Immunization Delays the Onset of Prion Disease in Mice

• Published in: The American journal of pathology Vol. 161; no. 1; pp. 13 - 17
• Main Authors: Sigurdsson, Einar M., Brown, David R., Daniels, Maki, Kascsak, Richard J., Kascsak, Regina, Carp, Richard, Meeker, Harry C., Frangione, Blas, Wisniewski, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Elsevier Inc 01-07-2002; ASIP; American Society for Investigative Pathology
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - pathology; Epidemiology. Vaccinations; Experimental viral diseases and models; Female; General aspects; Immunization; Immunotherapy; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Prion Diseases - pathology; Prion Diseases - prevention & control; Prion Diseases - therapy; Prions - immunology; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; Short Communication; Time Factors; Viral diseases; Nervous system diseases; Immunization; Immune response; Treatment efficiency; Vaccination; Rodentia; Cerebral disorder; Time lag; Infection; Variant; Pathology; Vertebrata; Experimental disease; Mammalia; Onset time; Mouse; Animal; Central nervous system disease; Degenerative disease; Prion; Molecular biology; Creutzfeldt Jakob disease
• ISSN: 0002-9440; 1525-2191
• DOI: 10.1016/S0002-9440(10)64151-X

The outbreak of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has raised the specter of a potentially large population being at risk to develop this prionosis. None of the prionoses currently have an effective treatment. Recently, vaccination has been shown to be effective in mouse models of another neurodegenerative condition, namely Alzheimer's disease. Here we report that vaccination with recombinant mouse prion protein delays the onset of prion disease in mice. Vaccination was performed both before peripheral prion exposure and after exposure. A delay in disease onset was seen in both groups, but was more prolonged in animals immunized before exposure. The increase in the incubation period closely correlated with the anti-prion protein antibody titer. This promising finding suggests that a similar approach may work in humans or other mammalian species at risk for prion disease.