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Silvius D, Pitstick R, Ahn M, Meishery D, Oehler A, Barsh GS, DeArmond SJ, Carlson GA, Gunn TM. Levels of the Mahogunin Ring Finger 1 E3 ubiquitin ligase do not influence prion disease. PLoS One 2013; 8:e55575. [PMID: 23383230 PMCID: PMC3559536 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2012] [Accepted: 01/03/2013] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are rare but invariably fatal neurodegenerative disorders. They are associated with spongiform encephalopathy, a histopathology characterized by the presence of large, membrane-bound vacuolar structures in the neuropil of the brain. While the primary cause is recognized as conversion of the normal form of prion protein (PrPC) to a conformationally distinct, pathogenic form (PrPSc), the cellular pathways and mechanisms that lead to spongiform change, neuronal dysfunction and death are not known. Mice lacking the Mahogunin Ring Finger 1 (MGRN1) E3 ubiquitin ligase develop spongiform encephalopathy by 9 months of age but do not become ill. In cell culture, PrP aberrantly present in the cytosol was reported to interact with and sequester MGRN1. This caused endo-lysosomal trafficking defects similar to those observed when Mgrn1 expression is knocked down, implicating disrupted MGRN1-dependent trafficking in the pathogenesis of prion disease. As these defects were rescued by over-expression of MGRN1, we investigated whether reduced or elevated Mgrn1 expression influences the onset, progression or pathology of disease in mice inoculated with PrPSc. No differences were observed, indicating that disruption of MGRN1-dependent pathways does not play a significant role in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek Silvius
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, United States of America
| | - Rose Pitstick
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, United States of America
| | - Misol Ahn
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Delisha Meishery
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, United States of America
| | - Abby Oehler
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Gregory S. Barsh
- Departments of Genetics and Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Stephen J. DeArmond
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - George A. Carlson
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, United States of America
| | - Teresa M. Gunn
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Mencarelli C, Martinez–Martinez P. Ceramide function in the brain: when a slight tilt is enough. Cell Mol Life Sci 2013; 70:181-203. [PMID: 22729185 PMCID: PMC3535405 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-012-1038-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 168] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2012] [Revised: 05/16/2012] [Accepted: 05/21/2012] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Ceramide, the precursor of all complex sphingolipids, is a potent signaling molecule that mediates key events of cellular pathophysiology. In the nervous system, the sphingolipid metabolism has an important impact. Neurons are polarized cells and their normal functions, such as neuronal connectivity and synaptic transmission, rely on selective trafficking of molecules across plasma membrane. Sphingolipids are abundant on neural cellular membranes and represent potent regulators of brain homeostasis. Ceramide intracellular levels are fine-tuned and alteration of the sphingolipid-ceramide profile contributes to the development of age-related, neurological and neuroinflammatory diseases. The purpose of this review is to guide the reader towards a better understanding of the sphingolipid-ceramide pathway system. First, ceramide biology is presented including structure, physical properties and metabolism. Second, we describe the function of ceramide as a lipid second messenger in cell physiology. Finally, we highlight the relevance of sphingolipids and ceramide in the progression of different neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Mencarelli
- Department of Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Pilar Martinez–Martinez
- Department of Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
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A brain aggregate model gives new insights into the pathobiology and treatment of prion diseases. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2012; 71:449-66. [PMID: 22507918 DOI: 10.1097/nen.0b013e3182544680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain aggregates (BrnAggs) derived from fetal mouse brains contain mature neurons and glial cells. We determined that BrnAggs are consistently infected with Rocky Mountain Laboratory scrapie strain prions and produce increasing levels of the pathogenic form of the prion protein (PrP). Their abundant dendrites undergo degeneration shortly after prion infection. Treatment of prion-infected BrnAggs with drugs, such as a γ-secretase inhibitors and quinacrine (Qa), which stop PrP formation and dendritic degeneration, mirrors the results from rodent studies. Because PrP is trafficked into lysosomes by endocytosis and autophagosomes by phagocytosis in neurons of prion strain-infected BrnAggs, we studied the effects of drugs that modulate subcellular trafficking. Rapamycin (Rap), which activates autophagy, markedly increased light-chain 3-II (LC3-II)-positive autophagosomes and cathepsin D-positive lysosomes in BrnAggs but could not eliminate the intracellular PrP within them. Adding Qa to Rap markedly reduced the number of LC3-II-positive autolysosomes. Rap + Qa created a competition between Rap increasing and Qa decreasing LC3-II. Rapamycin + Qa decreased total PrP by 56% compared with that of Qa alone, which reduced PrP by 37% relative to Rap alone. We conclude that the decrease was dominated by the ability of Qa to decrease the formation of PrP. Therefore, BrnAggs provide an efficient in vitro tool for screening drug therapies and studying the complex biology of prions.
