Investigations into the suitability of synaptophysin and synaptobrevin as markers of central nervous system tissue in heat-treated meat products [German]

摘要

In the course of the BSE-crisis it is necessary to install a suitable test which ensures that meat products for human consumption are free of bovine central nervous system tissue. In respect of this, immunochemical methods provide an useful tool in the scope of official food control. Adequate detection-methods require that the marker proteins survive the harsh technological treatment such as temperature and pressure. Moreover, the proteins must reveal high degrees of tissue- and speciesspecifity. In the present investigation it has been tested, if two antibodies raised against the synaptic vesicle proteins synaptophysin and synaptobrevin are suitable to detect specifically central nervous system tissue in heat-treated meat products. Applying immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis, our results have shown, that both proteins could be detected within cooked sausages containing 0,1% addition of bovine brain as well as in sausages without brain addition, the latter representing immunoreactivity in motor end plates of sceletal muscles. Due to this localization pattern both vesicle proteins cannot be regarded as suitable markers.