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Prion protein in cardiac muscle of elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) infected with chronic wasting disease

Elizabeth S. Williams^1,

¹ Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory (WSVL), 1174 Snowy Range Road, Laramie, WY 82070, USA
² Veterinary Services Branch, Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD), Wheatland, WY 82201, USA

Correspondence
Jean E. Jewell
jjewell{at}uwyo.edu

To investigate the possible presence of disease-associated prion protein (PrP^d) in striated muscle of chronic wasting disease (CWD)-affected cervids, samples of diaphragm, tongue, heart and three appendicular skeletal muscles from mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) and moose (Alces alces shirasi) were examined by ELISA, Western immunoblot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). PrP^d was detected in samples of heart muscle from seven of 16 CWD-infected white-tailed deer, including one free-ranging deer, and in 12 of 17 CWD-infected elk, but not in any of 13 mule deer samples, nor in the single CWD-infected moose. For white-tailed deer, PrP^d was detected by Western blot at multiple sites throughout the heart; IHC results on ventricular sections of both elk and white-tailed deer showed positive staining in cardiac myocytes, but not in conduction tissues or nerve ganglia. Levels of PrP^d in cardiac tissues were estimated from Western blot band intensity to be lower than levels found in brain tissue. PrP^d was not detected in diaphragm, triceps brachii, semitendinosus, latissiumus dorsi or tongue muscles for any of the study subjects. This is the first report of PrP^d in cardiac tissue from transmissible spongiform encephalopathy-infected ruminants in the human food chain and the first demonstration by immunological assays of PrP^d in any striated muscle of CWD-infected cervids.

Deceased 29 December 2004.

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