National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH)

Topics in Animal Health Research 2003

20. Two different scrapie prions isolated in Japanese sheep flocks

Japanese

 Two different scrapie prion strains with different characteristics were obtained from two sheep naturally infected with scrapie in Japan. In mice transmission, one (Tsukuba-1) showed shorter incubation periods (133±2 days) than the other (Tsukuba-2) (288±5 days). Spongiform changes and accumulation of an abnormal isoform of prion protein (PrPSc) were observed throughout the brain in Tsukuba-1 inoculated mice, while the lesions and the PrPSc accumulation were localized in the brain stem of mice with Tsukuba-2. A super-infection experiment revealed that neither strain interfered with the other's propagation.
(Prion Research Team, Prion Disease Research Center   TEL +81-29-838-7757)

References:

Hirogari et al. (2003) Microbiol. Immunol. 47:871-876.

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