BSE infection of the small short-lived primate Microcebus murinus.
C R Biol
; 325(1): 67-74, 2002 Jan.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-11862624
ABSTRACT
Eleven Microcebus murinus (lemur) primates were intracerebrally or orally infected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or macaque-adapted BSE (MBSE) brain homogenates. In many BSE and MBSE infected lemurs, but not in animals inoculated with normal bovine brain, persistent behavioral changes occurred as early as 3 months, and neurological signs as early as 13 months after infection. Immunohistochemical examination of animals sacrificed during the incubation period revealed an abnormal accumulation of 'prion' protein (PrP) in the intestinal wall, intestinal nervous plexus, mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen, and in the clinical stage, also in the brain. In MBSE-inoculated animals, proteinase K resistance of the PrP (PrPres) was confirmed by Western blot in the spleen and the brain. Obvious signs of neurodegeneration were observed in all infected animals characterized by hyperaggregated and paired-helical filaments-immunoreactive Tau proteins, beta 42-amyloid plaques and astrogliosis. Additionally, PrPres was present in the ganglion cells of the retina in diseased animals after either intracerebrally or oral infection by the BSE or MBSE agent. These results show that the microcebe is susceptible to the BSE infectious agent via intracerebral and oral routes with comparatively short incubation periods compared to simians, and could be a useful animal model to study the pathophysiology of disease transmission in primates.
Buscar no Google
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Encefalopatia Espongiforme Bovina
/
Cheirogaleidae
/
Modelos Animais de Doenças
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2002
Tipo de documento:
Article