Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 364, Issue 9433, 7 August 2004, Pages 527-529
The Lancet

Fast track — Research Letters
Preclinical vCJD after blood transfusion in a PRNP codon 129 heterozygous patient

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16811-6Get rights and content

Summary

We report a case of preclinical variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in a patient who died from a non-neurological disorder 5 years after receiving a blood transfusion from a donor who subsequently developed vCJD. Protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres) was detected by western blot, paraffin-embedded tissue blot, and immunohistochemistry in the spleen, but not in the brain. Immunohistochemistry for prion protein was also positive in a cervical lymph node. The patient was a heterozygote at codon 129 of PRNP, suggesting that susceptibility to vCJD infection is not confined to the methionine homozygous PRNP genotype. These findings have major implications for future estimates and surveillance of vCJD in the UK.

Cited by (792)

  • Prions

    2023, Molecular Medical Microbiology, Third Edition
  • Prions

    2022, Encyclopedia of Cell Biology: Volume 1-6, Second Edition
View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text