Polymorphisms of the prion gene promoter region that influence classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy susceptibility are not applicable to other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in cattle1,2

Two regulatory region polymorphisms in the prion gene of cattle have been reported to have an association with resistance to classical bovine spon- giform encephalopathy (BSE). However, it is not known if this association also applies to other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in cattle. In this report, we compare the relationship between these 2 polymorphisms and resistance in cattle affected with naturally occurring atypical BSE as well as in cattle experimentally inoculated with either scrapie, chronic