Our broad, long-term objectives are to supply reagents, models and expertise from a centralized Science Core facility to all participants of the Program. Core operation represents a balance between providing services based on established procedures, and continued innovation in methods and protocols. Safety is a particular guiding principle of the Core, and is are addressed by the many years of experience of Core participants in the study of TSEs, facilities for safe homogenization and other biohazard operating procedures, prion handling and decontamination. Protocol standardization is another crucial goal, so that all aspects of the Program have access to reagents and services produced and operated using consistent methods from a constant, reliable source.
Specific Aims :
Aim I - To supply purified recombinant PrP for assays to quantify prions, and for analyses of PrP conversion;
Aim II - To supply purified anti-PrP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with well- defined properties;
Aim III - To supply characterized transgenic and gene targeted mouse models;
Aim I V - To quantify prions using sensitive, high throughput cell-based assays;
and Aim V - To provide a variety of services to analyze pathological consequences of prion infection. The Science Core resides in outstanding environments for studies of prion diseases. Studies within individual Projects will be conducted in close collaboration with the Science Core to take advantage of the availability of models and expertise, standardized and consistent methodologies, and uniformly consistent, high quality reagents. The activity of the Core is essential for the successful accomplishment of Program goals.

Public Health Relevance

The goal of the Science Core is closely aligned with, and essential to effectively realize, the overarching goal of this Program Project, which is to study the molecular mechanisms of prion replication, the factors controlling the species barrier (with particular focus on the zoonotic potential of CWD) and the role of the environment on CWD transmission.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
5P01AI077774-09
Application #
9691136
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAI1)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2019-05-01
Budget End
2020-04-30
Support Year
9
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Health Science Center Houston
Department
Type
DUNS #
800771594
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77030
Moreno, Julie A; Telling, Glenn C (2018) Molecular Mechanisms of Chronic Wasting Disease Prion Propagation. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 8:
Davenport, Kristen A; Mosher, Brittany A; Brost, Brian M et al. (2018) Assessment of Chronic Wasting Disease Prion Shedding in Deer Saliva with Occupancy Modeling. J Clin Microbiol 56:
Haley, Nicholas J; Henderson, Davin M; Wycoff, Sarah et al. (2018) Chronic wasting disease management in ranched elk using rectal biopsy testing. Prion 12:93-108
Haley, Nicholas J; Richt, Jürgen A; Davenport, Kristen A et al. (2018) Design, implementation, and interpretation of amplification studies for prion detection. Prion 12:73-82
Yuan, Qi; Telling, Glenn; Bartelt-Hunt, Shannon L et al. (2018) Dehydration of Prions on Environmentally Relevant Surfaces Protects Them from Inactivation by Freezing and Thawing. J Virol 92:
Pritzkow, Sandra; Morales, Rodrigo; Lyon, Adam et al. (2018) Efficient prion disease transmission through common environmental materials. J Biol Chem 293:3363-3373
Waqas, Muhammad; Lee, Hye-Mi; Kim, Jeeyoung et al. (2017) Effect of poly-L-arginine in inhibiting scrapie prion protein of cultured cells. Mol Cell Biochem 428:57-66
Davenport, Kristen A; Hoover, Clare E; Bian, Jifeng et al. (2017) PrPC expression and prion seeding activity in the alimentary tract and lymphoid tissue of deer. PLoS One 12:e0183927
Kramm, Carlos; Pritzkow, Sandra; Lyon, Adam et al. (2017) Detection of Prions in Blood of Cervids at the Asymptomatic Stage of Chronic Wasting Disease. Sci Rep 7:17241
Iwamaru, Yoshifumi; Mathiason, Candace K; Telling, Glenn C et al. (2017) Chronic wasting disease prion infection of differentiated neurospheres. Prion 11:277-283

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