Short Communication: The double deletion diplotype showed low levels of prion protein at two indel loci of PRNP in the medulla oblongata of Japanese Brown cattle

Msalya, G., Shimogiri, T., Okamoto, S., Kawabe, K. and Maeda, Y. 2012. Short Communication: The double deletion diplotype showed low levels of prion protein at two indel loci of PRNP in the medulla oblongata of Japanese Brown cattle. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 92: 153–157. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a class of fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by abnormally folded prion proteins (PrP). The PrP is necessary for the transmission and propagation of TSE diseases. In this study, PrP was quantified in the medulla oblongata of 39 Japanese Brown (JBr) animals that were genotyped for two indels in the PRNP gene – a 23 bp deletion in the promoter region and a 12 bp deletion in the first intron. The mean level of PrP was greater in the ++/++ diplotype than in −−/−− and +−/+− diplotypes, although the differences were not significant. These results suggest that the amount of PrP in the medulla oblongata of animals is related to these indels. However, given that there have been no reported cases of BSE in Japanese Brown animals, the relationship of the indels and PrP levels with the incidence of BSE is unclear.