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Koyama S, Yagita K, Hamasaki H, Noguchi H, Shijo M, Matsuzono K, Takase KI, Kai K, Aishima SI, Itoh K, Ninomiya T, Sasagasako N, Honda H. Novel method for classification of prion diseases by detecting PrP res signal patterns from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples. Prion 2024; 18:40-53. [PMID: 38627365 PMCID: PMC11028012 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2024.2337981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Prion disease is an infectious and fatal neurodegenerative disease. Western blotting (WB)-based identification of proteinase K (PK)-resistant prion protein (PrPres) is considered a definitive diagnosis of prion diseases. In this study, we aimed to detect PrPres using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens from cases of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchorless prion disease (GPIALP), and V180I CJD. FFPE samples were prepared after formic acid treatment to inactivate infectivity. After deparaffinization, PK digestion was performed, and the protein was extracted. In sCJD, a pronounced PrPres signal was observed, with antibodies specific for type 1 and type 2 PrPres exhibited a strong or weak signals depending on the case. Histological examination of serial sections revealed that the histological changes were compatible with the biochemical characteristics. In GSS and GPIALP, prion protein core-specific antibodies presented as PrPres bands at 8-9 kDa and smear bands, respectively. However, an antibody specific for the C-terminus presented as smears in GSS, with no PrPres detected in GPIALP. It was difficult to detect PrPres in V180I CJD. Collectively, our findings demonstrate the possibility of detecting PrPres in FFPE and classifying the prion disease types. This approach facilitates histopathological and biochemical evaluation in the same sample and is safe owing to the inactivation of infectivity. Therefore, it may be valuable for the diagnosis and research of prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sachiko Koyama
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kaoru Yagita
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hideomi Hamasaki
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hideko Noguchi
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Masahiro Shijo
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Department of Neurology, Kyushu Central Hospital of the Mutual Aid Association of Public School Teachers, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kosuke Matsuzono
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan
| | | | - Keita Kai
- Department of Pathology, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichi Aishima
- Department of Scientific Pathology Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kyoko Itoh
- Department of Pathology and Applied Neurobiology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Toshiharu Ninomiya
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Naokazu Sasagasako
- Department of Neurology, Neuro-Muscular Center, National Hospital Organization, Omuta National Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Honda
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Neuropathology Center, National Hospital Organization, Omuta National Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan
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Lee JM, Derkinderen P, Kordower JH, Freeman R, Munoz DG, Kremer T, Zago W, Hutten SJ, Adler CH, Serrano GE, Beach TG. The Search for a Peripheral Biopsy Indicator of α-Synuclein Pathology for Parkinson Disease. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2017; 76:2-15. [DOI: 10.1093/jnen/nlw103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
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Visanji NP, Marras C, Kern DS, Al Dakheel A, Gao A, Liu LWC, Lang AE, Hazrati LN. Colonic mucosal a-synuclein lacks specificity as a biomarker for Parkinson disease. Neurology 2015; 84:609-16. [PMID: 25589666 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000001240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine the utility of detecting a-synuclein (aSyn) in colonic mucosal biopsy tissue as a potential diagnostic biomarker for Parkinson disease (PD). METHODS We used the paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) blot, which degrades physiologic nonaggregated aSyn using proteinase K and enhances antigen retrieval allowing sensitive and selective detection of remaining protein aggregates, to detect aSyn in colonic mucosal biopsies from 15 patients with early PD (,3 years), 7 patients with later PD (.5 years), and 11 individuals without PD. aSyn and serine 129–phosphorylated aSyn (Ser129p-aSyn) were assessed by PET blot and conventional immunohistochemistry. RESULTS PET blot–resistant aggregated aSyn and Ser129p-aSyn was present in 12 of 15 individuals with early PD, 7 of 7 individuals with later PD, and 11 of 11 control subjects. The number of biopsies positive by PET blot relative to conventional immunohistochemistry was significantly lower in both PD groups compared with the control group for both aSyn and Ser129p-aSyn,whereas routine immunohistochemistry was positive more often in PD, but was positive in as many as 9 of 11 control individuals. CONCLUSION Strong evidence of the presence of aggregated hyperphosphorylated aSyn in individuals with and without PD, using such a sensitive and specific method as the PET blot, suggests that colonic deposition of aSyn is not a useful diagnostic test for PD. The utility of detecting aSynin the colon as a biomarker in combination with other assessments remains to be determined.
