Inhibition of protease-resistant prion protein formation in a transformed deer cell line infected with chronic wasting disease.

ABSTRACT: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (prion disease) of North American cervids, i.e., mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk (wapiti). To facilitate in vitro studies of CWD, we have developed a transformed deer cell line that is persistently infected with CWD. Primary cultures derived from uninfected mule deer brain tissue were transformed by transfection with a plasmid containing the simian virus 40 genome. A transformed cell line (MDB) was exposed to microsomes prepared from the brainstem of a CWD-affected mule deer. CWD-associated, protease-resistant prion protein (PrP(CWD)) was used as an indicator of CWD infection. Although no PrP(CWD) was detected in any of these cultures after two passes, dilution cloning of cells yielded one PrP(CWD)-p

SUBMITTER: Raymond GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1346862 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature