Jason C . Bartz, PhD

Associate Dean, Academic and Faculty Affairs

Professor

J Bartz

Contact

School of Medicine
Med Microbiology & Immunology
Medical Microbiology and Immunology (Doctorate)
Medical Microbiology and Immunology (Master of Science)
Neuroscience (Master of Science)
Graduate School
SOM Leadership
SOM Academic Faculty Affairs
CRISS II - Criss 2 - 421

Jason C . Bartz, PhD

Associate Dean, Academic and Faculty Affairs

Professor

Examples of the most recent publications can be obtained from this PubMed link
 

Teaching Interests

  • Prion disease

Research Focus

Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases that affect humans (e.g. Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease) and animals (e.g. chronic wasting disease). Prions are comprised of PrPSc, a self-templating conformation of the host encoded protein, PrPC.
 
Research in the Bartz lab investigates interspecies prion transmission, prion pathogenesis, the environmental fate of prions, and the biology of prion strains. We have developed novel whole animal and in vitro models of prion disease and, more importantly, the results from these systems have impacted the understanding of prions. The results of our work have changed the paradigm of how a protein encoded infectious agent can encode strain diversity, which as significant impact on prion diseases and prion-like diseases (e.g. Parkinson’s) where prion strain diversity is also observed. We have identified novel routes of prion infection and the pathways that prions travel to the CNS. Importantly, we were the first to show that inhalation of prions is more efficient that oral infection. We have also mapped, in fine detail, the pathways of prion spread throughout the CNS and shown that prion strains use the same neuroanatomical pathways. More recently, we have expanded our studies to include the interaction of prions with the environment. We have leveraged our expertise in prion biology with our collaborators in environmental engineering and have made fundamental discoveries on how prions interact with the environment and how this influences the biology of prion disease. We are one of a handful of labs in the world that are investigating prion diseases that have expertise in both whole animal and biochemical approaches to prion disease. Overall, we have been able to integrate our work on prion strains, pathogenesis and the environmental fate of prions that provides a unique insight into the biology of this disease.

Department

Med. Microbiology & Immunology

Position

Professor

Books

  • Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L, Prions in the Environment - Chapter 10 [Book Chapter] 2023
  • Prions and Diseases
    Shikiya Ronald A., Prion Strain Interference [Book Chapter] 2023
  • Prions and Neurodegenerative Diseases
    Holec Sara A.M., The role of prion strain diversity in the development of successful therapeutic treatments [Book Chapter] 2020
  • Handbook of Clinical Neurology
    Diack Abigail B., Experimental models of human prion diseases and prion strains [Book Chapter] 2018
  • Viral Infections of Humans : Epidemiology and Control
    Belay Ermias D., Prion Diseases [Book Chapter] 2014
  • Prions and Diseases : Volume 1, Physiology and Pathophysiology
    Schutt Charles R., Prion strain interference [Book Chapter] 2013
  • Prions and Diseases : Volume 2, Animals, Humans and the Environment
    Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L., Prions in the environment [Book Chapter] 2013
  • Bartelt-Hunt S. L., Soil Binds Prions and Influences their Biologic Properties 2012

