North American and Norwegian Chronic Wasting Disease Prions Exhibit Different Potential for Interspecies Transmission and Zoonotic Risk

Overview

Journal J Infect Dis

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2021 Jul 24

PMID 34302479

Citations 14

Authors

Sandra Pritzkow

Damian Gorski

Frank Ramirez

Glenn C Telling

Sylvie L Benestad

Claudio Soto

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a rapidly spreading prion disorder affecting various species of wild and captive cervids. The risk that CWD poses to cohabiting animals or more importantly to humans is largely unknown.

Methods: In this study, we investigated differences in the capacity of CWD isolates obtained from 6 different cervid species to induce prion conversion in vitro by protein misfolding cyclic amplification. We define and quantify spillover and zoonotic potential indices as the efficiency by which CWD prions sustain prion generation in vitro at expenses of normal prion proteins from various mammals and human, respectively.

Results: Our data suggest that reindeer and red deer from Norway could be the most transmissible CWD prions to other mammals, whereas North American CWD prions were more prone to generate human prions in vitro.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that Norway and North American CWD prions correspond to different strains with distinct spillover and zoonotic potentials.

Citing Articles

RT-QuIC detection of chronic wasting disease prions in third eyelids from white-tailed deer.

Hoy-Petersen J, Niedringhaus K, Henderson D, Armstrong J, Livengood J, Tewari D Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):8946.

PMID: 40089641 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-94146-3.

Prions in Muscles of Cervids with Chronic Wasting Disease, Norway.

Vuong T, Cazzaniga F, Tran L, Vage J, Di Bari M, Pirisinu L Emerg Infect Dis. 2025; 31(2):246-255.

PMID: 39983705 PMC: 11845164. DOI: 10.3201/eid3102.240903.

CRISPR/Cas9-editing of PRNP in Alpine goats.

Allais-Bonnet A, Richard C, Andre M, Gelin V, Deloche M, Lamadon A Vet Res. 2025; 56(1):11.

PMID: 39806509 PMC: 11731167. DOI: 10.1186/s13567-024-01444-1.

Spatiotemporal occupancy patterns of chronic wasting disease.

Davis A, Hesting S, Jaster L, Mosley J, Raghavan A, Raghavan R Front Vet Sci. 2024; 11:1492743.

PMID: 39634764 PMC: 11615082. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1492743.

Minor prion substrains overcome transmission barriers.

Steadman B, Bian J, Shikiya R, Bartz J mBio. 2024; 15(11):e0272124.

PMID: 39440977 PMC: 11559082. DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02721-24.

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