Premium
Detection of infectious prions in urine
Author(s) -
Gonzalez-Romero Dennisse,
Barria Marcelo A.,
Leon Patricia,
Morales Rodrigo,
Soto Claudio
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2008.08.003
Subject(s) - urine , virology , chemistry , chromatography , medicine
Prions are the infectious agents responsible for prion diseases, which appear to be composed exclusively by the misfolded prion protein (PrP Sc ). The mechanism of prion transmission is unknown. In this study, we attempted to detect prions in urine of experimentally infected animals. PrP Sc was detected in ∼80% of the animals studied, whereas no false positives were observed among the control animals. Semi‐quantitative calculations suggest that PrP Sc concentration in urine is around 10‐fold lower than in blood. Interestingly, PrP Sc present in urine maintains its infectious properties. Our data indicate that low quantities of infectious prions are excreted in the urine. These findings suggest that urine is a possible source of prion transmission.