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Dearmond SJ, Bajsarowicz K. PrPSc accumulation in neuronal plasma membranes links Notch-1 activation to dendritic degeneration in prion diseases. Mol Neurodegener 2010; 5:6. [PMID: 20205843 PMCID: PMC2825502 DOI: 10.1186/1750-1326-5-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2009] [Accepted: 01/21/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are disorders of protein conformation in which PrPC, the normal cellular conformer, is converted to an abnormal, protease-resistant conformer rPrPSc. Approximately 80% of rPrPSc accumulates in neuronal plasma membranes where it changes their physical properties and profoundly affects membrane functions. In this review we explain how rPrPSc is transported along axons to presynaptic boutons and how we envision the conversion of PrPC to rPrPSc in the postsynaptic membrane. This information is a prerequisite to the second half of this review in which we present evidence that rPrPSc accumulation in synaptic regions links Notch-1 signaling with the dendritic degeneration. The hypothesis that the Notch-1 intracellular domain, NICD, is involved in prion disease was tested by treating prion-infected mice with the γ-secretase inhibitor (GSI) LY411575, with quinacrine (Qa), and with the combination of GSI + Qa. Surprisingly, treatment with GSI alone markedly decreased NICD but did not prevent dendritic degeneration. Qa alone produced near normal dendritic trees. The combined GSI + Qa treatment resulted in a richer dendritic tree than in controls. We speculate that treatment with GSI alone inhibited both stimulators and inhibitors of dendritic growth. With the combined GSI + Qa treatment, Qa modulated the effect of GSI perhaps by destabilizing membrane rafts. GSI + Qa decreased PrPSc in the neocortex and the hippocampus by 95%, but only by 50% in the thalamus where disease was begun by intrathalamic inoculation of prions. The results of this study indicate that GSI + Qa work synergistically to prevent dendrite degeneration and to block formation of PrPSc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Dearmond
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, 1855 Folsom Street MCB 269, San Francisco, CA 94143-0803, USA.
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Bouzamondo-Bernstein E, Hopkins SD, Spilman P, Uyehara-Lock J, Deering C, Safar J, Prusiner SB, Ralston HJ, DeArmond SJ. The neurodegeneration sequence in prion diseases: evidence from functional, morphological and ultrastructural studies of the GABAergic system. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2004; 63:882-99. [PMID: 15330342 DOI: 10.1093/jnen/63.8.882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Loss of the GABAergic system of neurons has been reported to be the first detectable neuropathological change in prion diseases, which features the accumulation of an aberrant isoform of the prion protein (PrP(Sc)). To determine the timing of GABAergic system dysfunction and degeneration and its relationship to PrP(Sc) accumulation during the course of prion disease in Syrian hamsters, we applied 3 approaches: i) quantifying GABA-immunopositive neurons and their processes by light and electron microscopy to test for selective loss; ii) measuring evoked [3H]-GABA release from synaptosomes to test for functional abnormalities; and iii) determining the kinetics of PrP(Sc) accumulation in subcellular fractions to correlate it with GABAergic dysfunction. At the terminal stages of disease, we found a significant increase in the number of GABA-positive and -negative presynaptic boutons with abnormally aggregated synaptic vesicles. At the same stage, we also found an equal degree of GABA-immunopositive and -immunonegative presynaptic bouton loss. In contrast, GABA-positive neocortical cell bodies increased, based on stereologic estimates in the terminal stage of scrapie. In the context of these abnormalities, evoked release of [3H]-GABA from cortical and thalamic synaptosomes was significantly decreased, which correlated well with the accumulation of PrP(Sc) in synaptosomes and cell membrane fractions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Essia Bouzamondo-Bernstein
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
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6