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Early and persistent expression of phosphorylated α-synuclein in the enteric nervous system of A53T mutant human α-synuclein transgenic mice. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2015; 73:1144-51. [PMID: 25383638 DOI: 10.1097/nen.0000000000000137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Alpha-synuclein is a key protein in Parkinson disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies. It is found in Lewy bodies in the brains of PD patients and has been reported in the peripheral nervous system in postmortem tissues from PD patients and in biopsies from patients in the preclinical phase of PD. Here, we used a transgenic mouse model of human synucleinopathies expressing the A53T mutant α-synuclein (TgM83) in which a neurodegenerative process associated with α-synuclein occurs spontaneously and increases with age. In particular, α-synuclein protein phosphorylated at serine 129 (pSer129 α-synuclein) naturally and progressively increases in diseased brains. We examined the time course of pSer129 α-synuclein presence in the gut of these mice between 1.5 and 22 months of age using immunohistochemistry and paraffin-embedded tissue blots. The pSer129 α-synuclein accumulated early (before the onset of motor signs) and persistently in the enteric nervous system and was concomitantly found in the brain. These results suggest that the accumulation of phosphorylated α-synuclein in the enteric and central nervous systems may result from parallel pathologic processes when the disease is linked to a mutation of α-synuclein.
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Steinacker P, Berner C, Thal DR, Attems J, Ludolph AC, Otto M. Protease-resistant SOD1 aggregates in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis demonstrated by paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) blot. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2014; 2:130. [PMID: 25159221 PMCID: PMC4156642 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-014-0130-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2014] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives The paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) blot technique followed by limited protease digestion has been established to detect protein aggregates in prion diseases, alpha-synucleopathies, and tauopathies. We analyzed whether the scope of the method can be extended to analyze aggregates in mouse and human tissue with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) mutation. Methods Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded brain and spinal cord tissue from SOD1G93A mice was first analyzed for the expression of SOD1, aggregated SOD1, ubiquitin, and p62 by convential immunohistochemistry and then used to establish the PET blot technique, limited protease digest, and immunodetection of SOD1 aggregates. The method was then transferred to spinal cord from an ALS patient with SOD1E100G mutation. Results Mouse and human paraffin-embedded brain and spinal cord tissue can be blotted to membranes and stained with anti-SOD1 antibodies. The SOD1 labelling is abolished after limited proteolytic digest in controls, whereas under identical conditions SOD1 aggregates are detected the SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS and in human familial ALS. The most prominent areas where aggregates could be detected are the brainstem and the anterior horn of the spinal cord. Discussion Applicability of the PET blot technique to demonstrate SOD1 aggregates in ALS tissue associated with mutations in the SOD1 gene offers a new approach to examine potential spreading of aggregates in the course of ALS.