Articles

  • Sigurdson Christina J., Tracking protein aggregate interactions 2011

Publications

  • Prion
    Kincaid Anthony E., Expression of the cellular prion protein by mast cells in white-tailed deer carotid body, cervical lymph nodes and ganglia
    18:1, p. 94 - 102 2024
  • mBio
    Steadman Benjamin S., Minor prion substrains overcome transmission barriers, p. e0272124 2024
  • Pathogens (Basel)
    Bartz Jason C., Chronic Wasting Disease: State of the Science
    13:2, p. 138 2024
  • Biology (Basel, Switzerland)
    Simmons Sara M, Strain-Specific Targeting and Destruction of Cells by Prions
    13:1, p. 57 2024
  • Prion
    Sweetland Gregory D., Expression of the cellular prion protein by mast cells in the human carotid body
    17:1, p. 67 - 74 2023
  • Journal of enzyme inhibition and medicinal chemistry
    Kim Dong Hwan, Synthesis and anti-prion aggregation activity of acylthiosemicarbazide analogues
    38:1, p. 2191164 2023
  • PLoS pathogens
    Gunnels Tess, Evidence for preexisting prion substrain diversity in a biologically cloned prion strain
    19:9, p. e1011632 - e1011632 2023
  • Scientific reports
    Block Alyssa J., Prion protein amino acid sequence influences formation of authentic synthetic PrPSc
    13:1, p. 441 - 441 2023
  • Environment international
    Yuan Qi, Sensitive detection of chronic wasting disease prions recovered from environmentally relevant surfaces
    166 2022
  • Pathogens
    Picasso-Risso Catalina, Assessment of Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) Assay, Immunohistochemistry and ELISA for Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease under Field Conditions in White-Tailed Deer
    11:5 2022
  • Viruses
    Koshy Sam M., Transport of Prions in the Peripheral Nervous System
    14:3 2022
  • Cell and Tissue Research
    Block Alyssa J., Prion strains 2022
  • PLoS pathogens
    Block Alyssa J., Efficient interspecies transmission of synthetic prions
    17:July 2021
  • Acta Neuropathologica
    Bartz Jason C., Environmental and host factors that contribute to prion strain evolution
    142:1, p. 5 - 16 2021
  • Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics
    Soto Patricia, Cellular prion protein gene polymorphisms linked to differential scrapie susceptibility correlate with distinct residue connectivity between secondary structure elements
    39:1, p. 129 - 139 2021
  • mSphere
    Shikiya Ronald A., Failure to detect prion infectivity in ticks following prion-Infected blood meal
    5:5 2020
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry
    Kang Hae Eun, Incomplete glycosylation during prion infection unmasks a prion protein epitope that facilitates prion detection and strain discrimination
    295:30, p. 10420 - 10433 2020
  • Journal of Clinical Investigation
    Bartz Jason C., Underglycosylated prion protein modulates plaque formation in the brain
    130:3, p. 1087 - 1089 2020
  • Journal of Clinical Investigation
    Bartz Jason C., Underglycosylated Prion protein modulates plaque formation in the brain
    130:3, p. 1087 - 1089 2020
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry
    Bourkas Matthew E.C., Engineering a murine cell line for the stable propagation of hamster prions
    294:13, p. 4911 - 4923 2019
  • Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease
    Sigurdson Christina J., Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Prion Disease
    14, p. 497 - 516 2019
  • mSphere
    Holec Sara A.M., Alteration of prion strain emergence by nonhost factors
    4:5 2019
  • PLoS pathogens
    Eckland Thomas E., Independent amplification of co-infected long incubation period low conversion efficiency prion strains
    14:10 2018
  • Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces
    Phan Hanh T.M., Adsorption and decontamination of α-synuclein from medically and environmentally-relevant surfaces
    166, p. 98 - 107 2018
  • Journal of Virology
    Yuan Qi, Dehydration of prions on environmentally relevant surfaces protects them from inactivation by freezing and thawing
    92:8 2018
  • Prion
    Haley Nicholas J., Design, implementation, and interpretation of amplification studies for prion detection
    12:2, p. 73 - 82 2018
  • Journal of Immunology
    Kane Sarah J., Complement regulatory protein factor H is a soluble prion receptor that potentiates peripheral prion pathogenesis
