title: Grass plants bind, retain, uptake, and transport infectious prions.
abstract: Prions are the protein-based infectious agents responsible for prion diseases. Environmental prion contamination has been implicated in disease transmission. Here, we analyzed the binding and retention of infectious prion protein (PrP(Sc)) to plants. Small quantities of PrP(Sc) contained in diluted brain homogenate or in excretory materials (urine and feces) can bind to wheat grass roots and leaves. Wild-type hamsters were efficiently infected by ingestion of prion-contaminated plants. The prion-plant interaction occurs with prions from diverse origins, including chronic wasting disease. Furthermore, leaves contaminated by spraying with a prion-containing preparation retained PrP(Sc) for several weeks in the living plant. Finally, plants can uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to aerial parts of the plant (stem and leaves). These findings demonstrate that plants can efficiently bind infectious prions and act as carriers of infectivity, suggesting a possible role of environmental prion contamination in the horizontal transmission of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pritzkow
authors.affiliation: Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moda
authors.affiliation: Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Uffaf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
authors.forename: Glenn C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Telling
authors.affiliation: Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hoover
authors.affiliation: Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Electronic address: claudio.soto@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D006224:Cricetinae; D005260:Female; D008647:Mesocricetus; D006109:Poaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000635:transmission; D011328:Prions / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011328:Prions