Exosomes Infected with Prions Diagnostic for vCJD

Newly available genetic sequencing enables scientists to discover cells infected with prions, the infectious agent responsible Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as Mad Cow Disease.

Exosomes are shed into blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid, forming a highly enriched source of intact, disease-specific nucleic acids. If the exosomes are infected with prions, they also carry a specific signature of microRNA's (miRNAs). In this study, scientists focused their genetic testing on the exosomes. Circulating exosomes released during prion infection have a distinct miRNA signature that can be utilized for diagnosis and understanding pathogenic mechanisms in prion disease. Associate Professor Andrew Hill - from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Bio21 Institute (Melbourne, VIC, Australia), said that these particles travel in the bloodstream, making a diagnostic blood test a possibility.

Mad Cow disease was linked to the deaths of nearly 200 people in Great Britain who consumed meat from infected animals in the late 1980s. Since the year 2000, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service has not accepted blood from anybody who lived in the UK for more than six months between 1980 and 1996, or who received a blood transfusion in the UK after 1980.

Commenting on the possibility in the future of a blood test for Mad Cow Disease, Prof. Hill said, "This might provide a way to screen people who have spent time in the UK, who currently face restrictions on their ability to donate blood. With a simple blood test nurses could deem a prospective donor's blood as healthy, with the potential to significantly boost critical blood stocks."

The research is published in the September 2012 issue of Oxford University Press Nucleic Acids Research. Lead author Dr. Shayne Bellingham said the breakthrough might also help detect other human neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The study was undertaken at the University of Melbourne (VIC, Australia), with assistance from the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council.

Related Links:
Bio21 Institute
University of Melbourne