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Llorens F, López-González I, Thüne K, Carmona M, Zafar S, Andréoletti O, Zerr I, Ferrer I. Subtype and regional-specific neuroinflammation in sporadic creutzfeldt-jakob disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2014; 6:198. [PMID: 25136317 PMCID: PMC4120692 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2014.00198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study identifies deregulated cytokines and mediators of the immune response in the frontal cortex and cerebellum of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) MM1 and VV2 subtypes compared to age-matched controls. Deregulated genes include pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, toll-like receptors, colony stimulating factors, cathepsins, members of the complement system, and members of the integrin and CTL/CTLD family with particular regional and sCJD subtype patterns. Analysis of cytokines and mediators at protein level shows expression of selected molecules and receptors in neurons, in astrocytes, and/or in microglia, thus suggesting interactions between neurons and glial cells, mainly microglia, in the neuroinflammatory response in sCJD. Similar inflammatory responses have been shown in the tg340 sCJD MM1 mice, revealing a progressive deregulation of inflammatory mediators with disease progression. Yet, inflammatory molecules involved are subjected to species differences in humans and mice. Moreover, inflammatory-related cell signaling pathways NFκB/IKK and JAK/STAT are activated in sCJD and sCJD MM1 mice. Together, the present observations show a self-sustained complex inflammatory and inflammatory-related responses occurring already at early clinical stages in animal model and dramatically progressing at advanced stages of sCJD. Considering this scenario, measures tailored to modulate (activate or inhibit) specific molecules could be therapeutic options in CJD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franc Llorens
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE, University Medical School, Georg-August University , Göttingen , Germany ; Institute of Neuropathology, IDIBELL-University Hospital Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Irene López-González
- Institute of Neuropathology, IDIBELL-University Hospital Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Katrin Thüne
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE, University Medical School, Georg-August University , Göttingen , Germany
| | - Margarita Carmona
- Institute of Neuropathology, IDIBELL-University Hospital Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat , Barcelona , Spain ; Network Center for Biomedical Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Health , Madrid , Spain
| | - Saima Zafar
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE, University Medical School, Georg-August University , Göttingen , Germany
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique , Toulouse , France
| | - Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE, University Medical School, Georg-August University , Göttingen , Germany
| | - Isidre Ferrer
- Institute of Neuropathology, IDIBELL-University Hospital Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat , Barcelona , Spain ; Network Center for Biomedical Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Health , Madrid , Spain
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Atypical H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a cow born after the reinforced feed ban on meat-and-bone meal in Europe. J Clin Microbiol 2012; 50:4171-4. [PMID: 23035195 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.02178-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The significance of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathies (BSE) in cattle for controlling the BSE epidemic is poorly understood. Here we report a case of atypical H-type BSE in a cow born after the implementation of the reinforced feed ban in Europe. This supports an etiology of H-type BSE unrelated to that of classical BSE.
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O'Rourke KI, Schneider DA, Spraker TR, Dassanayake RP, Highland MA, Zhuang D, Truscott TC. Transmissibility of caprine scrapie in ovine transgenic mice. BMC Vet Res 2012; 8:42. [PMID: 22472560 PMCID: PMC3489715 DOI: 10.1186/1746-6148-8-42] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2011] [Accepted: 02/17/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The United States control program for classical ovine scrapie is based in part on the finding that infection is typically spread through exposure to shed placentas from infected ewes. Transmission from goats to sheep is less well described. A suitable rodent model for examining the effect of caprine scrapie isolates in the ovine host will be useful in the ovine scrapie eradication effort. In this study, we describe the incubation time, brain lesion profile, glycoform pattern and PrPSc distribution patterns in a well characterized transgenic mouse line (Tg338) expressing the ovine VRQ prion allele, following inoculation with brain from scrapie infected goats. Results First passage incubation times of caprine tissue in Tg338 ovinized mice varied widely but second passage intervals were shorter and consistent. Vacuolation profiles, glycoform patterns and paraffin-embedded tissue blots from terminally ill second passage mice derived from sheep or goat inocula were similar. Proteinase K digestion products of murine tissue were slightly smaller than the original ruminant inocula, a finding consistent with passage of several ovine strains in previous reports. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that Tg338 mice propagate prions of caprine origin and provide a suitable baseline for examination of samples identified in the expanded US caprine scrapie surveillance program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine I O'Rourke
