title: Excretion of BSE and scrapie prions in stools from murine models.
abstract: Faeces from infected animals have been suggested as a potential source of contamination and transmission of prion diseases in the environment. This work describes the development of a procedure for the detection of PrP(res) in stools which is based on a detergent-based extraction and immunoprecipitation (IP). The procedure was evaluated by analyzing TSE-spiked sheep and mice faeces, and proved to be specific for PrP(res) with sensitivities of 5-10 microg of infected brain tissue. In order to analyze the shedding of prions, we studied stools from orally inoculated mice over 4-days post-inoculation and also stools from terminally sick scrapie-infected mice. PrP(res) was only detected in stools shortly after the oral ingestion of TSE agents. The procedure described could be a useful tool for studying the excretion of prions and for evaluating potential environmental contamination by prions.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Microbiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, Barcelona 08028, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maluquer de Motes
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Maria Eugenia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Herva
authors.forename: Juan Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Marti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pumarola
authors.forename: Rosina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Girones
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002417:Cattle; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016643:Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform / Q000378:metabolism*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011328:Prions / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012608:Scrapie / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018620:PrPSc Proteins; D011328:Prions