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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Real-time Quaking-induced Conversion Assay for Detection of CWD Prions in Fecal Material
Published on: September 29, 2017
Efficient in vitro amplification of chronic wasting disease PrPRES
Timothy D Kurt1, Matthew R Perrott, Carol J Wilusz
1Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Abstract:
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids is associated with conversion of the normal cervid prion protein, PrP(C), to a protease-resistant conformer, PrP(CWD). Here we report the use of both nondenaturing amplification and protein-misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) to amplify PrP(CWD) in vitro. Normal brains from deer, transgenic mice expressing cervid PrP(C) [Tg(cerPrP)1536 mice], and ferrets supported amplification. PMCA using normal Tg(cerPrP)1536 brains as the PrP(C) substrate produced >6.5 x 10(9)-fold amplification after six rounds. Highly efficient in vitro amplification of PrP(CWD) is a significant step toward detection of PrP(CWD) in the body fluids or excreta of CWD-susceptible species.