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Kordek R, Nerurkar VR, Liberski PP, Isaacson S, Yanagihara R, Gajdusek DC. Heightened expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 alpha, and glial fibrillary acidic protein in experimental Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1996; 93:9754-8. [PMID: 8790403 PMCID: PMC38501 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.93.18.9754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The ultrastructural pathology of myelinated axons in mice infected experimentally with the Fujisaki strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) virus is characterized by myelin sheath vacuolation that closely resembles that induced in murine spinal cord organotypic cultures by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), a cytokine produced by astrocytes and macrophages. To clarify the role of TNF-alpha in experimental CJD, we investigated the expression of TNF-alpha in brain tissues from CJD virus-infected mice at weekly intervals after inoculation by reverse transcription-coupled PCR, Northern and Western blot analyses, and immunocytochemical staining. Neuropathological findings by electron microscopy, as well as expression of interleukin 1 alpha and glial fibrillary acidic protein, were concurrently monitored. As determined by reverse transcription-coupled PCR, the expression of TNF-alpha, interleukin 1 alpha, and glial fibrillary acidic protein was increased by approximately 200-fold in the brains of CJD virus-inoculated mice during the course of disease. By contrast, beta-actin expression remained unchanged. Progressively increased expression of TNF-alpha in CJD virus-infected brain tissues was verified by Northern and Western blot analyses, and astrocytes in areas with striking myelin sheath vacuolation were intensely stained with an antibody against murine TNF-alpha. The collective findings of TNF-alpha overexpression during the course of clinical disease suggest that TNF-alpha may mediate the myelin sheath vacuolation observed in experimental CJD.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Kordek
- Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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7
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Jeffrey M, Goodbrand IA, Goodsir CM. Pathology of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies with special emphasis on ultrastructure. Micron 1995; 26:277-98. [PMID: 7788281 DOI: 10.1016/0968-4328(95)00004-n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are a group of genetic and infectious disorders which are exemplified by scrapie in animals and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. The spongiform encephalopathies are characterized by symmetrical vacuolation of neurons and neuropil. Amyloid plaque formation similar to that found in Alzheimer's disease is conspicuous in many, but not all, of these diseases. The sub-cellular pathology features of the spongiform encephalopathies have been studied by conventional transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, freeze fracture, negative staining and most recently by application of immunogold labelling methods. Although these studies have revealed many unusual structures, convincing virus-like particles have not been demonstrated. Considerable data, including important transgenic mouse studies, now suggest that a single cellular protein, designated prion protein, is necessary for infection. Ultrastructural immunogold studies have shown that prion protein is released from the surface of neurons and neurites, diffuses through the extracellular space around infected cells where it accumulates and finally becomes aggregated as amyloid fibrils. It is likely that the accumulation of prion protein within the extracellular space is instrumental in causing nerve cell dysfunction and, ultimately, neurological disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jeffrey
- Lasswade Veterinary Laboratory, Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland
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8
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Guiroy DC, Williams ES, Liberski PP, Wakayama I, Gajdusek DC. Ultrastructural neuropathology of chronic wasting disease in captive mule deer. Acta Neuropathol 1993; 85:437-44. [PMID: 8480515 DOI: 10.1007/bf00334456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a progressive and uniformly fatal neurological disorder, is characterized neuropathologically by intraneuronal vacuolation, spongiform change of the neuropil and astrocytic hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Ultrastructural neuropathological findings consist of (1) extensive vacuolation in neuronal processes, within myelin sheaths, formed by splitting at the major dense lines or within axons; (2) dystrophic neurites (dendrites, axonal preterminals and myelinated axons containing degenerating mitochondria and pleomorphic, electron-dense inclusion bodies); (3) prominent astrocytic gliosis; (4) amyloid plaques; and (5) giant neuronal autophagic vacuoles. Other findings include activated macrophages and occasional spheroidal structures containing densely packed fibrillar material of unknown origin, abundant structures suggestive of degenerating microtubules entrapped in filamentous masses, vacuoles and myelin figures. Similar findings have been previously observed in scrapie-infected hamsters and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)-infected mice, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and CJD indicating that CWD in captive mule deer belongs to the subacute spongiform encephalopathies (transmissible brain amyloidoses).