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
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Wemheuer WM, Benestad SL, Wrede A, Wemheuer WE, Brenig B, Bratberg B, Schulz-Schaeffer WJ. PrPSc spreading patterns in the brain of sheep linked to different prion types. Vet Res 2011; 42:32. [PMID: 21324114 PMCID: PMC3050706 DOI: 10.1186/1297-9716-42-32] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2010] [Accepted: 02/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Scrapie in sheep and goats has been known for more than 250 years and belongs nowadays to the so-called prion diseases that also include e.g. bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle (BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. According to the prion hypothesis, the pathological isoform (PrPSc) of the cellular prion protein (PrPc) comprises the essential, if not exclusive, component of the transmissible agent. Currently, two types of scrapie disease are known - classical and atypical/Nor98 scrapie. In the present study we examine 24 cases of classical and 25 cases of atypical/Nor98 scrapie with the sensitive PET blot method and validate the results with conventional immunohistochemistry. The sequential detection of PrPSc aggregates in the CNS of classical scrapie sheep implies that after neuroinvasion a spread from spinal cord and obex to the cerebellum, diencephalon and frontal cortex via the rostral brainstem takes place. We categorize the spread of PrPSc into four stages: the CNS entry stage, the brainstem stage, the cruciate sulcus stage and finally the basal ganglia stage. Such a sequential development of PrPSc was not detectable upon analysis of the present atypical/Nor98 scrapie cases. PrPSc distribution in one case of atypical/Nor98 scrapie in a presumably early disease phase suggests that the spread of PrPSc aggregates starts in the di- or telencephalon. In addition to the spontaneous generation of PrPSc, an uptake of the infectious agent into the brain, that bypasses the brainstem and starts its accumulation in the thalamus, needs to be taken into consideration for atypical/Nor98 scrapie.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke M Wemheuer
- Prion and Dementia Research Unit, Department of Neuropathology, University Medical Center, Georg-August University, Robert-Koch Str, 40, 37075 Goettingen, Germany.
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Schulz-Schaeffer WJ. The synaptic pathology of alpha-synuclein aggregation in dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia. Acta Neuropathol 2010; 120:131-43. [PMID: 20563819 PMCID: PMC2892607 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-010-0711-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 411] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2010] [Revised: 05/31/2010] [Accepted: 06/11/2010] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are usually associated with loss of dopaminergic neurons. Loss of substantia nigra neurons and presence of Lewy body inclusions in some of the remaining neurons are the hallmark pathology seen in the final stages of the disease. Attempts to correlate Lewy body pathology to either cell death or severity of clinical symptoms, however, have not been successful. While the pathophysiology of the neurodegenerative process can hardly be explained by Lewy bodies, the clinical symptoms do indicate a degenerative process located at the presynapse resulting in a neurotransmitter deficiency. Recently it was shown that 90% or even more of alpha-synuclein aggregates in DLB cases were located at the presynapses in the form of very small deposits. In parallel, dendritic spines are retracted, whereas the presynapses are relatively preserved, suggesting a neurotransmitter deprivation. The same alpha-synuclein pathology can be demonstrated for PD. These findings give rise to the notion that not cell death but rather alpha-synuclein aggregate-related synaptic dysfunction causes the neurodegeneration. This opens new perspectives for understanding PD and DLB. If presynaptic alpha-synuclein aggregation, not neuronal loss, is the key issue of the neurodegenerative process, then PD and DLB may eventually be treatable in the future. The disease may progress via trans-synaptical spread, suggesting that stem cell transplants are of limited use. Future therapies may focus on the regeneration of synapses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter J Schulz-Schaeffer
- Department of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, Göttingen, Germany.
