NR AWJY
AU McCutcheon,S.; Hunter,N.; Foster,J.D.; MacGregor,I.; Hornsey,V.; Prowse,C.; Turner,M.; Groschup,M.H.; Houston,F.E.
TI Transmission of BSE infection in sheep, via blood transfusion
QU International Conference - Prion 2006: Strategies, advances and trends towards protection of society - 3.10.-6.10.2006, Torino, Italy, Lingotto Conference Centre - Poster sessions PA-38
PT Konferenz-Poster
AB The possibility that vCJD may be transmitted by blood transfusion is an important public health issue. The involvement of lymphoreticular tissues in the peripheral pathogenesis of vCJD raises concerns that infectivity may enter the bloodstream in association with recirculating lymphocytes. We have shown that sheep infected with BSE by the oral route provide a suitable model to assess the potential of transfusion of blood components to transmit vCJD in man, as the distribution of PrPsc and/or infectivity in lymphoid tissues of sheep orally challenged with BSE closely resembles that of vCJD patients. We have previously demonstrated that both BSE and natural scrapie infection can be transmitted via transfusion of whole blood and buffy coat, taken from both pre-clinical and clinical donors. To date, 3 out of 5 recipients of BSE-infected blood, taken from donors at a clinical timepoint, have developed TSE disease (approximate transmission rate of 60%). The equivalent transmission rate for recipients of BSE-infected blood taken from pre-clinical animals is lower. The transmission rate for natural scrapie is approximately 40-45%. We are currently setting up a new project to investigate the distribution of BSE infectivity in whole blood and separated components (plasma, platelets and erythrocytes), and the effectiveness of human leucodepletion filters in removing infectivity. The methods used for collection of blood and separation and filtration of components will follow as closely as possible those routinely employed for human blood by transfusion services, and have initially been developed and tested on uninfected sheep blood in the laboratories of SNBTS. A secondary aim of the project is to develop a bioassay for measurement of titres of infectivity in blood components, using transgenic mouse lines that over-express ovine PrP. The aim of these experiments is to determine qualitative and quantitative data on the changes in infectivity in blood and its clinically relevant components with time, as well as assessing the effect of leucodepletion of such products and the potential for secondary transmission by blood transfusion.
AD S. McCutcheon, F. Houston: Institute for Animal Health, Compton, Newbury, RG20 7NN, UK; N. Hunter, J.D. Foster: Institute for Animal Health, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JF, UK; I. MacGregor, V. Hornsey, C. Prowse, M. Turner: Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Ellen's Glen Road, Edinburgh, EH17 7QT, UK; M. Groschup: FLI-Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany. E-mail: sandra.mccutcheon@bbsrc.ac.uk
SP englisch
PO Italien