    199:11, p. 3821 - 3827 2017
  • Plos Pathogens
    Shikiya Ronald A., PrPSc Formation and Clearance as Determinants of Prion Tropism
    13:3, p. e1006298 - e1006298 2017
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    Bian J., Prion Replication without Host Adaptation during Interspecies Transmissions
    114:5, p. 1141 - 1146 2017
  • Journal of Virology
    Kincaid Anthony E., Specificity, Size, and Frequency of Spaces that Characterize the Mechanism of Bulk Transepithelial Transport of Prions in the Nasal Cavities of Hamsters and Mice
    90:18, p. 8293 - 8301 2016
  • PLoS Pathogens
    Bartz Jason C., From Slow Viruses to Prions
    12:7, p. (3 pages) 2016
  • Journal of Virology
    Langenfeld Katie A., Incongruity between Prion Conversion and Incubation Period Following CoInfection
    90:12, p. 5715 - 5723 2016
  • Biophysical journal
    Woo Jesse, Conformational Dynamics of Prion Proteins at the Membrane Interface
    110:3, p. 419a - 419a 2016
  • Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine
    Bartz Jason C., Prion strain diversity
    6:12 2016
  • PLoS One
    Phan H. T., Investigation of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) Attachment onto Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) Using Combinatorial Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE)
    10:10, p. (20 pages) 2015
  • Journal of Virology
    Elder Alan M., Immediate and ongoing detection of prions in the blood of hamsters and deer following oral, nasal, or blood inoculations
    89:14, p. 7421 - 7424 2015
  • New Horizons in Translational Medicine
    Elder Alan M., Longitudinal analysis of blood-borne prion infection
    2:4-5, p. 128 - 128 2015
  • PLoS Pathogens
    Yuan Q., Mitigation of prion infectivity and conversion capacity by a simulated natural process--repeated cycles of drying and wetting
    11:2, p. e1004638 2015
  • PLoS One
    Clouse Melissa D., Nasal Associated Lymphoid Tissue of the Syrian Golden Hamster Expresses High Levels of PrPC
    10:2, p. e0117935 (10 pages) 2015
  • Biophysical journal
    Soto Patricia, Prion Proteins and Mechanisms of Interaction with Model Membranes
    108:2, p. 91a - 91a 2015
  • Prion
    Shikiya Ronald A., Prion formation, but not clearance, is supported by protein misfolding cyclic amplification
    8:6, p. 415 - 420 2014
  • PloS one
    Elder Alan M., In vitro detection of prionemia in TSE-infected cervids and hamsters
    8:11 2013
  • PLoS pathogens
    Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L., Behavior of Prions in the Environment
    9:2 2013
  • Journal of Virology
    Kincaid Anthony E., Rapid Transepithelial Transport of Prions following Inhalation
    86:23, p. 12731 - 12740 2012
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry
    Kang Hae Eun, Characterization of conformation-dependent prion protein epitopes
    287:44, p. 37219 - 37232 2012
  • PloS one
    Saunders Samuel E., Resistance of soil-bound prions to rumen digestion
    7:8 2012
  • Chemosphere
    Saunders Samuel E., Soil-mediated prion transmission
    87:7, p. 661 - 667 2012
  • Nebraska Academy of Sciences, PO Box 880410 Lincoln NE 68588-0410 United States. [np]. Apr 2012
    Colling Ian, BINDING MODES OF AGAAAAGATO SYRIAN HAMSTER PRION PROTEINS 2012
  • Emerging Infectious Diseases
    Saunders Samuel E., Occurrence, transmission, and zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease
    18:3, p. 369 - 376 2012
  • Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE
    Saunders Samuel E., Protein misfolding cyclic amplification of prions. 2012
  • Applied and Environmental Microbiology
    Saunders Samuel E., An enzymatic treatment of soil-bound prions effectively inhibits replication
    77:13, p. 4313 - 4317 2011
  • Journal of Virology
    Saunders Samuel E., Replication efficiency of soil-bound prions varies with soil type
    85:11, p. 5476 - 5482 2011
  • Experimental Biology and Medicine
    Wang Ping, Selection and characterization of DNA aptamers against PrPSc
    236:4, p. 466 - 476 2011
  • Journal of Virology
    Shikiya R. A., In vitro generation of high titer prions
    85:24, p. 13439 - 13442 2011
  • PLoS Pathogens
    Ayers J. I., The Strain-Encoded Relationship between PrP Replication, Stability and Processing in Neurons is Predictive of the Incubation Period of Disease
