title: Comparison of immunohistochemistry and two rapid tests for detection of abnormal prion protein in different brain regions of sheep with typical scrapie.
abstract: One of the "gold standard" techniques for postmortem confirmation of scrapie diagnosis in sheep and goats is immunohistochemical examination of brain tissue. Active surveillance for scrapie is mainly performed by rapid diagnostic tests on the basis of postmortem immunochemical detection of prion protein (PrP) in the obex tissue. The aim of this study was to determine the performance of 2 rapid tests, Prionics-Check LIA (a chemiluminescence sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and Prionics-Check Western blot for scrapie diagnosis when applied to brain areas other than the obex, in comparison with the recognized immunohistochemistry. Prion protein was detected in the obex, cervical spinal cord, and thalamus from all the scrapie-positive sheep by the 3 tests. Western blot and LIA were negative in other areas of the brain, although weak immunohistochemical staining was detected. The results show that the 2 rapid tests studied may detect PrP in brain areas other than the obex, although with a lower sensitivity than immunohistochemistry when there is minimal PrP deposition.
authors.affiliation: National Reference Centre for TSE, Facultad de Veterinaria, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bolea
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Monleón
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schiller
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Raeber
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Acín
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monzón
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martín-Burriel
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Struckmeyer
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Oesch
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Badiola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000662:veterinary; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D011328:Prions / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012608:Scrapie / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D011328:Prions