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Wemheuer WM, Benestad SL, Wrede A, Schulze-Sturm U, Wemheuer WE, Hahmann U, Gawinecka J, Schütz E, Zerr I, Brenig B, Bratberg B, Andréoletti O, Schulz-Schaeffer WJ. Similarities between forms of sheep scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are encoded by distinct prion types. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2009; 175:2566-73. [PMID: 19850886 PMCID: PMC2789619 DOI: 10.2353/ajpath.2009.090623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/19/2009] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as scrapie in sheep, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, and bovine sporadic encephalopathy in cattle are characterized by the accumulation of a misfolded protein: the pathological prion protein. Ever since bovine sporadic encephalopathy was discovered as the likely cause of the new variant of CJD in humans, parallels between human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies must be viewed under the aspect of a disease risk for humans. In our study we have compared prion characteristics of different forms of sheep scrapie with those of different phenotypes of sporadic CJD. The disease characteristics of sporadic CJD depend considerably on the prion type 1 or 2. Our results show that there are obvious parallels between sporadic CJD type 1 and the so-called atypical/Nor98 scrapie. These parelleles apply to the deposition form of pathological prion protein in the brain, detected by the paraffin-embedded-tissue blot and the prion aggregate stability with regard to denaturation by the chaotropic salt guanidine hydrochloride. The same applies to sporadic CJD type 2 and classical scrapie. The observed parallels between types of sporadic CJD and types of sheep scrapie demonstrate that distinct groups of prion disease exist in different species. This should be taken into consideration when discussing interspecies transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke M Wemheuer
- Prion and Dementia Research Unit, Department of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
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Validation of use of rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue for immunohistochemical diagnosis of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). J Clin Microbiol 2009; 47:1412-7. [PMID: 19261781 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.02209-08] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The examination of rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) biopsy specimens for the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies has been described in sheep, elk, and small numbers of mule and white-tailed deer. Previous sample numbers have been too small to validate examination of this type of tissue as a viable antemortem diagnostic test. In this study, we examined RAMALT collected postmortem from 76 white-tailed deer removed from a farm in Wisconsin known to be affected by chronic wasting disease (CWD) and from 210 free-ranging white-tailed deer harvested from an area in Wisconsin where the overall prevalence of CWD among the deer was approximately 4 to 6%. The results of immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of the RAMALT sections were compared to the results of IHC staining of sections from the brain stem at the convergence of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, sections of the medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLNs), and sections of tonsil (sections of tonsil only from captive animals were tested). The sensitivities of the IHC staining test with RAMALT sections were 81% for the captive animals and 91% for the free-ranging animals. False-negative results were usually associated with early infection, indicated by a low intensity of immunostaining in the obex and/or a polymorphism at PRNP codon 96. While the RLN remains the tissue of choice for use for the diagnosis of CWD in white-tailed deer, the results of the present study further support the use of RAMALTs collected antemortem as an adjunct to testing of tonsil biopsy specimens and surveillance by necropsy for the screening of farmed deer which have been put at risk through environmental exposure or exposure to deer with CWD.
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Lacroux C, Simon S, Benestad SL, Maillet S, Mathey J, Lugan S, Corbière F, Cassard H, Costes P, Bergonier D, Weisbecker JL, Moldal T, Simmons H, Lantier F, Feraudet-Tarisse C, Morel N, Schelcher F, Grassi J, Andréoletti O. Prions in milk from ewes incubating natural scrapie. PLoS Pathog 2008; 4:e1000238. [PMID: 19079578 PMCID: PMC2587713 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2008] [Accepted: 11/12/2008] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Since prion infectivity had never been reported in milk, dairy products originating from transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)-affected ruminant flocks currently enter unrestricted into the animal and human food chain. However, a recently published study brought the first evidence of the presence of prions in mammary secretions from scrapie-affected ewes. Here we report the detection of