    7:3, p. e1001317 2011
  • PloS one
    Mays Charles E., In vitro amplification of misfolded prion protein using lysate of cultured cells
    6:3 2011
  • PloS one
    Saunders Samuel E., Effects of solution chemistry and aging time on prion protein adsorption and replication of soil-bound prions
    6:4 2011
  • Journal of Virology
    Shikiya R. A., Co-infecting prion strains compete for a limiting cellular resource
    84:11, p. 5706 - 5714 2010
  • Environmental Science and Technology
    Saunders Samuel E., Enzymatic digestion of chronic wasting disease prions bound to soil
    44:11, p. 4129 - 4135 2010
  • Environmental Science and Technology
    Saunders Samuel E., Prion protein adsorption to soil in a competitive matrix is slow and reduced
    43:20, p. 7728 - 7733 2009
  • Environmental Science and Technology
    Saunders Samuel E., Influence of prion strain on prion protein adsorption to soil in a competitive matrix
    43:14, p. 5242 - 5248 2009
  • PLoS pathogens
    Singh Ajay, Abnormal brain iron homeostasis in human and animal prion disorders
    5:3 2009
  • Journal of Virology
    Ayers Jacob I., Prion strain targeting independent of strain-specific neuronal tropism.
    83:1, p. 81 - 87 2009
  • Prion
    Kramer Michelle L., Rapid, high-throughput detection of PrPSc by 96-well immunoassay
    3:1, p. 44 - 48 2009
  • Prion
    Saunders Samuel E., Prions in the environment
    2:4, p. 162 - 169 2008
  • Environmental Science and Technology
    Saunders Samuel E., Environmentally-relevant forms of the prion protein
    42:17, p. 6573 - 6579 2008
  • Journal of Comparative Pathology
    Sigurdson C. J., Experimental Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the Ferret
    138:4, p. 189 - 196 2008
  • Prion
    Schutt Charles R., Prion interference with multiple prion isolates.
    2:2, p. 61 - 63 2008
  • Journal of Virology
    Kincaid Anthony E., The nasal cavity is a route for prion infection in hamsters
    81:9, p. 4482 - 4491 2007
  • Journal of Virology
    Bartz Jason C., Prion interference is due to a reduction in strain-specific PrPSc levels
    81:2, p. 689 - 697 2007
  • Veterinary Pathology
    Hamir A. N., First and second cattle passage of transmissible mink encephalopathy by intracerebral inoculation
    43:2, p. 118 - 126 2006
  • Journal of Virology
    Marsh R. F., Interspecies transmission of chronic wasting disease prions to squirrel monkeys (Saimiti sciureus)
    79:21, p. 13794 - 13796 2005
  • Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry
    Shara Michael, Safety and toxicological evaluation of a novel niacin-bound chromium (III) complex
    99:11, p. 2161 - 2183 2005
  • Journal of Virology
    Bartz Jason C., Extraneural prion neuroinvasion without lymphoreticular system infection
    79:18, p. 11858 - 11863 2005
  • Bartz Jason, Prion Transport to Secondary Lymphoreticular System Tissues 2005
  • Journal of Virology
    Mulcahy Ellyn R., Prion infection of skeletal muscle cells and papillae in the tongue
    78:13, p. 6792 - 6798 2004
  • Journal of General Virology
    Bartz Jason C., Delay in onset of prion disease for the HY strain of transmissible mink encephalopathy as a result of prior peripheral inoculation with the replication-deficient DY strain
    85, p. 265 - 273 2004
  • Journal of Virology
    Bartz Jason C., Rapid prion neuroinvasion following tongue infection
    77:1, p. 583 - 591 2003
  • Journal of Virology
    Bartz Jason C., Retrograde transport of transmissible mink encephalopathy within descending motor tracts
    76:11, p. 5759 - 5768 2002
  • Journal of Virology
    Bartz Jason C., Adaptation and selection of prion protein strain conformations following interspecies transmission of transmissible mink encephalopathy
    74:12, p. 5542 - 5547 2000
  • Virology
    Bartz Jason C., The host range of chronic wasting disease is altered on passage in ferrets
    251:2, p. 297 - 301 1998
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry
    McKenzie Debbie, Reversibility of scrapie inactivation is enhanced by copper
    273:40, p. 25545 - 25547 1998
  • Seminars in Virology
    McKenzie D., Transmissible mink encephalopathy
    7:3, p. 201 - 206 1996
  • Journal of General Virology
    Bartz J. C., Transmissible mink encephalopathy species barrier effect between ferret and mink
    75:11, p. 2947 - 2953 1994