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Guiroy
- Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
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9
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Jeffrey M, Scott JR, Williams A, Fraser H. Ultrastructural features of spongiform encephalopathy transmitted to mice from three species of bovidae. Acta Neuropathol 1992; 84:559-69. [PMID: 1462768 DOI: 10.1007/bf00304476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The ultrastructural neuropathology of mice experimentally inoculated with brain tissue of nyala (Tragelaphus angasi; subfamily Bovinae), or kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros; subfamily Bovinae) affected with spongiform encephalopathy was compared with that of mice inoculated with brain tissue from cows (Bos taurus; subfamily Bovinae) with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). As fresh brain tissue was not available for nyala or kudu, formalin-fixed tissues were used for transmission from these species. The effect of formalin fixation was compared with that of fresh brain in mice inoculated with fixed and unfixed brain tissue from cows with BSE. The nature and distribution of the pathological changes were similar irrespective of the source of inoculum or whether the inoculum was from fresh or previously fixed tissue. Vacuolation caused by loss of organelles and swelling was present in dendrites and axon terminals. Vacuoles were also seen as double-membrane-bound and single-membrane-bound structures within myelinated fibres, axon terminals and dendrites. Vacuoles are considered to have more than one morphogenesis but the structure of vacuoles in this study was nevertheless similar to previous descriptions of spongiform change in naturally occurring and experimental scrapie, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome and kuru. Other features of the ultrastructural pathology of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies including dystrophic neurites and scrapie-associated particles or tubulovesicular bodies were also found in this study. Neuronal autophagy was a conspicuous finding. It is suggested that excess prion protein (PrP) accumulation, or accumulation of the scrapie-associated protease-resistant isoform of PrP, may lead to localised sequestration and phagocytosis of neuronal cytoplasm and ultimately to neuronal loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jeffrey
- Lasswade Veterinary Laboratory, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK
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Liberski PP, Yanagihara R, Wells GA, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek DC. Comparative ultrastructural neuropathology of naturally occurring bovine spongiform encephalopathy and experimentally induced scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. J Comp Pathol 1992; 106:361-81. [PMID: 1644932 DOI: 10.1016/0021-9975(92)90022-m] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
We report the ultrastructural neuropathology of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a recently described slow virus disease first recognized in Friesian/Holstein cattle, and compare it to that of experimental scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The spongiform change, which was most pronounced in the central grey matter of the midbrain, consisted of membrane-bound vacuoles within neuronal processes, containing curled membrane fragments, secondary chambers and vesicles. Axons and dendrites accumulated whorls of neurofilaments and other subcellular organelles, such as mitochondria and dense bodies, which were entrapped within the filamentous masses. Other neurites accumulated electron-dense bodies, and still others electron-lucent cisterns and branching tubules. Membrane-bound neuronal inclusions, composed of tubules measuring 10 nm in diameter, were found in axonal terminals. Tubulovesicular structures were loosely packed and were occasionally surrounded by a common membrane, a finding previously described only in natural scrapie in sheep. Except for the intraneuronal inclusions, all of the ultrastructural features of BSE resembled those found in scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- P P Liberski
- Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
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11
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Liberski PP, Yanagihara R, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek DC. Neuronal autophagic vacuoles in experimental scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Acta Neuropathol 1992; 83:134-9. [PMID: 1557945 DOI: 10.1007/bf00308472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
We report the presence of autophagic vacuoles (AV) in neuronal perikarya and neuronal processes of rodents with experimental scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. AV were composed of sequestrated cytoplasmic areas containing ribosomes and occasionally mitochondria and small secondary vacuoles. The formation of AV may contribute to neuronal degeneration and ultimately to neuronal loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- P P Liberski
- Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
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12
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Godoy JM, Skacel M, Nicaretta DH. [Prions]. ARQUIVOS DE NEURO-PSIQUIATRIA 1991; 49:123-7. [PMID: 1810226 DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x1991000200001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Os autores se propõem a revisar alguns aspectos básicos sobre os prions, alertando sobre a possível participação destes na etiologia de algumas enfermidades degenerativas do sistema nervoso.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Godoy
- Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, UERJ, Brasil
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13
