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Cellular Distribution Of The Prion Protein In Palatine Tonsils Of Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) And Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni), Matthew M. Hille, Jean E. Jewell, E. Lee Belden

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects members of the Cervidae family, including deer (Odocoileus spp.), elk (Cervus Canadensis spp.), and moose (Alces alces spp.). While CWD is a neurodegenerative disease, lymphoid accumulation of the abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrPSc) is detectable early in the course of infection. It has been shown that a large portion of the PrPSc lymphoid accumulation in infected mule deer takes place on the surface of follicular dendritic cells (FDCs). In mice, FDC expression of PrPC has been shown to be essential for PrPSc accumulation. …