Original Paper
Urine from Scrapie-Infected Hamsters Comprises Low Levels of Prion Infectivity
Zehavit Kariv-Inbala, Tamir Ben-Hura, Nikolaos C. Grigoriadisb, Roni Engelsteina, Ruth Gabizona
aDepartment of Neurology, The Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel;
bDepartment of Neurology, Laboratory of Experimental Neurology, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
Address of Corresponding Author
Neurodegenerative Diseases 2006;3:123-128 (DOI: 10.1159/000094770)
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Key Words
Scrapie
Urine
Infectivity
Light chain
Prion
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Abstract
The question of whether prion diseases can be transmitted by body fluids has important epidemiological, environmental and economical implications. In this work, we set to investigate whether urine collected from scrapie-infected hamsters can transmit fatal or subclinical infectivity to normal hamsters. After prolonged incubation times ranging from 300 to 700 days, a small number of animals inoculated with scrapie urine succumbed to scrapie disease, and several asymptomatic hamsters presented low levels of PrPSc in their brains. In addition, most of the asymptomatic hamsters inoculated with scrapie urine, as opposed to those inoculated with normal urine, presented extensive gliosis as well as protease-resistant light chain IgG in their urine, a molecule shown by us and others to be a surrogate marker for prion infection. Our results suggest that urine from scrapie-infected hamsters can transmit a widespread subclinical disease that in some cases develops into fatal scrapie.
Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel
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Author Contacts
Dr. Ruth Gabizon
Department of Neurology
Hadassah University Hospital
Jerusalem 91120 (Israel)
Tel. +972 2 677 7858, Fax +972 2 642 9441, E-Mail
[email protected]
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Article Information
Received: February 2, 2006
Accepted after revision: April 12, 2006
Number of Print Pages : 6
Number of Figures : 3, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 29
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