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Jeffrey M, Scott JR, Fraser H. Scrapie inoculation of mice: light and electron microscopy of the superior colliculi. Acta Neuropathol 1991; 81:562-71. [PMID: 1858484 DOI: 10.1007/bf00310139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Ultrastructural examination of the superior colliculi of mice intraocularly inoculated with the ME7 strain of scrapie showed vacuolation early in the course of infection. Brains were examined between 85-260 days after monocular inoculation with scrapie. The mean incubation period for the development of clinical disease was 302 days. Vacuolation was seen initially in the contralateral superior colliculus and subsequently in the ipsilateral colliculus. In coded trials light microscopical vacuolation was seen from 218 days but ultrastructural examination showed that sparse vacuoles were inconsistently present in either or both of the ipsilateral and contralateral colliculi from 85 days; frequent vacuoles were seen from 190 days. Scrapie-induced vacuoles were differentiated from vacuoles present in control tissue by the presence of loculation or by a limiting double membrane which showed protrusion or proliferation of the innermost lamella. Vacuolation was seen in neuronal perikarya, myelinated fibres, dendrites and axonal presynaptic terminals. Vacuoles of myelinated fibres were observed within myelin and possibly also in the inner tongue of oligodendroglial cytoplasm. Whorled membrane configurations were also seen. Tubulovesicular particles, 40 nm in diameter, were recognised in two scrapie-infected mice. It is suggested that some scrapie vacuoles arise as a result of incorporation of abnormal membrane into organelles, possibly mitochondria, in neuronal perikarya and neurites and probably also within oligodendroglial cytoplasm and myelin.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jeffrey
- Lasswade Veterinary Laboratory, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Great Britain
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Affiliation(s)
- M P McKinley
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco 94143
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15
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16
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Liberski PP, Yanagihara R, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek DC. Appearance of tubulovesicular structures in experimental Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and scrapie precedes the onset of clinical disease. Acta Neuropathol 1990; 79:349-54. [PMID: 2160182 DOI: 10.1007/bf00308710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
We have consistently observed tubulovesicular structures in brain tissues during the terminal stages of naturally occurring and experimentally induced spongiform encephalopathies, irrespective of the host species and virus strain. In NIH Swiss mice inoculated intracerebrally or intraocularly with the Fujisaki strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) virus, tubulovesicular structures, measuring 20-50 nm in diameter, were particularly prominent in dilated, pre- and postsynaptic neuronal processes, occasionally being mixed with synaptic vesicles. These structures appeared 13 weeks following intracerebral inoculation, 5 weeks before the onset of clinical signs, when spongiform changes were also detected. The number and density of tubulovesicular structures increased steadily during the course of clinical disease, and were particularly abundant in mice 47 to 51 weeks after intraocular inoculation. In hamsters infected with the 263 K strain of scrapie virus, these structures were initially detected 3 weeks following intracerebral inoculation and increased dramatically at 10 weeks postinoculation. The appearance of tubulovesicular structures before the onset of overt disease in mice inoculated with CJD virus by either the intracerebral or intraocular route, and before the appearance of other neuropathological changes in hamsters infected with scrapie virus, indicate that they represent either a part or aggregate of the infectious virus or a pathological product of the infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- P P Liberski
- Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
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17
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Abstract
In Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), there are prominent ultrastructural alterations of the plasma membrane, which contains many glycolipids and glycoproteins. Glycosidases can degrade glycolipids and glycoproteins. Gangliosides, a subset of glycolipids, are decreased in amount at the terminal stages of CJD, and CJD infectivity is closely associated with membrane rich fractions. We therefore studied 10 glycosidases, and found a statistically significant increase in beta-xylosidase, beta-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase and N-acetyl-beta-D-galactosaminidase activities in CJD. In contrast, alpha-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, alpha-galactosidase, alpha-mannosidase, alpha-fucosidase, and beta-galactosidase were not significantly changed. The above results are consistent with degenerative membrane changes observed morphologically, and with increased degradation of sugar residues on lipids and/or proteins. These changes may be effected by the accumulation of the CJD agent in cell membranes. We suggest that the higher activities of these enzymes in CJD may be partially responsible for some of the structural and biochemical alterations in CJD infected brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- J H Kim
- Section of Neuropathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
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18
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Gibson PH, Liberski PP. An electron and light microscopic study of the numbers of dystrophic neurites and vacuoles in the hippocampus of mice infected intracerebrally with scrapie. Acta Neuropathol 1987; 73:379-82. [PMID: 3618130 DOI: 10.1007/bf00688263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Numbers of dystrophic neurites, seen with the electron microscope, in CA1 of the hippocampus of either C3H mice infected with 22C or 79A strains of scrapie, or LM mice infected with strain ME7 were greater than in age-matched control mice. Vacuolation, seen by light microscopy in CA1 of the hippocampus of mice infected with either 22C or 79A, preceded the increase in dystrophic neurites by up to about 20 days. In mice infected with ME7, however, the vacuolation followed the increase in dystrophic neurites by some 20 to 40 days. In view of the differences in the times at which dystrophic neurites and vacuolation were seen, no causative relationship between the two lesions appeared to exist.
