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A prion reduction filter does not completely remove endogenous prion infectivity from sheep blood
Sandra McCutcheon1, A Richard Alejo Blanco1, Boon Chin Tan1
1Neurobiology Division, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh.
Transfusion
|June 3, 2015
Summary
The P-CAPT filter, designed to remove prion disease infectivity from blood, did not fully eliminate Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) agent from sheep red blood cells. Transfused red blood cells, even after filtration, transmitted BSE to recipients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Infectious Diseases
- Blood Transfusion Safety
Background:
- Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is a human prion disease linked to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
- Blood transfusions from asymptomatic vCJD donors have transmitted the disease.
- Filtration technologies are being developed to mitigate prion transmission via blood products.
Purpose of the Study:
- To independently assess the efficacy of the P-CAPT filter in removing BSE infectivity from sheep blood components.
- To evaluate the P-CAPT filter's performance in a large animal model using endogenous infectivity.
Main Methods:
- Leukoreduced red blood cells (LR-RBCs) were prepared from sheep confirmed with BSE at the clinical stage.
- Recipients were transfused with either LR-RBCs alone or LR-RBCs treated with the P-CAPT filter (LR-RBCs-P-CAPT).
Main Results:
- Two out of 14 recipients developed BSE after transfusion.
- These infected sheep received both unfiltered LR-RBCs and P-CAPT-filtered LR-RBCs from the same BSE-infected donor.
Conclusions:
- Leukoreduction and P-CAPT filtration were insufficient to completely remove BSE infectivity from sheep red blood cells.
- Residual infectivity in filtered red blood cells can still transmit BSE to susceptible recipients.
