Hwang Soyoun, Greenlee Justin J, Nicholson Eric M
Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Mar 4;8:643754. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.643754. eCollection 2021.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that is fatal to free-range and captive cervids. CWD has been reported in the United States, Canada, South Korea, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, and the case numbers in both wild and farmed cervids are increasing rapidly. Studies indicate that lateral transmission of cervids likely occurs through the shedding of infectious prions in saliva, feces, urine, and blood into the environment. Therefore, the detection of CWD early in the incubation time is advantageous for disease management. In this study, we adapt real-time quacking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays to detect the seeding activity of CWD prions in feces samples from clinical and preclinical white-tailed deer. By optimizing reaction conditions for temperature as well as the salt and salt concentration, prion seeding activity from both clinical and preclinical animals were detected by RT-QuIC. More specifically, all fecal samples collected from 6 to 30 months post inoculation showed seeding activity under the conditions of study. The combination of a highly sensitive detection tool paired with a sample type that may be collected non-invasively allows a useful tool to support CWD surveillance in wild and captive cervids.
慢性消耗病（CWD）是一种可传播的海绵状脑病（TSE），对放养和圈养的鹿科动物具有致命性。美国、加拿大、韩国、挪威、芬兰和瑞典均已报告出现慢性消耗病，野生和养殖鹿科动物中的病例数正在迅速增加。研究表明，鹿科动物的横向传播可能是通过唾液、粪便、尿液和血液中传染性朊病毒排放到环境中而发生的。因此，在潜伏期早期检测慢性消耗病有利于疾病管理。在本研究中，我们采用实时颤噪诱导转化（RT-QuIC）检测法来检测临床和临床前白尾鹿粪便样本中慢性消耗病朊病毒的播种活性。通过优化温度以及盐和盐浓度的反应条件，RT-QuIC检测到了临床和临床前动物的朊病毒播种活性。更具体地说，在接种后6至30个月收集的所有粪便样本在研究条件下均显示出播种活性。高灵敏度检测工具与可通过非侵入性方式采集的样本类型相结合，为支持野生和圈养鹿科动物的慢性消耗病监测提供了一个有用的工具。
