Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Infectivity of Scrapie Prions Bound to a Stainless Steel Surface

  • Original Articles
  • Published:
Molecular Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

The transmissible agent of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is not readily destroyed by conventional sterilization and transmissions by surgical instruments have been reported. Decontamination studies have been carried out thus far on solutions or suspensions of the agent and may not reflect the behavior of surface-bound infectivity.

Materials and Methods

As a model for contaminated surgical instruments, thin stainless-steel wire segments were exposed to scrapie agent, washed exhaustively with or without treatment with 10% formaldehyde, and implanted into the brains of indicator mice. Infectivity was estimated from the time elapsing to terminal disease.

Results

Stainless steel wire (0.15 × 5 mm) exposed to scrapie-infected mouse brain homogenate and washed extensively with PBS retained the equivalent of about 105 LD50 units per segment. Treatment with 10% formaldehyde for 1 hr reduced this value by only about 30-fold.

Conclusions

The model system we have devised confirms the anecdotal reports that steel instruments can retain CJD infectivity even after formaldehyde treatment. It lends itself to a systematic study of the conditions required to effectively inactivate CJD, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and scrapie agent adsorbed to stainless steel surfaces such as those of surgical instruments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Taylor DM, Fraser H, McConnell I, et al. (1994) Decontamination studies with the agents of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and scrapie. Arch. Virol. 139: 313–326.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Brown P, Gibbs CJ Jr, Amyx HL, et al. (1982) Chemical disinfection of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease virus. N. Engl. J. Med. 306: 1279–1282.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ernst DR, Race RE. (1993) Comparative analysis of scrapie agent inactivation methods. J. Virol. Methods 41: 193–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Taylor DM. (1996) Exposure to, and inactivation of, the unconventional agents that cause transmissible degenerative encephalopathies. In: Baker H, Ridley RM (eds). Prion Diseases. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp. 105–118.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Taylor DM. (1993) Inactivation of SE agents. Br. Med. Bull. 49: 810–821.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Brown P. (1996) Environmental causes of human spongiform encephalopathy. In: Baker H, Ridley RM (eds). Prion Diseases. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp. 139–154.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  7. Bernoulli C, Siegfried J, Baumgartner G, et al. (1977) Danger of accidental person-to-person transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by surgery. Lancet 1: 478–479.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Gibbs CJ Jr, Asher DM, Kobrine A, Amyx HL, Sulima MP, Gajdusek DC. (1994) Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to a chimpanzee by electrodes contaminated during neurosurgery. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 57: 757–758.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Collinge J, Rossor MN, Thomas D, Frosh A, Tolley N. (1998) Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by measurement of S100 protein in serum. Tonsil biopsy helps diagnose new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. BMJ 317: 472–473.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hilton DA, Fathers E, Edwards P, Ironside JW, Zajicek J. (1998) Prion immunoreactivity in appendix before clinical onset of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Lancet 352: 703–704.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Chandler RL. (1961) Encephalopathy in mice produced by inoculation with scrapie brain material. Lancet 1: 1378–1379.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Büeler H, Aguzzi A, Sailer A, et al. (1993) Mice devoid of PrP are resistant to scrapie. Cell 73: 1339–1347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Prusiner SB, Cochran SP, Groth DF, Downey DE, Bowman KA, Martinez HM. (1982) Measurement of the scrapie agent using an incubation time interval assay. Ann. Neurol. 11: 353–358.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Brandner S, Isenmann S, Raeber A, et al. (1996) Normal host prion protein necessary for scrapie-induced neurotoxicity. Nature 379: 339–343.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Scott MR, Safar J, Telling G, et al. (1997) Identification of a prion protein epitope modulating transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions to transgenic mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94: 14279–14284.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Telling GC, Scott M, Hsiao KK, et al. (1994) Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from humans to transgenic mice expressing chimeric human-mouse prion protein. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91: 9936–9940.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Collinge J, Palmer MS, Sidle KC, et al. (1995) Unaltered susceptibility to BSE in transgenic mice expressing human prion protein. Nature 378: 779–783.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Michael A. Klein for RML4.1 and Mr. Josef Ecsoedi for care and surveillance of the mice. This work was supported by the Kanton of Zürich and by grants of the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds and the European Union to C.W.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Eckhard Flechsig

    Present address: Neurogenetics Unit, Imperial College School of Medicine at St. Mary’s, Norfolk Place, London, W2 1PG, UK

  2. Eva Zobeley

    Present address: Institut für Molekularbiologie und Biophysik, ETH, Hönggerberg, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland

  3. Antonio Cozzio

    Present address: Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Eva Zobeley, Eckhard Flechsig, Antonio Cozzio, Masato Enari &  Charles Weissmann

Authors
  1. Eva Zobeley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eckhard Flechsig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Antonio Cozzio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Masato Enari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Charles Weissmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charles Weissmann.

Additional information

Communicated by C. Weissmann.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zobeley, E., Flechsig, E., Cozzio, A. et al. Infectivity of Scrapie Prions Bound to a Stainless Steel Surface. Mol Med 5, 240–243 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03402121

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03402121

Keywords

Search

Navigation