A crucial role for B cells in neuroinvasive scrapie

Michael A. Klein, Rico Frigg, Eckhard Flechsig, Alex J. Raeber, Ulrich Kalinke, Horst Bluethmann, Frank Bootz, Marc Suter, Rolf M. Zinkernagel and Adriano Aguzzi ()
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Michael A. Klein: Institutes of Neuropathology University of Zurich
Rico Frigg: Institutes of Neuropathology University of Zurich
Eckhard Flechsig: Molecular Biology University of Zurich
Alex J. Raeber: Institutes of Neuropathology University of Zurich
Ulrich Kalinke: Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich
Horst Bluethmann: Hoffmann La Roche
Frank Bootz: Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, University of Zurich
Marc Suter: Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich
Rolf M. Zinkernagel: Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich
Adriano Aguzzi: Institutes of Neuropathology University of Zurich

Nature, 1997, vol. 390, issue 6661, 687-690

Abstract: Abstract Although prion proteins are most efficiently propagated through intracerebral inoculation, peripheral administration has caused the diseases kuru, iatrogenic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and new-variant CJD1,2. The development of neurological disease after peripheral inoculation depends on prion expansion within cells of the lymphoreticular system3,4. Here we investigate the identity of these cells by using a panel of immune-deficient mice inoculated with prions intraperitoneally: we found that defects affecting only T lymphocytes had no apparent effect, but that all mutations that disrupted the differentiation and response of B lymphocytes prevented the development of clinical scrapie. As an absence of B cells and of antibodies correlates with severe defects in follicular dendritic cells, a lack of any of these three components may prevent the development of clinical scrapie. However, we found that scrapie developed after peripheral inoculation in mice expressing immunoglobulins that were exclusively of the M subclass and without detectable specificity for the normal form of the prion PrPc, and in mice which had differentiated B cells but no functional follicular dendritic cells. We conclude that differentiated B cells are crucial for neuroinvasion by scrapie, regardless of the specificity of their receptors.

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1038/37789

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