Mark D Zabel

Associate Professor

Research Interests

The family of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) includes scrapie in sheep; bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle; chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer, elk and moose; and Kuru, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases (CJD) in humans. A once heretical view that is now widely accepted states that exposure to a nucleic acid-free, protease resistant form of the endogenous cellular host prion protein (PrPC), termed PrPSc, solely initiates and propagates species-specific TSEs. Outbreaks of a new, variant form of CJD in Europe have raised serious concern that the species barrier between bovine and human TSEs has been breached occurred. Whether CWD or other TSEs can breach or have breached species barriers remains a point of intense investigation.

My main area of interest lies in prion immunology. This includes deciphering the cellular and molecular mechanisms of prion accumulation and replication in lymphoid organs, with the ultimate goal of developing therapeutic strategies to ablate subsequent neuroinvasion and disease transmission. My lab is extending current work investigating the role of Complement in peripheral prion pathogenesis of mouse scrapie by developing mouse models suitable for studying Chronic Wasting Disease. We are elucidating the molecular mechanisms of prion accumulation and replication in mouse scrapie using established murine models.

We are also exploring new prion detection and diagnostic techniques, including in vitro prion amplification using protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). We are using PMCA to investigate potential prion reservoirs in the environment, including water, soil and feces. We are also characterizing prion strains using PMCA in conjunction with other biochemical and biological methods to determine the molecular underpinnings of prion species barriers and strain adaptation.

A third area of interest lies in prion disease therapeutics. We are currently developing a novel siRNA delivery system that efficiently and specifically targets neurons, suppresses PrPc expression and ultimately cures prion diseases in vitro and in vivo.

Current Staff

Bruce Pulford, PhD, Senior Research Associate
Ted Johnson, Research Associate
Heather Bender, Research Associate
Crystal Meyerret, Graduate Research Associate
Brady Michel, Graduate Research Associate
Christy Wyckoff, Graduate Research Associate
Brea Smith, Graduate Research Associate
Ginny Forster, Undergraduate Research Associate

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