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Merz PA, Kascsak RJ, Rubenstein R, Carp RI, Wisniewski HM. Antisera to scrapie-associated fibril protein and prion protein decorate scrapie-associated fibrils. J Virol 1987; 61:42-9. [PMID: 2878092 PMCID: PMC255197 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.61.1.42-49.1987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Scrapie-associated fibrils (SAF) are an infection-specific structure observed in the unconventional-agent diseases. Polyclonal antisera raised to scrapie proteins were used to test the antigenic relationship between purified fibrils and SAF isolated from non-protease-treated synaptosomal-mitochondrial preparations. The experimental design utilized fibrils from scrapie strain 263K-infected hamsters, scrapie strain 139A-infected mice, and scrapie strain ME7-infected mice. Preparations were examined by negative-stain immune electron microscopy and Western blot analysis of the polypeptides. Fibrils and polypeptides from each preparation reacted with a rabbit antiserum raised to each of the following: hamster 263K prion protein (PrP 27-30), hamster 263K SAF protein, and mouse ME7 SAF protein. Immune electron microscopy and Western blot analysis revealed similar antigenic relationships among the three scrapie antisera. Thus, fibrils and polypeptides can be considered to be the same in each preparation. No reactivity of the fibrils was observed with antisera raised to Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles or a synthetic peptide of cerebrovascular amyloid. Thus, the fibrils observed in purified preparations share structural and antigenic similarities plus biochemically related peptides with SAF present in non-protease-treated preparations.
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McKinley MP, Prusiner SB. Biology and structure of scrapie prions. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 1986; 28:1-57. [PMID: 3100471 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7742(08)60105-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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Prusiner SB. Scrapie prions, brain amyloid, and senile dementia. CURRENT TOPICS IN CELLULAR REGULATION 1985; 26:79-95. [PMID: 2934227 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-152826-3.50014-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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Abstract
Striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) experimentally infected with street rabies virus developed spongiform lesions that light- and electron-microscopically were indistinguishable from those found in the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies of man and animals. These previously unreported lesions were also detected in naturally occurring cases of rabies. The spongiform lesions consisted of round or oval vacuoles in the neuropil, rarely in neuronal perikarya. The most severely affected areas were the thalamus and cerebral cortex. The implications of this finding include similarities in the pathogenetic mechanisms of rabies and the traditional spongiform encephalopathies and the possibility of lesion variation due to differences in rabies viral strains. The spongiform lesions of rabies will require consideration in differential diagnosis.
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Prusiner SB, McKinley MP, Bowman KA, Bolton DC, Bendheim PE, Groth DF, Glenner GG. Scrapie prions aggregate to form amyloid-like birefringent rods. Cell 1983; 35:349-58. [PMID: 6418385 DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90168-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 833] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
A large scale purification protocol employing zonal rotor centrifugation has been developed for scrapie prions. The extensively purified fractions derived using this protocol contained only one major protein, designated PrP, and rod-shaped particles. The rods measured 10 to 20 nm in diameter and 100 to 200 nm in length by negative staining; no other particles were consistently observed. SDS denaturation caused the rods to disappear, prion infectivity to diminish, and PrP to become sensitive to protease digestion. Arrays of prion rods ultrastructurally resembled purified amyloid and showed green birefringence by polarization microscopy after staining with Congo red dye. The rods appear to represent a polymeric form of the scrapie prion; each rod may contain as many as 1,000 PrP molecules. Our findings raise the possibility that the amyloid plaques observed in transmissible, degenerative neurological diseases might consist of prions.
