Prion pathogenesis is unaltered in a mouse strain with a permeable blood-brain barrier.

Bibliographic Details
Title: Prion pathogenesis is unaltered in a mouse strain with a permeable blood-brain barrier.
Authors: Annika Keller, Mario Nuvolone, Irina Abakumova, Andra Chincisan, Regina Reimann, Merve Avar, Daniel Heinzer, Simone Hornemann, Josephin Wagner, Daniel Kirschenbaum, Fabian F Voigt, Caihong Zhu, Luca Regli, Fritjof Helmchen, Adriano Aguzzi
Source: PLoS Pathogens, Vol 14, Iss 11, p e1007424 (2018)
Publisher Information: Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2018.
Publication Year: 2018
Collection: LCC:Immunologic diseases. Allergy
LCC:Biology (General)
Subject Terms: Immunologic diseases. Allergy, RC581-607, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
More Details: Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are caused by the prion, which consists essentially of PrPSc, an aggregated, conformationally modified form of the cellular prion protein (PrPC). Although TSEs can be experimentally transmitted by intracerebral inoculation, most instances of infection in the field occur through extracerebral routes. The epidemics of kuru and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were caused by dietary exposure to prions, and parenteral administration of prion-contaminated hormones has caused hundreds of iatrogenic TSEs. In all these instances, the development of postexposure prophylaxis relies on understanding of how prions propagate from the site of entry to the brain. While much evidence points to lymphoreticular invasion followed by retrograde transfer through peripheral nerves, prions are present in the blood and may conceivably cross the blood-brain barrier directly. Here we have addressed the role of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in prion disease propagation using Pdgfbret/ret mice which possess a highly permeable BBB. We found that Pdgfbret/ret mice have a similar prion disease incubation time as their littermate controls regardless of the route of prion transmission. These surprising results indicate that BBB permeability is irrelevant to the initiation of prion disease, even when prions are administered parenterally.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1553-7366
1553-7374
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/1553-7366; https://doaj.org/toc/1553-7374
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007424
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/154e8661ae744cb885de7f2073c95e14
Accession Number: edsdoj.154e8661ae744cb885de7f2073c95e14
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
Full text is not displayed to guests.
More Details
ISSN:15537366
15537374
DOI:10.1371/journal.ppat.1007424
Published in:PLoS Pathogens
Language:English