|
|
||||||||
Full Scientific Reports |
Correspondence: 1Corresponding Author: A.N. Hamir, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, 2300 Dayton Ave, PO Box 70, Ames, IA 50010 (e-mail: ahamir{at}nadc.ars.usda.gov).
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Key Words: Chronic wasting disease immunohistochemistry intracerebral transmission prion protein sheep spongiform encephalopathy
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The susceptibility of sheep to scrapie is dependent on genetic variation of the host prion protein (PRNP) gene.4 PRNP genotypes are defined by variations in the amino acids encoded at codons 136, 154, and 171 and are termed polymorphisms. At least 5 variant alleles have been found with respect to a risk of contracting scrapie; these are depicted as ARQ, ARR, VRQ, AHQ and ARH. The codes represent polymorphism of amino acids at each codon, that is, A-136 R-154 Q-171 (ARQ) where A = alanine, R = arginine, and Q = glutamine. The other two amino acids are H = histidine and V = valine. Homozygous and heterozygous pairing of the two alleles inherited from a ram and a ewe therefore results in considerable variation of the PRNP genotype. This level of risk varies depending on breed type and the genotypes found within the flock.4 A study of Suffolk sheep in the United States found that 61% of orally inoculated animals developed scrapie.15 All were homozygous for glutamine (QQ) at allele 171 on the PRNP gene.15
The primary objectives of this study were to determine if the CWD agent could be transmitted to sheep that are susceptible (QQ) or relatively resistant (QR) to scrapie and to provide information about clinical course, lesions, and suitability of currently used TSE diagnostic procedures for detecting experimental CWD in sheep.
| Materials and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
Inoculation Procedure
Lambs were inoculated intracerebrally with 1 ml of the brain inoculum from mule deer with CWD (CWDmd), as described previously.9 Briefly, the lambs were sedated with xylazine, a midline incision was made in the skin at the junction of the parietal and frontal bones, and a 1-mm hole was trephined through the calvarium. The inoculum was injected into the midbrain via a 22-gauge 9-cm long needle while withdrawing the needle from the brain. The skin incision was closed with a single suture.
Necropsy and Samples
Animals were euthanized with pentobarbital, and a complete necropsy was conducted on each of the carcasses. Representative samples of liver, kidney, spleen, skin, striated muscles (heart, tongue, diaphragm, masseter), thoracic aorta, thyroid gland, turbinates, trachea, lung, tonsils, esophagus, rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum, intestines (ileum), salivary gland, adrenal gland, urinary bladder, lymph nodes (retropharyngeal, prescapular, mesenteric, popliteal), nerves (optic, trigeminal), pituitary gland, gasserian ganglion, spinal cord (cervical, thoracic, lumbar), and eye (retina) were immersion fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin. The brain was cut longitudinally; one half was fixed in formalin for not less than 3 weeks, and the other half was frozen. The formalin-fixed brain was cut into 2- to 4-mm wide coronal sections. Sections of various anatomic sites (a minimum of 5 hemisections of brain per animal) of rostral cerebrum, hippocampus, midbrain (at the level of rostral colliculus), cerebellum, midbrain, brainstem (at the level of obex), and 6 sections of spinal cord (2 each of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar) were processed for routine histopathology, embedded in paraffin wax, and sectioned at 5 µm. The sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and by an immunohistochemical (IHC) method5 for detecting PrPres. A cocktail of 2 monoclonal antibodies, F89/160.1.5 and F99/97.6.1,13,14 was used for IHC, at a final concentration of 10 µg/ml protein. Past experience at NADC has indicated that these antibodies will recognize PRNP sequences in livestock species in which experimental TSEs have been reported.3,59,11
For detecting PrPres by WB, a method described previously was used on frozen brain (caudal medulla) tissue.16 The antibody used in this technique was 6H4.a
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Except for 1 animal (No. 0017; Table 1) with urethral blockage and 3 animals with hoof abscesses, clinically significant gross lesions were not observed in any of the animals. Microscopically, lesions characteristic of spongiform encephalopathy (SE) (vacuolation of neuronal perikarya and neuropil) were seen in the brain (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) and spinal cord of the sheep with clinical neurologic signs (No. 0024, euthanized at 35 MPI, Table 1) and in 1 of the 4 sheep (No. 0021, euthanized at 72 MPI, Fig. 3; Table 1) that were euthanized at termination of the study. In the sheep with neurologic signs, SE lesions were present in most areas of the brain (except in the hippocampus and rostral cerebrum) but were more severe and extensive in the thalamus and cerebellum. In the thalamus there was widespread vacuolation in neuropil, but vacuolation of neuronal cytoplasm was not prominent. However, in the cerebellum, besides the presence of variable-sized vacuoles in the neuropil of the molecular layer, there were prominent single or multiple cytoplasmic vacuoles in Purkinje cells (Fig. 2). Examination of brainstem showed characteristic SE in various nuclei, including the dorsal nucleus of the vagus nerve (Fig. 1). However, spongiform change was much more severe and extensive in the pontine nucleus than in the nucleus of the dorsal vagus. At some sites of SE lesions, mild to moderate gliosis was evident. All 3 areas of the spinal cord (cervical, thoracic, and lumbar) had mild to moderate vacuolations in the neuropil of the gray matter.