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Nagara H, Suzuki K, Tiffany CW, Suzuki K. Triethyl tin does not induce intramyelinic vacuoles in the cns of the quaking mouse. Brain Res 1981; 225:413-20. [PMID: 7306797 DOI: 10.1016/0006-8993(81)90846-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Triethyl tin (TET), when injected intraperitoneally, failed to produce the typical intramyelinic edema in the spinal cord of quaking mice with two different genetic backgrounds (B6C3H-qk and BTBRTF/Nev-qk), while control littermates and normal C57BL/6J mice were susceptible, as expected. The only prominent change in the quaking mice was the presence of spherical vacuoles containing floccular electron-dense materials, some of which were clearly within the oligodendroglial perikarya and the inner and outer tongues. They are likely to represent degenerative responses. Consistent with the lack of edema, no increase in the water content was found in the quaking spinal cord following TET injection. Although the presence of numerous interlamellar tight junctions in quaking CNS myelin may mechanically restrict formation of the intralamellar vacuoles, the unique changes in the oligodendroglia and the lack of edema fluid accumulation suggest more fundamental metabolic abnormality that renders the quaking CNS resistant to the triethyl tin-induced edema.
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Museteanu C, Diringer H. Perivascular infiltrates of leukocytes in brains of scrapie-infected mice. Nature 1981; 294:360-1. [PMID: 7198185 DOI: 10.1038/294360a0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Traub RD, Pedley TA. Virus-induced electrotonic coupling: hypothesis on the mechanism of periodic EEG discharges in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Ann Neurol 1981; 10:405-10. [PMID: 6272624 DOI: 10.1002/ana.410100502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Experimental evidence and computer modeling indicate that periodic synchronous cellular depolarizing bursts (interictal spikes) arise when the balance recurrent inhibition and local excitatory coupling is altered. Such a mechanism may explain the generalized periodic sharp waves that characterize the electroencephalogram of many patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, fusions of neuronal processes, particularly dendrites, may lead to abnormal electrotonic coupling between cells, providing the basis for powerful excitatory interaction whereby large neuronal aggregates burst in near synchrony. Cortical synchronous discharges would give rise to sharp waves in the electroencephalogram, whereas similar discharges in brainstem, spinal cord, or elsewhere could lead to myoclonic jerks.
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Rutter G, Asher DM, Rohwer RG, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek DC. Increased concanavalin A capping in cells from brains of scrapie-infected hamsters. Arch Virol 1981; 68:129-33. [PMID: 7195698 DOI: 10.1007/bf01314442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Magalhaes-Castro HH, Kruger L. Polysaccharide and cytoplasmic changes in motoneurons during "chromatolysis" in the opossum spinal cord. J Comp Neurol 1981; 196:53-71. [PMID: 6162865 DOI: 10.1002/cne.901960106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Following axotomy, motoneurons of the opossum spinal cord display an early "axon reaction" or "chromatolysis" characterized by a redistribution of ribosomes accounting for a widespread basophilia and an apparent reduction in the size of two distinct varieties of Nissl bodies. This alteration is accompanied by zones of increased extracellular glycocalyx demonstrable in light and electron microscopy. In addition, large intracellular periodic acid-Schiff-positive vacuolated zones in the neuron periphery possess numerous free ribosomes, glycogen, lipids, and huge vacuolated sacs containing a flocculent matrix material similar to that found within the sacs of granular endoplasmic reticulum. "Artifacts" in the neuronal periphery associated with chromatolysis seen in light microscopy are probably related to polysaccharide alterations and redistribution of granular endoplasmic reticulum.
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Sato Y, Ohta M, Tateishi J. Experimental transmission of human subacute spongiform encephalopathy to small rodents. II. Ultrastructural study of spongy state in the gray and white matter. Acta Neuropathol 1980; 51:135-40. [PMID: 7001849 DOI: 10.1007/bf00690455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Light and electron microscopic findings of spongy state in four species of small rodents, viz, mice, rats, Mongolian gerbils, and guinea pigs, are described. The spongy state existed in both gray and white matter; its intensity varied in each species, and in the gray matter corresponded to vacuoles within the neuropil. They were of two types; one was the true vacuoles within neurites, and the other was markedly swollen cell processes, some of which were also identified as neurites. In the white matter, the spongy state corresponded mainly to distension of the myelin sheaths, due to splitting of the major dense line or swelling of the inner loop, and partly to intra-axonal vacuoles. In mice before appearance of clinical symptoms, the vacuolation occurred first in the cerebral white matter 5 weeks after inoculation and in the cerebral cortex at 7 weeks. The occurrence and development of the vacuoles are discussed.
