Humanized Transgenic Mice Are Resistant to Chronic Wasting Disease Prions From Norwegian Reindeer and Moose
Jonathan D. F. Wadsworth, Susan Joiner, Jacqueline M. Linehan, Kezia Jack, Huda Al-Doujaily, H. Da Costa, Thea Ingold, Maged M. Taema, Fuquan Zhang, Malin Sandberg, Sebastian Brandner, Linh Tran, Turid Vikøren, Jørn Våge, Knut Madslien, Bjørnar Ytrehus, Sylvie L. Benestad, Emmanuel A. Asante, John Collinge
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or prion disease affecting cervids. In 2016, the first cases of CWD were reported in Europe in Norwegian wild reindeer and moose. The origin and zoonotic potential of these new prion isolates remain unknown. In this study to investigate zoonotic potential we inoculated brain tissue from CWD-infected Norwegian reindeer and moose into transgenic mice overexpressing human prion protein. After prolonged postinoculation survival periods no evidence for prion transmission was seen, suggesting that the zoonotic potential of these isolates is low.