consistent levels of infectivity in colostrum and milk from sheep incubating natural scrapie, several months prior to clinical onset. Additionally, abnormal PrP was detected, by immunohistochemistry and PET blot, in lacteal ducts and mammary acini. This PrP(Sc) accumulation was detected only in ewes harbouring mammary ectopic lymphoid follicles that developed consequent to Maedi lentivirus infection. However, bioassay revealed that prion infectivity was present in milk and colostrum, not only from ewes with such lympho-proliferative chronic mastitis, but also from those displaying lesion-free mammary glands. In milk and colostrum, infectivity could be recovered in the cellular, cream, and casein-whey fractions. In our samples, using a Tg 338 mouse model, the highest per ml infectious titre measured was found to be equivalent to that contained in 6 microg of a posterior brain stem from a terminally scrapie-affected ewe. These findings indicate that both colostrum and milk from small ruminants incubating TSE could contribute to the animal TSE transmission process, either directly or through the presence of milk-derived material in animal feedstuffs. It also raises some concern with regard to the risk to humans of TSE exposure associated with milk products from ovine and other TSE-susceptible dairy species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Lacroux
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Stéphanie Simon
- CEA, Service de Pharmacologie et d'Immunoanalyse, IBiTec-S, DSV, CEA/Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | | | - Séverine Maillet
- CEA, Service de Pharmacologie et d'Immunoanalyse, IBiTec-S, DSV, CEA/Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Jacinthe Mathey
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Séverine Lugan
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Fabien Corbière
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Hervé Cassard
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Pierrette Costes
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Dominique Bergonier
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | | | | | - Hugh Simmons
- VLA Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Cécile Feraudet-Tarisse
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- CEA, Service de Pharmacologie et d'Immunoanalyse, IBiTec-S, DSV, CEA/Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Nathalie Morel
- CEA, Service de Pharmacologie et d'Immunoanalyse, IBiTec-S, DSV, CEA/Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - François Schelcher
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Jacques Grassi
- CEA, Service de Pharmacologie et d'Immunoanalyse, IBiTec-S, DSV, CEA/Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- * E-mail:
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Lezmi S, Bencsik A, Baron T. PET-blot analysis contributes to BSE strain recognition in C57Bl/6 mice. J Histochem Cytochem 2006; 54:1087-94. [PMID: 16735593 PMCID: PMC3957803 DOI: 10.1369/jhc.5a6892.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2005] [Accepted: 05/16/2006] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Identification of the strain of agent responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) can be made histologically through the analysis of both distribution and intensity of brain vacuolar lesions after BSE transmission to mouse. Another useful way to distinguish the BSE agent from other prion strains is the study of the distribution of the abnormal prion protein (PrP(res)). For that purpose, paraffin-embedded tissue blot (PET-blot) method was applied on brains from C57Bl/6 mice infected with cattle BSE, experimental sheep BSE, or feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) from a cheetah. PrP(res) distribution was comparable, whichever of the three BSE agent sources was considered and was distinct from the PrP(res) distribution in C57Bl/6 mice inoculated with a French scrapie isolate or with a mouse-adapted scrapie strain (C506M3). These data confirm a common origin of infectious agent responsible for the British and French cattle BSE. They also indicate that PET-blot method appears as a precise complementary tool in prion strain studies because it offers easy and quick assessment of the PrP(res) mapping. Advantages and limits of the PET-blot method are discussed and compared with other established and validated methods of strain typing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphane Lezmi
- Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, Unité ATNC, Lyon, France
| | - Anna Bencsik
- Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, Unité ATNC, Lyon, France
| | - Thierry Baron
- Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, Unité ATNC, Lyon, France
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15
