Prions Adhere to Soil Minerals and Remain Infectious

PLoS Pathogens

Judd M Aiken¹  Kristen E Phillips¹  Debbie McKenzie²  Peter T Schramm²  Joel A Pedersen³  Christopher J Johnson³ 

[1] Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America;Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America;Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America

关键词: Prions;    Quartz;    Veterinary diseases;    Sorption;    Animal prion diseases;    Adsorption;    Desorption;    Scrapie;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.0020032

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

An unidentified environmental reservoir of infectivity contributes to the natural transmission of prion diseases (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies [TSEs]) in sheep, deer, and elk. Prion infectivity may enter soil environments via shedding from diseased animals and decomposition of infected carcasses. Burial of TSE-infected cattle, sheep, and deer as a means of disposal has resulted in unintentional introduction of prions into subsurface environments. We examined the potential for soil to serve as a TSE reservoir by studying the interaction of the disease-associated prion protein (PrPSc) with common soil minerals. In this study, we demonstrated substantial PrPSc adsorption to two clay minerals, quartz, and four whole soil samples. We quantified the PrPSc-binding capacities of each mineral. Furthermore, we observed that PrPSc desorbed from montmorillonite clay was cleaved at an N-terminal site and the interaction between PrPSc and Mte was strong, making desorption of the protein difficult. Despite cleavage and avid binding, PrPSc bound to Mte remained infectious. Results from our study suggest that PrPSc released into soil environments may be preserved in a bioavailable form, perpetuating prion disease epizootics and exposing other species to the infectious agent.

【 授权许可】

CC BY