Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Prions and the lymphoreticular system.

C Weissmann1, A J Raeber, F Montrasio

  • 1Medical Research Council Prion Unit, Imperial College School of Medicine at St Mary's, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK. c.weissmann@ic.ac.uk

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|March 22, 2001
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Analysis of co-isogenic prion protein deficient mice reveals behavioral deficits, learning impairment, and enhanced hippocampal excitability.

BMC biology·2022
Same author

Gastric metastasis from cervix carcer: a case report.

Pathologica·2018
Same author

Decreased NOX2 expression in the brain of patients with bipolar disorder: association with valproic acid prescription and substance abuse.

Translational psychiatry·2017
Same author

Clinical and diagnostic developments of a gamma interferon release assay for use in bovine tuberculosis control programs.

Clinical and vaccine immunology : CVI·2013
Same author

Recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage after coitus: a case report of sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy in a younger patient.

European journal of neurology·2012
Same author

Recent developments in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and therapy of prion diseases.

Dialogues in clinical neuroscience·2011
Same journal

The microlandscapes of tree trunks: the effect of lichen and tree-level characteristics on arthropod communities.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Centimetre-scale landscapes to assess the motion behaviour and cognition of gastropods and bivalves.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Intertidal microcosms of wave-swept rocky shores: ecological and physiological insights from a uniquely stressful environment.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Temporal and spatial variation in temperature and oxygen at the microscale: key niche axes for aquatic life.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Natural microcosms in ecology: fulfilling the promise of model systems?

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Microbe-induced galls and plant defence: metabolite crosstalk in a co-evolutionary battle.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
See all related articles

Scrapie prion infectivity initially targets the spleen, associating with lymphocytes and follicular dendritic cells (FDCs). Blocking FDC development halts prion accumulation and slows brain invasion, highlighting FDCs

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Immunology
  • Prion Biology

Background:

  • Scrapie prions, infectious agents causing neurodegenerative diseases, initially accumulate in the spleen before affecting the brain.
  • Understanding prion tropism and replication sites is crucial for developing therapeutic strategies against prion diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cellular reservoirs and replication mechanisms of scrapie prions within the spleen.
  • To elucidate the role of specific immune cells and stromal components, particularly follicular dendritic cells (FDCs), in prion propagation and neuroinvasion.

Main Methods:

  • Inoculation of mice with scrapie prions via intracerebral or peripheral routes.
  • Analysis of prion distribution in spleen and blood lymphocytes using transgenic mice expressing PrP in T or B cells.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Treatment with soluble lymphotoxin-beta receptor to deplete mature FDCs and assess the impact on prion accumulation and neuroinvasion.

    • Main Results:

    • Scrapie infectivity was primarily found in splenic T and B lymphocytes and associated with follicular dendritic cells (FDCs), but not in blood lymphocytes.
    • Transgenic mice lacking PrP expression in lymphocytes showed no prion replication in the lymphoreticular system.
    • Depletion of FDCs by soluble lymphotoxin-beta receptor treatment abolished splenic prion accumulation and significantly retarded neuroinvasion.

    Conclusions:

    • Splenic lymphocytes are involved in prion accumulation, but their replication likely depends on other PrP-expressing cells, notably FDCs.
    • Follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) play an essential role in splenic prion replication and are critical for efficient neuroinvasion.
    • Targeting FDCs represents a potential therapeutic strategy to control prion spread and disease progression.