Shedding, retention and spreading of chronic wasting disease prions in the environment

主要研究者/项目负责人（最后，第一，中间）：Morales，Rodrigo 摘要 慢性消耗性疾病（CWD）是一种朊病毒疾病，影响几种鹿。在过去 多年来，慢性消耗病因其在野生和圈养动物中的高发病率而声名狼借。外界猜测 在不久的将来，受这种疾病折磨的动物的数量将增加。重要的是，鹿分享它们的 栖息地与其他几个物种，包括人类。慢性消耗病朊病毒感染其他动物的可能性 物种仍有争议。导致慢性消耗病流行的主要因素是 感染性朊病毒在环境中的含量朊病毒已被证明能有效地结合土壤颗粒 同时保持它们的传染性。从尿液、粪便和唾液中清除朊病毒， 受感染的动物可能在很大程度上参与了传染性向环境的传播。我们有 最近的研究表明朊病毒可以高效地结合活的植物。朊病毒污染的叶或根感染 潜伏期相对较短的实验对象。有趣的是，我们还发现植物 可以从土壤中摄取朊病毒并将其运输到地上部分。初步数据显示，其他天然和 人造表面也可以以材料特异性方式结合和释放朊病毒。重要的是朊病毒 与几种物质结合只能通过接触促进疾病。最后，我们证明了蚯蚓可以 作为朊病毒传染性的有效传播者，通过将朊病毒附着在其表面或通过摄入， 污染土壤颗粒的进一步排泄。在这个项目中，我们计划进一步评估结合性能 朊病毒对土壤、植物和蚯蚓的作用。这将通过使用各种技术来实现 （放射性标记、qPMCA和生物测定）。与此同时，从受化学废物影响的处所抽取的样本， 分析了我们坚信，从这些实验中获得的数据将有助于我们了解 天然CWD传播的机制，并帮助设计新的法规和指导方针，以消除CWD 环境中的代理人。

Principal Investigator/Program Director (Last, first, middle): Morales, Rodrigo ABSTRACT Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting several species of cervids. During the last years, CWD has acquired notoriety due to its high incidence on wild and captive animals. It is speculated that the number of animals afflicted by this disease will increase in the near future. Importantly, deer share their habitats with several other species, including humans. The potential of CWD prions to infect other animal species is still controversial. The leading event thought to cause the CWD epidemic involves the accumulation of infectious prions in environmental components. Prions have been shown to efficiently bind soil particles while maintaining their infectious properties. The elimination of prions from urine, feces and saliva from infected animals could be importantly participating in the spread of infectivity to the environment. We have recently shown that prions can bind living plants with great efficiency. Prion-contaminated leaves or roots infect experimental subjects with relatively short incubation periods. Interestingly, we have also shown that plants can uptake prions from soil and transport them to aerial parts. Preliminary data show that other natural and human-made surfaces can also bind and release prions in a material-specific manner. Importantly, prions bound to several materials can promote disease only by contact. Finally we have shown that earthworms can act as efficient disseminators of prion infectivity, either by attaching prions to their surfaces or by ingestion and further excretion of contaminated soil particles. In this project, we plan to further assess the binding properties of prions to soil, plants and earthworms. This will be achieved by using a wide variety of techniques (radiolabeling, qPMCA and bioassays). In parallel, samples obtained from CWD affected premises will be analyzed. We strongly believe that data obtained from these experiments will help us to understand the mechanisms of natural CWD spread and help to design new regulations and guidelines to eradicate the CWD agent from the environment.