Emergence of a novel bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prion from an atypical H-type BSE

Sci Rep. 2016 Mar 7:6:22753. doi: 10.1038/srep22753.

Abstract

The H-type of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (H-BSE) was serially passaged in bovinized transgenic (TgBoPrP) mice. At the fourth passage, most challenged mice showed a typical H-BSE phenotype with incubation periods of 223 ± 7.8 days. However, a different phenotype of BSE prion with shorter incubation periods of 109 ± 4 days emerged in a minor subset of the inoculated mice. The latter showed distinct clinical signs, brain pathology, and abnormal prion protein profiles as compared to H-BSE and other known BSE strains in mice. This novel prion was transmitted intracerebrally to cattle, with incubation periods of 14.8 ± 1.5 months, with phenotypes that differed from those of other bovine prion strains. These data suggest that intraspecies transmission of H-BSE in cattle allows the emergence of a novel BSE strain. Therefore, the continuation of feed ban programs may be necessary to exclude the recycling of H-BSE prions, which appear to arise spontaneously, in livestock. Such measures should help to reduce the risks from both novel and known strains of BSE.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cattle
  • Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform / metabolism
  • Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform / pathology
  • Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform / transmission*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Phenotype
  • Prions / metabolism*

Substances

  • Prions