Cytokine antibody array analysis in brain and periphery of scrapie-infected Tg338 mice

Scrapie is a prion-associated transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of sheep and goats, and frequently serves as a comparative model for other prion diseases, such as chronic wasting disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. TSEs are unique neurologic disorders that do not appear to be accompanied by robust systemic immunologic responses. mRNA data suggest that cytokines are involved in scrapie progression. In this study, brain tissue, mesenteric lymph nodes, splenic tissue and serum from ovinized mice were screened for 62 cytokine and cytokine-related proteins at pre-clinical and clinical points of infection. Expression patterns were compared to brain histology and clinical presentation. Increased cytokine expression in the brain and periphery were noted in scrapie-positive animals before histologic changes or clinical signs were evident. Of the 62 proteins examined, only IL-10 and TIMP-1 were consistently expressed at increased levels in the serum throughout infection. These cytokines could suggest future targets for biomarkers of infection and may, as well, provide insight into the biologic dynamics of prion-associated neurologic diseases.