Late increase of serum S100 β protein levels in hamsters after oral or intraperitoneal infection with scrapie

Abstract

Following recent reports of elevated serum S100 β protein (S100 β) levels in patients with genetic and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and in rodents parenterally infected with scrapie, the suitability of serum S100 β as a preclinical marker for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies was assessed in time-course studies. Syrian hamsters were orally and intraperitoneally challenged with scrapie and assayed for serum S100 β levels at various times after infection. Although elevated serum S100 β levels were consistently observed in terminally ill animals for both routes of infection, the experiments failed to detect significantly increased S100 β serum concentrations prior to the manifestation of clinical symptoms. Thus, in this animal model, serum S100 β does not appear to be an appropriate marker for the preclinical detection of scrapie, but it may provide a convenient laboratory aid for the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in naturally or accidentally infected animals and humans.