title: Acquired transmissibility of sheep-passaged L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy prion to wild-type mice.
abstract: L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy (L-BSE) is an atypical form of BSE that is transmissible to cattle and several lines of prion protein (PrP) transgenic mice, but not to wild-type mice. In this study, we examined the transmissibility of sheep-passaged L-BSE prions to wild-type mice. Disease-associated prion protein (PrP(Sc)) was detected in the brain and/or lymphoid tissues during the lifespan of mice that were asymptomatic subclinical carriers, indicating that wild-type mice were susceptible to sheep-passaged L-BSE. The morphological characteristics of the PrP(Sc) of sheep-passaged L-BSE included florid plaques that were distributed mainly in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of subsequent passaged mice. The PrP(Sc) glycoform profiles of wild-type mice infected with sheep-passaged L-BSE were similar to those of the original isolate. The data indicate that sheep-passaged L-BSE has an altered host range and acquired transmissibility to wild-type mice.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. okadahi@affrc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. masujin@affrc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masujin
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. miyazawak@affrc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Kohtaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyazawa
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. tyoko@affrc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D016643:Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000635:transmission; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000072002:Prion Proteins; D011328:Prions / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018620:PrPSc Proteins; D000072002:Prion Proteins; D011328:Prions; C512657:Prnp protein, mouse