Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Cases of iatrogenic prion disease have been reported from corneal transplants, yet the distribution and levels of prions throughout the eye remain unknown. This study probes the occurrence, level, and distribution of prions in the eyes of patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). We tested the largest series of prion-infected eyes reported to date using an ultrasensitive technique to establish the prion seed levels in eight regions of the eye. All 11 cases had detectable prion seeds in the eye, and in some cases, the seed levels in the retina approached those in brain. In most cases, prion deposits could also be seen by immunohistochemical staining of retinal tissue; other ocular tissues were negative. Our results have implications for estimating the risk for iatrogenic transmission of sCJD as well as for the development of antemortem diagnostic tests for prion diseases.
Source: mBio
Institutions: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, University of California San Diego, University of California, San Francisco, University of California San Francisco Medical Center, Instituto de Neurologia Y Neurocirugia, Case Western Reserve University, University of California, Davis
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,900
Funders: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Case Western Reserve University, CurePSP, Global Brain Health Institute, Quest Diagnostics, National Institutes of Health, University of California, San Diego, University of California, San Francisco, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
OpenAlex ID: W2901005536