title: PrPSc accumulation in myocytes from sheep incubating natural scrapie.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France. o.andreoletti@envt.fr
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Andréoletti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lacroux
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morel
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tabouret
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chabert
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lugan
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Corbière
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferré
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Foucras
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Laude
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eychenne
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schelcher
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D018620:PrPSc Proteins