Milk Might Cause Mad Cow Disease !!!

Milk has been so far regarded as safe from mad cow disease (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or TSE).

However, researchers found that milk of infected cows has prion protein, the precursor of prions that cause mad cow disease. This implies the possibility that milk also can cause the disease.

Milk and milk products are so important for human nutrition, especially for young children. Therefore, the result of this research must be of particular importance. Big surprise this has not been reported by the press.


Prion Protein in Milk

Nicola Franscini et al.

Abstract

Background

Prions are known to cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) after accumulation in the central nervous system. There is increasing evidence that prions are also present in body fluids and that prion infection by blood transmission is possible. The low concentration of the proteinaceous agent in body fluids and its long incubation time complicate epidemiologic analysis and estimation of spreading and thus the risk of human infection. This situation is particularly unsatisfactory for food and pharmaceutical industries, given the lack of sensitive tools for monitoring the infectious agent.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We have developed an adsorption matrix, Alicon PrioTrap(R), which binds with high affinity and specificity to prion proteins. Thus we were able to identify prion protein (PrP(C)) the precursor of prions (PrP(Sc)) in milk from humans, cows, sheep, and goats. The absolute amount of PrP(C) differs between the species (from 1 micro-gram/litre range in sheep to nano-gram/litre range in human milk). PrP(C) is also found in homogenised and pasteurised off-the-shelf milk, and even ultrahigh temperature treatment only partially diminishes endogenous PrP(C) concentration.

Conclusions/Significance

In view of a recent study showing evidence of prion replication occurring in the mammary gland of scrapie infected sheep suffering from mastitis, the appearance of PrP(C) in milk implies the possibility that milk of TSE-infected animals serves as source for PrP(Sc).


(The above abstract reposted from a research journal article “Prion Protein in Milk” in PLos ONE, December 2006. Emphasis added)

For the full article, see

[link to www.plosone.org]