Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emergent, efficiently transmitted, fatal prion disease of cervids (deer, elk, moose) that is now identified in 17 states, 2 Canadian provinces and 1 Asian country. Epidemiological studies in deer suggest that CWD is transmitted horizontally, yet surprisingly little is known about its potential vertical transmission. The question of whether and how CWD, and prions overall, are transmitted from mother to offspring forms the basis for this proposal. We propose to address two specific aims to assess whether vertical/maternal transmission may explain in large part the efficient spread of CWD in nature by employing a newly developed small cervid model of CWD infection in Reeve's muntjac deer, which are readily housed and bred in indoor facilities. We will employ CWD- infected pregnant female muntjac deer and their offspring to determine whether and how infectious CWD prions are transmitted in utero/prenatally and/or postnatally via milk or maternal saliva. Due to uncertainties regarding the nature of prion state and transfer, we will use several assays to detect CWD prions--including direct immunoassays, serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) and transgenic mouse bioassay. The goal of this work is to determine the most significant pathway whereby CWD prions are transferred from mother to offspring, and thereby to gain insight into the mechanisms of vertical prion transmission overall.

Public Health Relevance

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a rapidly spreading fatal prion disease of deer and elk now present in 17 states. While CWD is thought to spread primarily by horizontal transmission, surprisingly little is known about the vertical/maternal transmission of all prion diseases. Proposed here are studies to determine if CWD prions can be transmitted from mother to offspring in utero, during parturition or post natally in colostrum and milk.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AI093634-05
Application #
8849337
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Beisel, Christopher E
Project Start
2011-06-06
Project End
2017-05-31
Budget Start
2015-06-01
Budget End
2017-05-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Veterinary Medicine
DUNS #
785979618
City
Fort Collins
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80523
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McNulty, Erin; Selariu, Anca I; Anderson, Kelly et al. (2016) Aspects of the husbandry and management of captive cervids. Lab Anim (NY) 45:140-2
Elder, Alan M; Henderson, Davin M; Nalls, Amy V et al. (2015) Immediate and Ongoing Detection of Prions in the Blood of Hamsters and Deer following Oral, Nasal, or Blood Inoculations. J Virol 89:7421-4
Selariu, Anca; Powers, Jenny G; Nalls, Amy et al. (2015) In utero transmission and tissue distribution of chronic wasting disease-associated prions in free-ranging Rocky Mountain elk. J Gen Virol 96:3444-55
Walton, Kelly D; McNulty, Erin; Nalls, Amy V et al. (2014) Transabdominal ultrasound for pregnancy diagnosis in Reeves' muntjac deer. J Vis Exp :e50855
Willingham, Kassandra; McNulty, Erin; Anderson, Kelly et al. (2014) Milk collection methods for mice and Reeves' muntjac deer. J Vis Exp :
Nalls, Amy V; McNulty, Erin; Powers, Jenny et al. (2013) Mother to offspring transmission of chronic wasting disease in reeves' muntjac deer. PLoS One 8:e71844
Elder, Alan M; Henderson, Davin M; Nalls, Amy V et al. (2013) In vitro detection of prionemia in TSE-infected cervids and hamsters. PLoS One 8:e80203