Efficient Transmission and Characterization of Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease Strains in Bank Voles

Abstract

Transmission of prions between species is limited by the “species barrier,” which hampers a full characterization of human prion strains in the mouse model. We report that the efficiency of primary transmission of prions from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease patients to a wild rodent species, the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), is comparable to that reported in transgenic mice carrying human prion protein, in spite of a low prion protein–sequence homology between man and vole. Voles infected with sporadic and genetic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease isolates show strain-specific patterns of spongiform degeneration and pathological prion protein–deposition, and accumulate protease-resistant prion protein with biochemical properties similar to the human counterpart. Adaptation of genetic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease isolates to voles shows little or no evidence of a transmission barrier, in contrast to the striking barriers observed during transmission of mouse, hamster, and sheep prions to voles. Our results imply that in voles there is no clear relationship between the degree of homology of the prion protein of the donor and recipient species and susceptibility, consistent with the view that the prion strain gives a major contribution to the species barrier. The vole is therefore a valuable model to study human prion diversity and, being susceptible to a range of animal prions, represents a unique tool for comparing isolates from different species.

Synopsis

Prions are unconventional infectious agents that cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases. The transmission of prions between species is considered a rare event because it is limited by the “species barrier.” Nevertheless, in the past 10 y, more than 180 people worldwide died with variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) following consumption of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)–contaminated food. The vCJD crisis highlights the need for experimental approaches that are able to characterize human prions and to estimate the risk of animal prions for man. The authors used a new animal model, the bank vole, which appears to address these issues. They observed that these rodents are highly susceptible to sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) and genetic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (gCJD), as well as to several animal prions. Transmission to voles indicates that sCJD is caused by at least two distinct prion strains. Surprisingly, voles challenged with gCJD isolates do not show a species barrier, while prions from closely related rodent species encounter a clear barrier in transmitting to voles. Inoculation of voles with scrapie-related and BSE-related strains from several species suggests that the prion strain, and not the donor species, is the major determinant of prion transmissibility between different species. The authors conclude that the vole model is a valuable tool for comparing animal and human prions.