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Pan T, Wong P, Chang B, Li C, Li R, Kang SC, Wisniewski T, Sy MS. Biochemical fingerprints of prion infection: accumulations of aberrant full-length and N-terminally truncated PrP species are common features in mouse prion disease. J Virol 2005; 79:934-43. [PMID: 15613322 PMCID: PMC538529 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.2.934-943.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Infection with any one of three strains of mouse scrapie prion (PrPSc), 139A, ME7, or 22L, results in the accumulation of two underglycosylated, full-length PrP species and an N-terminally truncated PrP species that are not detectable in uninfected animals. The levels of the N-terminally truncated PrP species vary depending on PrPSc strain. Furthermore, 22L-infected brains consistently have the highest levels of proteinase K (PK)-resistant PrP species, followed by ME7- and 139A-infected brains. The three strains of PrPSc are equally susceptible to PK and proteases papain and chymotrypsin. Their protease resistance patterns are also similar. In sucrose gradient velocity sedimentation, the aberrant PrP species partition with PrPSc aggregates, indicating that they are physically associated with PrPSc. In ME7-infected animals, one of the underglycosylated, full-length PrP species is detected much earlier than the other, before both the onset of clinical disease and the detection of PK-resistant PrP species. In contrast, the appearance of the N-terminally truncated PrP species coincides with the presence of PK-resistant species and the manifestation of clinical symptoms. Therefore, accumulation of the underglycosylated, full-length PrP species is an early biochemical fingerprint of PrPSc infection. Accumulation of the underglycosylated, full-length PrP species and the aberrant N-terminally truncated PrP species may be important in the pathogenesis of prion disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Pan
- School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44107-1712, USA
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16
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Thomzig A, Schulz-Schaeffer W, Kratzel C, Mai J, Beekes M. Preclinical deposition of pathological prion protein PrPSc in muscles of hamsters orally exposed to scrapie. J Clin Invest 2004; 113:1465-72. [PMID: 15146244 PMCID: PMC406533 DOI: 10.1172/jci21083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2004] [Accepted: 04/02/2004] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, pathological prion protein PrP(Sc), the putative key constituent of infectious agents causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), was found in muscles of rodents experimentally infected with scrapie and in patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). For the assessment of risk scenarios originating from these findings (e.g., alimentary transmission of pathogens associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE] and chronic wasting disease [CWD] via tainted beef and game or iatrogenic dissemination of CJD agent through contaminated surgical instruments) more detailed information about the time course of PrP(Sc) accumulation in muscles at preclinical and clinical stages of incubation is needed. Here we show that PrP(Sc) in muscles of hamsters fed with scrapie can be detected prior to the onset of clinical symptoms, but that the bulk of PrP(Sc) was deposited late in clinical disease. Additionally, regarding the question of how muscles become invaded, we report on the intramuscular location of PrP(Sc) and substantial indications for centrifugal spread of infection from spinal motor neurons to myofibers. Our findings in a well-established animal model for TSEs contribute to a better assessment of the risks for public health emanating from "Prions in skeletal muscle" and provide new insights into the pathophysiological spread of TSE agents through the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achim Thomzig
- Robert Koch-Institut, P26--Pathogenese und Diagnostik Transmissibler Spongiformer Enzephalopathien, Berlin, Germany
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17
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Thomzig A, Kratzel C, Lenz G, Krüger D, Beekes M. Widespread PrPSc accumulation in muscles of hamsters orally infected with scrapie. EMBO Rep 2003; 4:530-3. [PMID: 12776740 PMCID: PMC1319182 DOI: 10.1038/sj.embor.embor827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and chronic wasting disease are orally communicable, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). As zoonotic transmissions of TSE agents may pose a risk to human health, the identification of reservoirs for infectivity in animal tissues and their exclusion from human consumption has become a matter of great importance for consumer protection. In this study, a variety of muscles from hamsters that were orally challenged with scrapie was screened for the presence of a molecular marker for TSE infection, PrPSc (the pathological isoform of the prion protein PrP). Sensitive western blotting revealed consistent PrPSc accumulation in skeletal muscles from forelimb and hindlimb, head, back and shoulder, and in tongue. Previously, our animal model has provided substantial baseline information about the peripheral routing of infection in naturally occurring and orally acquired ruminant TSEs. Therefore, the findings described here highlight further the necessity to investigate thoroughly whether muscles of TSE-infected sheep, cattle, elk and deer contain infectious agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achim Thomzig
