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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Virus and Prion Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313160
Title: Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent incubation period

Author
item COMOY, EMMANUEL - French Atomic Energy Commission
item MIKOL, JACQUELINE - French Atomic Energy Commission
item LUCCANTONI-FREIRE, SOPHIE - French Atomic Energy Commission
item CORREIA, EVELYNE - French Atomic Energy Commission
item LESCOUTRA-ETCHEGARAY, NATHALIE - French Atomic Energy Commission
item DURAND, VALÉRIE - French Atomic Energy Commission
item DEHEN, CAPUCINE - French Atomic Energy Commission
item ANDREOLETTI, OLIVIER - Institut National De La Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
item CASALONE, CRISTINA - Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Del Mazzogiorno
item Richt, Juergen
item Greenlee, Justin
item BARON, THIERRY - French Agency For Food, Environmental And Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES)
item BENESTAD, SYLVIE - National Veterinary Institute - Norway
item HILLS, BOB - Health Canada
item BROWN, PAUL - French Atomic Energy Commission
item DESLYS, JEAN-PHILIPPE - French Atomic Energy Commission

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/28/2015
Publication Date: 6/30/2015
Citation: Comoy, E.E., Mikol, J., Luccantoni-Freire, S., Correia, E., Lescoutra-Etchegaray, N., Durand, V., Dehen, C., Andreoletti, O., Casalone, C., Richt, J.A., Greenlee, J.J., Baron, T., Benestad, S., Brown, P., Deslys, J. 2015. Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent incubation period. Scientific Reports. 5:11573.

Interpretive Summary: The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (also called prion diseases) are fatal neurodegenerative diseases that affect animals and humans. The agent of prion diseases is a misfolded form of the prion protein that is resistant to breakdown by the host cells. Since all mammals express prion protein on the surface of various cells such as neurons, all mammals are, in theory, capable of replicating prion diseases. One example of a prion disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE; also called mad cow disease), has been shown to infect cattle, sheep, exotic undulates, cats, non-human primates, and humans when the new host is exposed to feeds or foods contaminated with the disease agent. The purpose of this study was to test whether non-human primates (cynomologous macaque) are susceptible to the agent of sheep scrapie. After an incubation period of approximately 10 years a macaque developed progressive clinical signs suggestive of neurologic disease. Upon postmortem examination and microscopic examination of tissues, there was a widespread distribution of lesions consistent with a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. This information will have a scientific impact since it is the first study that demonstrates the transmission of scrapie to a non-human primate with a close genetic relationship to humans. This information is especially useful to regulatory officials and those involved with risk assessment of the potential transmission of animal prion diseases to humans.

Technical Abstract: Classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (c-BSE) is an animal prion disease that also causes variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Over the past decades, c-BSE's zoonotic potential has been the driving force in establishing extensive protective measures for animal and human health. In complement to the recent demonstration that humanized mice are susceptible to scrapie, we report here the first observation of direct transmission of a natural classical scrapie isolate to a macaque after a 10-year incubation period. Neuropathologic examination revealed all of the features of a prion disease: spongiform change, neuronal loss, and accumulation of PrPres throughout the CNS. This observation strengthens the questioning of the harmlessness of scrapie to humans, at a time when protective measures for human and animal health are being dismantled and reduced as c-BSE is considered controlled and being eradicated. Our results underscore the importance of precautionary and protective measures and the necessity for long-term experimental transmission studies to assess the zoonotic potential of other animal prion strains.