|
Non-SE lesions in the brain consisted of discrete foci in the dorsal medulla (usually in the lateral cuneate nucleus) with a few swollen neurons/axons and focal areas of spongiosis in the neuropil (Fig. 4; Table 1). These were present in 9 of 10 sheep (Table 1) and were indicative of neuroaxonal dystrophy, an age-related, histopathologic finding in sheep of this age,2 unrelated to prion disease. In 1 sheep (No. 0013) the thoracic spinal cord had mild multifocal dilated myelin sheaths devoid of axons (Wallerian degeneration) in the lateral and ventral funiculi. This was indicative of mild chronic traumatic injury to the spinal cord.
All central nervous system (CNS) and lymphoid tissues of the clinically affected sheep (No. 0024; Table 1) were positive for PrPres as determined by IHC. In the brain, staining was most pronounced in medulla (Fig. 5) and colliculi, primarily appearing as diffuse and particulate, with a few small scattered aggregates, in gray matter. Intracytoplasmic staining of neurons was common but perineuronal staining was not observed in the medulla and colliculi. In cerebellum, staining was present throughout gray matter (Fig. 6), but was most concentrated in the granular layer. A small amount of particulate staining was present multifocally in the white matter of the colliculi and cerebellum. Lesser amounts of staining were present in other parts of the brain, often appearing as subependymal patches. Perineuronal staining was prominent in cerebral cortex. Lymphoid tissue staining (follicular germinal centers) was extensive in tonsils (Fig. 7) and lymph nodes but limited in the spleen. Other tissues showing immunoreactivity were retina, which had diffuse particulate staining in the inner and outer plexiform layers (Fig. 8), and adrenal gland medulla (Fig. 9).
|
Western blot analysis was performed on brainstem samples from all sheep. As shown in Fig. 11, only sheep No. 0021 and No. 0024 were positive for the presence of PrPres, whereas the other 6 CWD-inoculated sheep did not show any presence of PrPres, even after OIE SAF-Immunoblot enrichment12 of the samples for the PrPres (data not shown). Positive samples showed the typical profile of 3 bands of proteinase Kresistant isoforms of PrPres, representing the diglycosylated, monoglycosylated, and unglycosylated polypeptides. Brainstem from sheep No. 0021 had a weaker WB reaction compared with brainstem from sheep No. 0024 at the same milligram equivalent brain tissue (Fig. 11). When these samples were compared to a brainstem sample from a CWD-positive mule deer (Fig. 11) and a scrapie-positive sheep (data not shown), the molecular weight profiles were similar but not identical.
|
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
These findings indicate that some domestic sheep are susceptible to CWD by experimental intracerebral inoculation. However, the single sheep (No. 0024, Table 1) that developed clinical disease at 35 MPI had a rare genotype for this breed at PRNP codon 136 (AV; Table 1), indicating that the susceptibility of sheep to CWD may be partially controlled by the host's genetic makeup, similar to that reported for scrapie.
As revealed by IHC, the localization of PrPres accumulation in brain and tonsils (palatine and pharyngeal) and retina in the 2 CWD-positive sheep was similar to that seen in Suffolk sheep with scrapie.8 Staining was seen, in variable degrees of intensity, in the sections of brain and spinal cord examined, with the exception of the hypothalamus of sheep No. 0021. Stain character was predominately particulate and diffuse or multifocally extensive in distribution, but it also appeared as small aggregates of particles in scattered foci. Staining of the inner and outer plexiform layers of the retina was characterized by diffusely (sheep No. 0024) or multifocally (sheep No. 0021) distributed particles. Staining in IHC-positive lymphoid organs was confined to the germinal centers of follicles and appeared as particulate or small aggregates of particles. However, unlike the sheep with clinical signs of disease (No. 0024 with AV at codon 136), in which all lymph nodes examined were positive, none of the lymph nodes were IHC-positive in sheep No. 0021. This difference and the prolonged incubation time for sheep No. 0021 are possibly related to the differences in the PRNP gene (Nos. 0024 and 0021 were AV and AA, respectively, at codon 136; Table 1). That is, AV at codon 136 is associated with increased susceptibility to scrapie.17
When brainstem samples of CWD-infected sheep were analyzed for the presence of PrPres using WB, only 2 sheep (Nos. 0021 and 0024) were positive. Comparison of the molecular profile of the sheep CWD samples with a brainstem sample from a CWD-positive mule deer (Fig. 11) and a scrapie-positive sheep (data not shown), revealed similar but not identical molecular profiles. Interestingly, the PrPres polypeptides of the sheep scrapie control sample had a lower molecular weight compared to both the CWD sheep and mule deer brainstem samples. Brainstem from sheep No. 0021 did have a weaker WB reaction, compared with brainstem from sheep No. 0024 (Fig. 11). This indicates that sheep No. 0021, which was euthanized without clinical signs at 72 MPI, was subclinically infected with CWD. The amount of PrPres present in the CNS of this sheep appeared to be notably less than in sheep No. 0024, which had neurologic signs of disease at 35 MPI.
