title: Biochemical and immunohistochemical characterization of feline spongiform encephalopathy in a German captive cheetah.
abstract: Feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that affects domestic cats (Felis catus) and captive wild members of the family Felidae. In this report we describe a case of FSE in a captive cheetah from the zoological garden of Nuremberg. The biochemical examination revealed a BSE-like pattern. Disease-associated scrapie prion protein (PrP(Sc)) was widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous system, as well as in the lymphoreticular system and in other tissues of the affected animal, as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and/or immunoblotting. Moreover, we report for the first time the use of the protein misfolding cyclic amplification technique for highly sensitive detection of PrP(Sc) in the family Felidae. The widespread PrP(Sc) deposition suggests a simultaneous lymphatic and neural spread of the FSE agent. The detection of PrP(Sc) in the spleen indicates a potential for prion infectivity of cheetah blood.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany. martin.groschup@fli.bund.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eiden
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balkema-Buschmann
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baumgartner
authors.forename: Martin H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Groschup
mesh_terms: D002612:Acinonyx; D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008208:Lymphatic System / Q000473:pathology; D008853:Microscopy; D009420:Nervous System / Q000473:pathology; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D018620:PrPSc Proteins