B lymphocyte-restricted expression of prion protein does not enable prion replication in prion protein knockout mice

Publication

B lymphocyte-restricted expression of prion protein does not enable prion replication in prion protein knockout mice

Journal Paper/Review - Mar 13, 2001

Montrasio F, Aguzzi A, Proft J, Vosshenrich C A, Raeber A J, Rülicke T, Klein M A, Rossi D, Flechsig E, Cozzio Antonio, Weissmann C

Citation

Montrasio F, Aguzzi A, Proft J, Vosshenrich C, Raeber A, Rülicke T, Klein M, Rossi D, Flechsig E, Cozzio A, Weissmann C. B lymphocyte-restricted expression of prion protein does not enable prion replication in prion protein knockout mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2001; 98:4034-7.

Type

Journal Paper/Review (English)

Journal

Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2001; 98

Publication Date

Mar 13, 2001

Issn Print

0027-8424

Pages

4034-7

Brief description/objective

Prion replication in spleen and neuroinvasion after i.p. inoculation of mice is impaired in forms of immunodeficiency where mature B lymphocytes are lacking. In spleens of wild-type mice, infectivity is associated with B and T lymphocytes and stroma but not with circulating lymphocytes. We generated transgenic prion protein knockout mice overexpressing prion protein in B lymphocytes and found that they failed to accumulate prions in spleen after i.p. inoculation. We conclude that splenic B lymphocytes are not prion-replication competent and that they acquire prions from other cells, most likely follicular dendritic cells with which they closely associate and whose maturation depends on them.