Effects of Chronic Wasting Disease on Reproduction and Fawn Harvest Vulnerability in Wisconsin White-Tailed Deer

Blanchong, Julie A.; Grear, Daniel A.; Weckworth, Byron V.; Keane, Delwyn P.; Scribner, Kim T.; Samuel, Michael D.

doi:10.7589/0090-3558-48.2.361

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(48 reference statements)

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“…In this study we have demonstrated that a CWD susceptible deer species is able to maintain full term pregnancies throughout the course of disease. Our observations are congruent with those of Blanchong et al [58] in white-tailed deer. We have shown that muntjac are a useful model for studying CWD.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Mother to Offspring Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in Reeves’ Muntjac Deer

et al. 2013

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The horizontal transmission of prion diseases has been well characterized in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk and scrapie of sheep, and has been regarded as the primary mode of transmission. Few studies have monitored the possibility of vertical transmission occurring within an infected mother during pregnancy. To study the potential for and pathway of vertical transmission of CWD in the native cervid species, we used a small cervid model–the polyestrous breeding, indoor maintainable, Reeves’ muntjac deer–and determined that the susceptibility and pathogenesis of CWD in these deer reproduce that in native mule and white-tailed deer. Moreover, we demonstrate here that CWD prions are transmitted from doe to fawn. Maternal CWD infection also appears to result in lower percentage of live birth offspring. In addition, evolving evidence from protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) assays on fetal tissues suggest that covert prion infection occurs in utero. Overall, our findings demonstrate that transmission of prions from mother to offspring can occur, and may be underestimated for all prion diseases.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Mother to Offspring Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in Reeves’ Muntjac Deer

et al. 2013

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“…Blanchong et al [52] also determined pre-clinical CWD did not negatively impact female reproduction in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. No difference in pregnancy indicates does participate in the rut regardless of CWD infection-status.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic Wasting Disease Drives Population Decline of White-Tailed Deer

et al. 2016

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Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an invariably fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. Despite a 100% fatality rate, areas of high prevalence, and increasingly expanding geographic endemic areas, little is known about the population-level effects of CWD in deer. To investigate these effects, we tested the null hypothesis that high prevalence CWD did not negatively impact white-tailed deer population sustainability. The specific objectives of the study were to monitor CWD-positive and CWD-negative white-tailed deer in a high-prevalence CWD area longitudinally via radio-telemetry and global positioning system (GPS) collars. For the two populations, we determined the following: a) demographic and disease indices, b) annual survival, and c) finite rate of population growth (λ). The CWD prevalence was higher in females (42%) than males (28.8%) and hunter harvest and clinical CWD were the most frequent causes of mortality, with CWD-positive deer over-represented in harvest and total mortalities. Survival was significantly lower for CWD-positive deer and separately by sex; CWD-positive deer were 4.5 times more likely to die annually than CWD-negative deer while bucks were 1.7 times more likely to die than does. Population λ was 0.896 (0.859–0.980), which indicated a 10.4% annual decline. We show that a chronic disease that becomes endemic in wildlife populations has the potential to be population-limiting and the strong population-level effects of CWD suggest affected populations are not sustainable at high disease prevalence under current harvest levels.

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“…This would surely be compounded by CWD infection, particularly in the later stages of disease. This, in combination with the high nonviable birth rates observed in offspring born to CWDinfected muntjac dams (60%) (1), may result in increased offspring mortality leading to lower annual recruitment rates (99). Yet a portion of offspring born to CWD-infected dams that survive to weaning and reproductive age would enter the population as potential asymptomatic carriers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infectious Prions in the Pregnancy Microenvironment of Chronic Wasting Disease-Infected Reeves' Muntjac Deer

Nalls

McNulty

Hoover

et al. 2017

J Virol

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Ample evidence exists for the presence of infectious agents at the maternal-fetal interface, often with grave outcomes to the developing fetus (i.e., Zika virus, brucella, cytomegalovirus, and toxoplasma). While less studied, pregnancyrelated transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) have been implicated in several species, including humans. Our previous work has shown that prions can be transferred from mother to offspring, resulting in the development of clinical TSE disease in offspring born to muntjac dams infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) (1). We further demonstrated protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA)-competent prions within the female reproductive tract and in fetal tissues harvested from CWD experimentally and naturally exposed cervids (1, 2). To assess whether the PMCA-competent prions residing at the maternal-fetal interface were infectious and to determine if the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) methodology may enhance our ability to detect amyloid fibrils within the pregnancy microenvironment, we employed a mouse bioassay and RT-QuIC. In this study, we have demonstrated RT-QuIC seeding activity in uterus, placentome, ovary, and amniotic fluid but not in allantoic fluids harvested from CWD-infected Reeves' muntjac dams showing clinical signs of infection (clinically CWD-infected) and in some placentomes from pre-clinically CWD-infected dams. Prion infectivity was confirmed within the uterus, amniotic fluid, and the placentome, the semipermeable interface that sustains the developing fetus, of CWD-infected dams. This is the first report of prion infectivity within the cervid pregnancy microenvironment, revealing a source of fetal CWD exposure prior to the birthing process, maternal grooming, or encounters with contaminated environments.IMPORTANCE The facile dissemination of chronic wasting disease within captive and free-range cervid populations has led to questions regarding the transmission dynamics of this disease. Direct contact with infected animals and indirect contact with infectious prions in bodily fluids and contaminated environments are suspected to explain the majority of this transmission. A third mode of transmission, from mother to offspring, may be underappreciated. The presence of pregnancyrelated prion infectivity within the uterus, amniotic fluid, and the placental structure reveals that the developing fetus is exposed to a source of prions long before exposure to the infectious agent during and after the birthing process or via contact with contaminated environments. These findings have impact on our current concept of CWD disease transmission.KEYWORDS CWD, maternal, pregnancy, prions T ransmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are proteinaceous infectious neurodegenerative diseases affecting animals, including humans (3, 4). The disease is caused by the accumulation of an aberrant misfolded form

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Effects of Chronic Wasting Disease on Reproduction and Fawn Harvest Vulnerability in Wisconsin White-Tailed Deer

Cited by 13 publications

References 34 publications

Mother to Offspring Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in Reeves’ Muntjac Deer

Mother to Offspring Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in Reeves’ Muntjac Deer

Chronic Wasting Disease Drives Population Decline of White-Tailed Deer

Infectious Prions in the Pregnancy Microenvironment of Chronic Wasting Disease-Infected Reeves' Muntjac Deer

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