Scrapie is a naturally occurring prion disease of sheep and goats that results in accumulation of the misfolded prion protein (PrP^Sc) and progressive neurodegeneration. After inoculation with classical scrapie isolate x124, susceptibility and incubation period are associated with valine at codon 136 (V136) of the prion protein: VRQ/VRQ had the shortest incubation periods, followed by VRQ/ARQ sheep, while ARQ/ARQ sheep only developed disease after inoculation via the intracerebral route. Intralingual inoculation of TSE agents effectively transmits disease similar to intracranial inoculation; therefore, it is possible that oral lesions may facilitate susceptibility to scrapie transmission. In this study, investigated the infectivity of decreasing doses of the x124 scrapie agent (100 mg, 50 mg, 20 mg, and 10 mg) on incubation time and attack rate after experimental intralingual inoculation into VRQ/ARQ sheep. The lowest inoculum dose tested in this study effectively transmitted the x124 scrapie agent in VRQ/ARQ sheep with a 100% attack rate and no significant difference in incubation times among sheep inoculated with varying doses. Moreover, immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis revealed similar biochemical and immunohistochemical features among the four cohorts of sheep irrespective of inoculum dose. This study provides a starting point for further investigation to determine the minimum infectious dose of x124 scrapie in sheep and its effect on attack rate and incubation time, central for assessing the potential risk of scrapie occurrence in sheep flock.

Scrapie是绵羊和山羊的自然发生的disease病毒病，导致错误折叠的病毒蛋白（PrP ^Sc）和进行性神经变性。用经典的瘙痒病隔离株x124接种后，敏感性和潜伏期与病毒蛋白第136位密码子（V136）的缬氨酸有关：VRQ / VRQ的潜伏期最短，其次是VRQ / ARQ绵羊，而ARQ / ARQ绵羊仅发育通过脑内途径接种后的疾病。TSE试剂的鼻内接种可有效传播疾病，类似于颅内接种；因此，口腔损伤可能会促进瘙痒病传播。在这项研究中，研究了减少剂量的x124刮擦剂（100 mg，50 mg，20 mg和10 mg）对实验性舌内接种VRQ / ARQ绵羊后的孵育时间和侵袭率的感染力。在这项研究中测试的最低接种剂量可有效地在VRQ / ARQ绵羊中传播x124瘙痒病病原菌，攻击率100％，并且在接种不同剂量的绵羊中，潜伏时间无显着差异。此外，免疫组化和Western印迹分析显示，在四组绵羊中，无论接种量如何，其生化和免疫组化特征均相似。这项研究为进一步研究确定绵羊x124瘙痒病的最小感染剂量及其对攻击率和潜伏时间的影响提供了起点，这是评估绵羊羊群瘙痒病潜在风险的关键。免疫组化和western blot分析显示，在四组绵羊中，无论接种量如何，其生化和免疫组化特征均相似。这项研究为进一步研究确定绵羊x124瘙痒病的最小感染剂量及其对攻击率和潜伏时间的影响提供了起点，这是评估绵羊羊群瘙痒病潜在风险的关键。免疫组化和western blot分析显示，在四组绵羊中，无论接种量如何，其生化和免疫组化特征均相似。这项研究为进一步研究确定绵羊x124瘙痒病的最小感染剂量及其对攻击率和潜伏时间的影响提供了起点，这是评估绵羊羊群瘙痒病潜在风险的关键。