Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Fetal Tissues of Free-Ranging White-Tailed Deer
Amy V. Nalls,
Erin E. McNulty,
Amber Mayfield,
James M. Crum,
Michael K. Keel,
Edward A. Hoover,
Mark G. Ruder,
Candace K. Mathiason
Affiliations
Amy V. Nalls
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Erin E. McNulty
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Amber Mayfield
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
James M. Crum
Wildlife Resources Section, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Elkins, WV 26241, USA
Michael K. Keel
Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Edward A. Hoover
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Mark G. Ruder
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Candace K. Mathiason
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
The transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has largely been attributed to contact with infectious prions shed in excretions (saliva, urine, feces, blood) by direct animal-to-animal exposure or indirect contact with the environment. Less-well studied has been the role that mother-to-offspring transmission may play in the facile transmission of CWD, and whether mother-to-offspring transmission before birth may contribute to the extensive spread of CWD. We thereby focused on a population of free-ranging white-tailed deer from West Virginia, USA, in which CWD has been detected. Fetal tissues, ranging from 113 to 158 days of gestation, were harvested from the uteri of CWD+ dams in the asymptomatic phase of infection. Using serial protein misfolding amplification (sPMCA), we detected evidence of prion seeds in 7 of 14 fetuses (50%) from 7 of 9 pregnancies (78%), with the earliest detection at 113 gestational days. This is the first report of CWD detection in free ranging white-tailed deer fetal tissues. Further investigation within cervid populations across North America will help define the role and impact of mother-to-offspring vertical transmission of CWD.
