of products contaminated with tissue from animals with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, whether infectious prion protein is present in ruminant muscles is a crucial question. Here we show that experimentally and naturally scrapie-affected sheep accumulate the prion protein PrP(Sc) in a myocyte subset. In naturally infected sheep, PrP(Sc) is detectable in muscle several months before clinical disease onset. The relative amounts of PrP(Sc) suggest a 5,000-fold lower infectivity for muscle as compared to brain.
Andréoletti
O
O
UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France. o.andreoletti@envt.fr
Simon
S
S
Lacroux
C
C
Morel
N
N
Tabouret
G
G
Chabert
A
A
Lugan
S
S
Corbière
F
F
Ferré
P
P
Foucras
G
G
Laude
H
H
Eychenne
F
F
Grassi
J
J
Schelcher
F
F
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000378:metabolism; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012608:Scrapie / Q000378:metabolism*; D012756:Sheep
D018620:PrPSc Proteins