Urinary excretion and blood level of prions in scrapie-infected hamsters.
Prions, infectious agents causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), are composed primarily of the pathogenic form (PrP(Sc)) of the host-encoded prion protein. Although very low levels of infectivity have been detected in urine from scrapie-infected rodents, no reports of urinary PrP(Sc) have been substantiated. Studies on the dynamics of urinary PrP(Sc) during infection are needed to ensure the safety of urine-derived biopharmaceuticals and to assess the possible horizontal transmission of prion diseases. Using the protein misfolding cyclic amplification technique, a time-course study of urinary excretion and blood levels of PrP(Sc) was performed in Sc237-infected hamsters and a high rate of PrP(Sc) excretion was found during the terminal stage of the disease. Following oral administration, PrP(Sc) was present in all buffy coat samples examined; it was also present in most of the plasma samples obtained from hamsters in the symptomatic stage. PrP(Sc) was excreted in urine for a few days after oral administration; subsequently, urinary PrP(Sc) was not detected until the terminal disease stage. These results represent the first biochemical detection of PrP(Sc) in urine from TSE-infected animals.
Murayama
Yuichi
Y
Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856, Japan.
Yoshioka
Miyako
M
Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856, Japan.
Okada
Hiroyuki
H
Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856, Japan.
Takata
Masuhiro
M
Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856, Japan.
Yokoyama
Takashi
T
Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856, Japan.
Mohri
Shirou
S
Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856, Japan.
D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D006224:Cricetinae; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005784:Gene Amplification; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine*; D011328:Prions / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000652:urine*; D017510:Protein Folding; D012608:Scrapie / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000652:urine*
D018620:PrPSc Proteins; D011328:Prions