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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Virus and Prion Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #254001
Title: White-tailed Deer are Susceptible to Sheep Scrapie by Intracerebral Inoculation

Author
item Greenlee, Justin
item Smith, Jodi
item Kunkle, Robert

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/2010
Publication Date: 9/8/2010
Citation: Greenlee, J.J., Smith, J.D., Kunkle, R.A. 2010. White-tailed deer are susceptible to sheep scrapie by intracerebral inoculation [abstract]. Prion 4(3):144.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Interspecies transmission studies afford the opportunity to better understand the potential host range and origins of prion diseases. The purpose of this experiment was to determine susceptibility of white-tailed deer to scrapie after intracerebral inoculation and to compare clinical signs and lesions to chronic wasting disease (CWD). Deer(n=5) were inoculated with 1 ml of a 10% (wt/vol) brain homogenate derived from a sheep clinically affected with scrapie. Non-inoculated deer were maintained as negative controls. Deer were observed daily for clinical signs of disease and euthanized and necropsied when unequivocal signs of TSE were noted. One animal died 7 months post inoculation (PI) due to intercurrent disease. At that time, examination of tissue by IHC and WB were negative. However, deer necropsied at 15-22 months PI were positive for scrapie by IHC and WB. Tissues with PrPd immunoreactivity included brain (at levels of cerebrum, hippocampus, colliculus, cerebellum, and brainstem), trigeminal ganglion, neurohypophysis, retina, spinal cord, and various lymphoid tissues including tonsil, retropharyngeal and mesenteric lymph nodes, peyer’s patches, and spleen. This work demonstrates for the first time that white-tailed deer are susceptible to sheep scrapie by intracerebral inoculation. To further test the susceptibility of white-tailed deer to scrapie these experiments will be repeated with a more natural route of inoculation.