Rapid and discriminatory diagnosis of scrapie and BSE in retro-pharyngeal lymph nodes of sheep.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diagnosis based on prion detection in lymph nodes of sheep and goats can improve active surveillance for scrapie and, if it were circulating, for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). With sizes that allow repetitive testing and a location that is easily accessible at slaughter, retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLN) are considered suitable organs for testing. Western blotting (WB) of brain homogenates is, in principle, a technique well suited to both detect and discriminate between scrapie and BSE. In this report, WB is developed for rapid diagnosis in RLN and to study biochemical characteristics of PrPres.

Results

Optimal PrPres detection in RLN by WB was achieved by proper tissue processing, antibody choice and inclusion of a step for PrPresconcentration. The anal

SUBMITTER: Langeveld JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1544330 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature