Study of CWD Deer and Elk Prion Disease in Nonhuman Primates

为了研究CWD跨物种传播的可能性，用感染CWD的鹿或麋鹿的脑组织材料经口或脑内感染两种非人类灵长类动物松猴和食蟹猴。到2008财年结束时，13只脑内感染的松鼠猴中有7只出现了临床神经症状，并经脑生化和病理检查证实患有普恩病毒病。一只口服感染的松鼠猴也患上了疾病。到目前为止，还没有食蟹猴出现任何疾病迹象。对剩下的猴子的观察还将持续几年。在2008财年，我们用CWD感染的松鼠猴的脑匀浆接种了另外四只食蟹猴和松鼠猴，以评估CWD适应非人类灵长类宿主的能力。此外，我们正在评估受感染的松鼠猴子的血液中是否存在普恩病毒。 感染CWD的松鼠猴子的组织和用于感染这些猴子的CWD感染的宫颈组织也正在通过表达鹿PrP的转基因小鼠的滴定进行分析。

To study the possibility of cross-species transmission of CWD, two species of nonhuman primates, squirrel monkeys and cynomologus macaques, were infected orally or intracerebrally with brain material derived from CWD affected deer or elk. At the conclusion of FY08 seven of thirteen intracerebrally infected squirrel monkeys had developed clinical neurological signs and were confirmed by biochemical and pathological testing of brain to have a prion disease. One orally infected squirrel monkey has also developed disease. To this point no cynomologus macaques have developed any signs of disease. Observations on the remaining monkeys will continue for a few more years. During FY08 we inoculated four additional cynomologus macaques and squirrel monkeys with brain homogenates derived from a CWD infected squirrel monkey to evaluate the ability of CWD to adapt to a nonhuman primate host. In addition we are evaluating blood from infected squirrel monkeys for the presence of prion infectivity. Tissues from CWD-infected squirrel monkeys and CWD-infected cervids used to infect such monkeys are also being analyzed by titration in deer PrP expressing transgenic mice.