- Robert Koch-Institut, P26, Nordufer 20, D-13353 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Gudrun Lenz
- Robert Koch-Institut, P26, Nordufer 20, D-13353 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Michael Beekes
- Robert Koch-Institut, P26, Nordufer 20, D-13353 Berlin, Germany
- Tel: +49 30 4547 2396; Fax: +49 30 4547 2609;
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18
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Abstract
Food-borne transmission of prions can lead to infection of the gastrointestinal tract and neuroinvasion via the splanchnic and vagus nerves. Here we report that the transmission of transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) is 100,000-fold more efficient by inoculation of prions into the tongues of hamsters than by oral ingestion. The incubation period following TME agent (hereinafter referred to as TME) inoculation into the lingual muscles was the shortest among the five nonneuronal routes of inoculation, including another intramuscular route. Deposition of the abnormal isoform of the prion protein, PrP(Sc), was first detected in the tongue and submandibular lymph node at 1 to 2 weeks following inoculation of the tongue with TME. PrP(Sc) deposits in the tongue were associated with individual axons, and the initial appearance of TME in the brain stem was found in the hypoglossal nucleus at 2 weeks postinfection. At later time points, PrP(Sc) was localized to brain cell groups that directly project to the hypoglossal nucleus, indicating the transneuronal spread of TME. TME PrP(Sc) entry into the brain stem preceded PrP(Sc) detection in the rostral cervical spinal cord. These results demonstrate that TME can replicate in both the tongue and regional lymph nodes but indicate that the faster route of brain invasion is via retrograde axonal transport within the hypoglossal nerve to the hypoglossal nucleus. Topical application of TME to a superficial wound on the surface of the tongue resulted in a higher incidence of disease and a shorter incubation period than with oral TME ingestion. Therefore, abrasions of the tongue in livestock and humans may predispose a host to oral prion infection of the tongue-associated cranial nerves. In a related study, PrP(Sc) was detected in tongues following the intracerebral inoculation of six hamster-adapted prion strains, which demonstrates that prions can also travel from the brain to the tongue in the anterograde direction along the tongue-associated cranial nerves. These findings suggest that food products containing ruminant or cervid tongue may be a potential source of prion infection for humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason C Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68178, USA
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McBride PA, Schulz-Schaeffer WJ, Donaldson M, Bruce M, Diringer H, Kretzschmar HA, Beekes M. Early spread of scrapie from the gastrointestinal tract to the central nervous system involves autonomic fibers of the splanchnic and vagus nerves. J Virol 2001; 75:9320-7. [PMID: 11533195 PMCID: PMC114500 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.75.19.9320-9327.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the ultimate target of infection is the central nervous system (CNS), there is evidence that the enteric nervous system (ENS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) are involved in the pathogenesis of orally communicated transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. In several peripherally challenged rodent models of scrapie, spread of infectious agent to the brain and spinal cord shows a pattern consistent with propagation along nerves supplying the viscera. We used immunocytochemistry (ICC) and paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) blotting to identify the location and temporal sequence of pathological accumulation of a host protein, PrP, in the CNS, PNS, and ENS of hamsters orally infected with the 263K scrapie strain. Enteric ganglia and components of splanchnic and vagus nerve circuitry were examined along with the brain and spinal cord. Bioassays were carried out with selected PNS constituents. Deposition of pathological PrP detected by ICC was consistent with immunostaining of a partially protease-resistant form of PrP (PrP(Sc)) in PET blots. PrP(Sc) could be observed from approximately one-third of the way through the incubation period in enteric ganglia and autonomic ganglia of splanchnic or vagus circuitry prior to sensory ganglia. PrP(Sc) accumulated, in a defined temporal sequence, in sites that accurately reflected known autonomic and sensory relays. Scrapie agent infectivity was present in the PNS at low or moderate levels. The data suggest that, in this scrapie model, the infectious agent primarily uses synaptically linked autonomic ganglia and efferent fibers of the vagus and splanchnic nerves to invade initial target sites in the brain and spinal cord.
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Affiliation(s)
- P A McBride
- Neuropathogenesis Unit, Institute for Animal Health, Edinburgh EH9 3JF, United Kingdom.
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