PrPCWD in the myenteric plexus, vagosympathetic trunk and endocrine glandsof deer with chronic wasting disease

Accumulated evidence in experimental and natural prion disease systems supp orts a neural route of infectious prion spread from peripheral sites of ent ry to the central nervous system. However, little is known about prion traf ficking routes in cervids with a naturally occurring prion disease known as chronic wasting disease (CWD). In the brain, the pathogenic isoform of the prion protein (PrPCWD) accumulates initially in the dorsal motor nucleus o f the vagus nerve. To assess whether alimentary-associated neural pathways may play a role in prion trafficking, neural and endocrine tissues from mul e deer naturally infected with CWD (n = 6) were examined by immunohistochem istry. PrPCWD was detected in the myenteric plexus, vagosympathetic trunk, nodose ganglion, pituitary, adrenal medulla and pancreatic islets. No to sc ant Prp(CWD) staining was detected in other nerves or ganglia (brachial ple xus, sciatic nerve, gasserian ganglion, coeliac ganglion, cranial cervical ganglion, spinal nerve roots) of CWD-positive deer and no PrPCWD was detect ed in nerves or endocrine tissues from I I control deer. These findings sug gest that: (i) transit of PrPCWD in nerves, either centrifugally or centrip etally, is one route of prion trafficking and organ invasion and (ii) endoc rine organs may also be targets for cervid pathogenic prion accumulation.