Progressive accumulation of the abnormal conformer of the prion protein and spongiform encephalopathy in the obex of nonsymptomatic and symptomatic Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease

Terry R Spraker; Thomas Gidlewski; Jenny G Powers; Tracy Nichols; Aru Balachandran; Bruce Cummings; Margaret A Wild; Kurt VerCauteren; Katherine I O'Rourke

doi:10.1177/1040638715593368

Progressive accumulation of the abnormal conformer of the prion protein and spongiform encephalopathy in the obex of nonsymptomatic and symptomatic Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease

J Vet Diagn Invest. 2015 Jul;27(4):431-41. doi: 10.1177/1040638715593368. Epub 2015 Jul 16.

Authors

Terry R Spraker¹, Thomas Gidlewski², Jenny G Powers², Tracy Nichols², Aru Balachandran², Bruce Cummings², Margaret A Wild², Kurt VerCauteren², Katherine I O'Rourke²

Affiliations

¹ Colorado State University Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO (Spraker, Cummings)National Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO (Gidlewski, Nichols, VerCauteren)National Park Service, Biological Resources Management Division, Fort Collins, CO (Powers, Wild)Canadian Food Inspection Services, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Balachandran)USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Pullman, WA (O'Rourke) terry.spraker@colostate.edu.
² Colorado State University Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO (Spraker, Cummings)National Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO (Gidlewski, Nichols, VerCauteren)National Park Service, Biological Resources Management Division, Fort Collins, CO (Powers, Wild)Canadian Food Inspection Services, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Balachandran)USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Pullman, WA (O'Rourke).

PMID: 26185123
DOI: 10.1177/1040638715593368

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to describe the progressive accumulation of the abnormal conformer of the prion protein (PrP(CWD)) and spongiform degeneration in a single section of brain stem in Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease (CWD). A section of obex from 85 CWD-positive elk was scored using the presence and abundance of PrP(CWD) immunoreactivity and spongiform degeneration in 10 nuclear regions and the presence and abundance of PrP(CWD) in 10 axonal tracts, the subependymal area of the fourth ventricle, and the thin subpial astrocytic layer (glial limitans). Data was placed in a formula to generate an overall obex score. Data suggests that PrP(CWD) immunoreactivity and spongiform degeneration has a unique and relatively consistent pattern of progression throughout a section of obex. This scoring technique utilizing a single section of obex may prove useful in future work for estimating the presence and abundance of PrP(CWD) in peripheral tissues and the nervous system in elk with CWD.

Keywords: Chronic wasting disease; elk, obex; prion protein; spongiform encephalopathy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Brain / pathology*
Deer*
Prion Diseases / pathology
Prion Diseases / veterinary*
Prions / pathogenicity*
Protein Conformation
Protein Isoforms / metabolism
Wasting Disease, Chronic / pathology*

Substances

Prions
Protein Isoforms