Presentations

  • Prion evolution: The role of prion strain interference. 2024
  • Prion strain evolution 2024
  • Rapid and sensitive determination of residual prion infectivity from prion decontaminated surfaces 2024
  • Emergence of substrains from a biologically cloned prion strain 2024
  • Prion strain evolution 2024
  • "The environmental fate of prions" Rocky Mountain Virology Meeting, Ft. Collins Colorado 2015
  • Prion strain tropism - NeuroPrion 2015 2015
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center - Prion disease lecture for Pharmacology 930 2015
  • University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Prion disease lecture for Viral Pathogenesis graduate student class 2014
  • University of Nebraska: The biology of prion diseases 2014
  • Iowa State University: Prion strain interference 2014
  • University of Nebraska: Prion strain interference 2014
  • "Prion strain selection in the central nervous system" University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 2005
  • "Prion strain selection" United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Research Service. Ames, IA. 2005
  • "Prion strain selection and targeting in the central nervous system" Nebraska center for virology external advisory meeting. Lincoln, NE. 2005
  • "Prion diseases of humans and animals" Nebraska Infection Control Network 25th anniversary educational conference. Omaha NE. August 11-12, 2005. 2005
  • Sigurdson, C., Aguzzi, A., Hoover, E., MAthiason, C., Perrott, M., Glatzel, M., Bartz, J.C., Manco, G., Sprker, T. and Miller, M. (2005). Chronic wasting disease: across the species barrier. The Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium. Madison WI. July 12-14, 2005. 2005
  • Ayers, J.A., Kincaid, A.E. and Bartz, J.C. (2005). Prion strain targeting. The Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium. Madison WI. July 12-14, 2005. 2005
  • "Prion strain selection in the central nervous system" The Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium. Madison WI. July 12-14, 2005. 2005
  • "Prion pathogenesis" AOAC International meeting and exposition. Kansas City, Missouri. 2005
  • "Prion diseases of humans and animals" Nebraska and Iowa Clinical Science Laboratory Meeting. Mid-America Center, Council Bluffs, IA. 2005
  • "Prion strain targeting and competition in the central nervous system" Department of Veterinary Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings SD. 2005
  • "Interspecies transmission of prion diseases" Creighton University Medicine 2005
  • "Interspecies transmission of prion diseases" Oklahoma State University, Stillwater OK. 2005
  • "Interspecies transmission of prion diseases" University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy Seminar Series, Omaha, NE. 2005
  • "Prion diseases of humans and animals" University of Nebraska Medical Center Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory Group, Omaha, NE. 2005
  • Kincaid, A.E, Kramer, M. and Bartz, J.C. (2005). Prion strain competition in the central nervous system. Keystone Symposia "Molecular Mechanisms of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (Prion Diseases)". Snowbird, UT. 2005
  • "Interspecies transmission of prions" Nebraska Infectious Disease Seminar. 2004
  • "Prion competition in the central nervous system" Animal prion diseases and the Americas, Ames IA. 2004
  • "Prion strain targeting and competition" Fourth annual Nebraska Center for Virology Symposium in Virology. University of Nebraska Lincoln. 2004
  • "Interspecies transmission of prion diseases" Chronic wasting disease / transmissible spongiform encephalopathy symposium, North Dakota Department of Agriculture, Bismarck, ND. 2004
  • "The Design of a Single Round Infectivity Assay for Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus Using Green Fluorscing Protein" BRIN Student Jessica Hutter-Doane College 2004
  • "Interspecies Transmission of Prion Diseases" 2004
  • " Interspecies transmission of prion diseases" Creighton University Medical Center, Osteoporosis research center seminar. Omaha NE. 2004

Awards

  • Dr. Robert Heaney Graduate Research Mentor Award
    Creighton University
  • Maiben Lecturer
    Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  • Distinguished Lecturer
    American Society for Microbiology
  • Richard A. Bessen Memorial Lecturer
    Rocky Mountain Virology Meeting
  • Academy for Excellence in Team Science
    University of Minnesota
  • University Research Award
    Creighton University
  • Young Investigator Award
    Creighton University
  • Richard F. Marsh Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Research
    University of Wisconsin