TY - JOUR AU - Barria, Marcelo AU - Libori, Adriana AU - Mitchell, Gordon AU - Head, Mark T1 - Susceptibility of Human Prion Protein to Conversion by Chronic Wasting Disease Prions T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2018 VL - 24 IS - 8 SP - 1482 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious and fatal neurodegenerative disease and a serious animal health issue for deer and elk in North America. The identification of the first cases of CWD among free-ranging reindeer and moose in Europe brings back into focus the unresolved issue of whether CWD can be zoonotic like bovine spongiform encephalopathy. We used a cell-free seeded protein misfolding assay to determine whether CWD prions from elk, white-tailed deer, and reindeer in North America can convert the human prion protein to the disease-associated form. We found that prions can convert, but the efficiency of conversion is affected by polymorphic variation in the cervid and human prion protein genes. In view of the similarity of reindeer, elk, and white-tailed deer in North America to reindeer, red deer, and roe deer, respectively, in Europe, a more comprehensive and thorough assessment of the zoonotic potential of CWD might be warranted. KW - prion KW - chronic wasting disease KW - protein misfolding cyclic amplification KW - zoonosis KW - zoonoses KW - deer KW - elk KW - sheep KW - reindeer KW - North America KW - Europe DO - 10.3201/eid2408.161888 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/24/8/16-1888_article ER - End of Reference