Telling Lab – Faculty Research – College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Telling Lab

While the Telling Laboratory is particularly recognized for their work on transgenic mouse modeling of prion diseases, it is one of only a handful of research groups with the resources and expertise for studying prion diseases using whole animal, transgenic, cell biological, biochemical, and molecular genetic approaches. Over the years, we have been recognized for our studies of human prions, the molecular basis of the species barrier, prion strains and their zoonotic potential, and, more recently, chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids.

Our ability to liaise and collaborate with the prion community is also significant. In combination with skills and perspectives provided by our talented collaborators, the Telling Laboratory is in a unique position to investigate the molecular events underlying prion propagation, species barriers and strains, which remain the overarching goals of Dr. Telling’s research program.

research project

NIH Program Project Pathogenesis, Transmission and Detection of Zoonotic Prion Diseases: Modeling the Mechanisms of Prion Transmission, Strain Selection, Mutation and Species Barrier in Transgenic Mice

In this Project of this PO1, the Telling lab investigates the mechanism of infectious prion propagation, and the means by which prion strains mutate under selective pressure. Particular emphasis is placed on studying the factors controlling interspecies transmission. The central hypothesis of this work is that prion species barriers and agent strain properties are governed by primary and tertiary

research project

NIH Program Project Pathogenesis, Transmission and Detection of Zoonotic Prion Diseases (P01): ‘Science Core’

The Telling lab operates the Science Core for this multicenter, multi-investigator Program. It provides experimental models, expertise, standardized and consistent methodologies, and high quality reagents to allow investigators to study the molecular mechanisms of prion replication, the factors controlling the species barrier (with particular focus on the zoonotic potential of CWD) and the role of

research project

NIH R01 grant: Characterizing the strain and host range properties of prions causing emergent forms of chronic wasting disease

In this R01 project, the Telling lab is characterizing the transmission and conformational properties of CWD prions that have emerged in recent years in Norway and South Korea. A major goal is to compare the host-range properties and zoonotic potential of newly emergent CWD prion strains.

research project

NIH R01 grant: Mechanisms of prion strain dynamics

In this R01 project, the Telling lab employs cell culture and transgenic models of prion diseases to assess the mechanism of prion strain variation and selection.

research project

Reindeer CWD prion ecology: Risk of Dissemination by Sheep

This project will determine whether Norwegian CWD prions can infect sheep with samples obtained from European collaborators using transgenic and gene targeted mouse models that express cervid PrP.

Publications

Incomplete glycosylation during prion infection unmasks a prion protein epitope that facilitates prion detection and strain discrimination.

Kang HE, Bian J, Kane SJ, Kim S, Selwyn V, Crowell J, Bartz JC, Telling GC.
J Biol Chem. 2020 Jul 24;295(30):10420-10433. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA120.012796. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Primary structural differences at residue 226 of deer and elk PrP dictate selection of distinct CWD prion strains in gene-targeted mice.

Bian J, Christiansen JR, Moreno JA, Kane SJ, Khaychuk V, Gallegos J, Kim S, Telling GC.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Jun 18;116(25):12478-12487. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1903947116. Epub 2019 May 30.PMID: 31147460

Prion replication without host adaptation during interspecies transmissions.

Bian J, Khaychuk V, Angers RC, Fernández-Borges N, Vidal E, Meyerett-Reid C, Kim S, Calvi CL, Bartz JC, Hoover EA, Agrimi U, Richt JA, Castilla J, Telling GC.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jan 31;114(5):1141-1146. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1611891114. Epub 2017 Jan 17.PMID: 28096357

Quinacrine promotes replication and conformational mutation of chronic wasting disease prions.

Bian J, Kang HE, Telling GC.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Apr 22;111(16):6028-33. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1322377111. Epub 2014 Apr 7.PMID: 24711410

Chronic wasting disease prions in elk antler velvet.

Angers RC, Seward TS, Napier D, Green M, Hoover E, Spraker T, O’Rourke K, Balachandran A, Telling GC.
Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 May;15(5):696-703. doi: 10.3201/eid1505.081458.PMID: 19402954

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