In the present study, the possibility that the PrPres seen in tissue sections represented residual CWD material from the inoculum was ruled out because of the multifocal distribution of PrPres throughout the brain and the spinal cord of both sheep. Had the PrPres represented residual inoculum, it would probably have been confined to the sites of deposition in the midbrain or cerebrum. Moreover, studies of sheep scrapie9 showed that intracerebrally inoculated brain material containing PrPres was present for only a few days in sufficient quantity to be detectable immunohistochemically.
The observation of neuroaxonal dystrophy in brainstems of 9 of 10 sheep is not surprising. It has been observed as a physiologic age-related change in older sheep2 and various other animals.10
This study involved intracerebral inoculation of CWDmd agent to sheep. This is an unnatural route and is only an oblique reflection of the potential for sheep to become infected under natural conditions of exposure. Based on the low attack rate of the current intracerebral inoculation (IC) study, it is likely that transmission of CWD to sheep by a more natural route, such as per os would likely require a much larger dose of inoculum and may be much more difficult to accomplish within the normal life span of the animal. On the other hand, experimental studies of CWD from other cervid species (elk and white-tailed deer) have not been documented in livestock. Preliminary studies (Hamir et al., unpublished data, 2006) of intracerebral inoculation of CWD from white-tailed deer into cattle suggests that this source is much more efficient at causing disease (as indicated by the attack rate) than CWDmd.
At this time a final assessment of relative risk for CWD transmission to sheep is not possible. However, results of this study show that the diagnostic confirmatory tests used for scrapie surveillance in the United States would also allow detection of CWD in sheep, should it occur in this country.
Thus far, among domestic animals, CWDmd has been transmitted by the intracerebral route to a goat18 and cattle.57 The present findings demonstrate that it is also possible to transmit CWDmd agent to sheep via the intracerebral route. However, the only sheep to develop clinical TSE within 35 MPI was genotypically AV at PRNP codon 136, suggesting that host genotype may play a notable part in successful transmission of the disease in this species. Although in Suffolk sheep the AV variant at codon 136 is very rare,17 selective breeding of Suffolk sheep with this codon has begun in the hope of testing this differential susceptibility hypothesis in a future study of CWDmd transmission to sheep.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
This study was carried out under the guidelines of the institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) committee at NADC. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the US Department of Agriculture.
| Sources and manufacturers |
|---|
|
|
|---|
a. Prionics-Check, Schlieren-Zurich, Switzerland. ![]()
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
G. Tamguney, M. W. Miller, K. Giles, A. Lemus, D. V. Glidden, S. J. DeArmond, and S. B. Prusiner Transmission of scrapie and sheep-passaged bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions to transgenic mice expressing elk prion protein J. Gen. Virol., April 1, 2009; 90(4): 1035 - 1047. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. N. Hamir, M. V. Palmer, and R. A. Kunkle Wasting and Neurologic Signs in a White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) not Associated with Abnormal Prion Protein J. Wildl. Dis., October 1, 2008; 44(4): 1045 - 1050. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. N. Hamir, J. A. Richt, J. M. Miller, R. A. Kunkle, S. M. Hall, E. M. Nicholson, K. I. O'Rourke, J. J. Greenlee, and E. S. Williams Experimental Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) of Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) to White-tailed Deer by Intracerebral Route Vet. Pathol., May 1, 2008; 45(3): 297 - 306. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. N. Hamir, R. A. Kunkle, J. M. Miller, R. C. Cutlip, J. A. Richt, M. E. Kehrli Jr, and E. S. Williams Age-related lesions in laboratory-confined raccoons (Procyon lotor) inoculated with the agent of chronic wasting disease of mule deer J Vet Diagn Invest, November 1, 2007; 19(6): 680 - 686. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. N. Hamir, J. M. Miller, R. A. Kunkle, S. M. Hall, and J. A. Richt Susceptibility of Cattle to First-passage Intracerebral Inoculation with Chronic Wasting Disease Agent from White-tailed Deer Vet. Pathol., July 1, 2007; 44(4): 487 - 493. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |