Prions are secreted in milk from clinically normal scrapie-exposed sheep.
The potential spread of prion infectivity in secreta is a crucial concern for prion disease transmission. Here, serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) allowed the detection of prions in milk from clinically affected animals as well as scrapie-exposed sheep at least 20 months before clinical onset of disease, irrespective of the immunohistochemical detection of protease-resistant PrP(Sc) within lymphoreticular and central nervous system tissues. These data indicate the secretion of prions within milk during the early stages of disease progression and a role for milk in prion transmission. Furthermore, the application of sPMCA to milk samples offers a noninvasive methodology to detect scrapie during preclinical/subclinical disease.
Maddison
B C
BC
ADAS UK, Department of Biology, University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
Baker
C A
CA
Rees
H C
HC
Terry
L A
LA
Thorne
L
L
Bellworthy
S J
SJ
Whitelam
G C
GC
Gough
K C
KC
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012608:Scrapie / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000635:transmission; D012756:Sheep
D018620:PrPSc Proteins