title: Prion inactivation by the Maillard reaction.
abstract: Since variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) has been suspected to be attributable to the infectious agents associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), it is important to prevent the transmission of pathogenic forms of prion protein (PrP(Sc)) through contaminated feeding materials such as meat and bone meal (MBM). Here, we demonstrate that the Maillard reaction employing a formulation of glucose in combination with sodium hydrogen carbonates effectively reduced the infectivity (approximately 5.9-log reduction) of a scrapie-infected hamster brain homogenate. In addition to a bioassay, a protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) technique, in which PrP(Sc) can be amplified in vitro, was used as a rapid test for assessing PrP(Sc) inactivation. The PMCA analysis also indicated that the PrP(Sc) level in the infected material significantly decreased following the Maillard reaction. Therefore, the Maillard reaction can be employed for the decontamination of large amounts of byproducts such as MBM.
authors.affiliation: Sports Nutrition Department, Sendai University, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Kyozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suyama
authors.forename: Miyako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.forename: Mitsugu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akagawa
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Horii
authors.forename: Masuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Shirou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006224:Cricetinae; D015416:Maillard Reaction; D051379:Mice; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000635:transmission; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D018620:PrPSc Proteins