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Yajima K, Suzuki K. Neuronal degeneration in the brain of the brindled mouse. An ultrastructural study of the cerebral cortical neurons. Acta Neuropathol 1979; 45:17-25. [PMID: 760362 DOI: 10.1007/bf00691800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The brindled mouse (Mobr) is a neurological mutant mouse with clinical and biochemical features closely similar to Kinky hair syndrome (KHS) in humans. Neuronal degeneration in the cerebral cortex and thalamic nuclei was the constant neuropathological lesions in the CNS of the male hemizygotes of this mutant (Yajima and Suzuki, 1978). Ultrastructurally, many cortical neurons contained enlarged mitochondria with prominent tubular or vesicular cristae, which were similar to those described in the Purkinje cells in the human KHS (Ghatak et al., 1972) and in the rat brain with copper deficiency (Prohaska and Wells, 1975). Such mitochondria were observed not only in the degenerating neurons but even in the otherwise normal-appearing cortical neurons, suggesting that the mitochondrial damage possibly related to the deficient activities of the copper containing enzymes (cytochrome oxidase, etc.) preceded the neuronal degeneration. Many mitochondria in the severely degenerated neurons contained numerous electron dense spicules of possible calcium. Although rare, similar morphological alteration of neuronal mitochondria was also noted in the female heterozygotes, indicating the presence of possible subclinical defect in copper transport in the heterozygotes as well.
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Abstract
Scrapie, kuru, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are characterized by a similar spongiform pathology, prolonged incubation periods, and an agent with unique physical, chemical, and biological properties. Swiss mice were inoculated with the scrapie agent and sacrificed three to five months later for light and electron microscopy. At three months, small vacuoles were seen within the neuropil of the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia. By the fifth month these vacuoles had increased in number and size and were accompanied by moderate astrocytic proliferation. The brainstem, cerebellum, and spinal cord showed variable changes of much less intensity. Many dilated postsynaptic processes contained osmiophilic particles in random or crystalline arrays. The particles, measuring approximately 23 nm in diameter, appeared consistently in postsynaptic processes of brain from scrapie-infected mice, were lacking in controls, and were a size consistent with sedimentation and filtration data for the scrapie agent. Whether these particles represent the scrapie agent must await further studies.
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Abstract
Slow viruses produce diseases whose incubation periods range from several months to many years. Because of this long latency period, the lack of inflammation produced by these diseases and the lack of recoverable virus particles, it is only recently that the association has been made between the viruses and the diseases they cause. The detailed study of kuru, a neurologic affliction of a remote tribe of cannibals in New Guinea, was responsible for the synthesis of new and previously gathered information into a unified framework to explain not only kuru but other diseases as well. Since then, animal models, transmission experiments and histologic and biochemical studies have unveiled new links connecting viruses to previously obscure neurologic, neurophthalmic and ophthalmic entities.
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Semancik JS, Vanderwoude WJ. Exocortis viroid: cytopathic effects at the plasma membrane in association with pathogenic RNA. Virology 1976; 69:719-26. [PMID: 1258367 DOI: 10.1016/0042-6822(76)90500-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Payne CM, Sibley WA. Intranuclear inclusions in a case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: an ultrastructural study. Acta Neuropathol 1975; 31:353-61. [PMID: 1098360 DOI: 10.1007/bf00687930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Two types of intranuclear inclusions were described in a brain biopsy from a patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The first type of intranculear inclusion was papova virus-like and was observed within 20% of the nuclei of all astrocytes and neurons examined. The particles measured 32 nm in diameter and consisted of a dense core surrounded by a multi-layered shell. The second type of intranuclear inculsion was a granulo-fibrillar nuclear body found within the nuclei of astrocytes and neurons. The possible significance of these inculsions to the etiology of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is discussed.
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Lampert PW, Oldstone MB. Pathology of choroid plexus in spontaneous immune complex disease and chronic viral infections. VIRCHOWS ARCHIV. A, PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY AND HISTOLOGY 1974; 363:21-32. [PMID: 4276256 DOI: 10.1007/bf00432202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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Lamar CH, Gustafson DP, Krasovich M, Hinsman EJ. Ultrastructural studies of spleens, brains, and brain cell cultures of mice with scrapie. Vet Pathol 1974; 11:13-9. [PMID: 4215206 DOI: 10.1177/030098587401100102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Mouse brains, cell cultures of mouse brains, and spleens from mice with scrapie were examined by electron microscopy. Brains and spleens of 10 scrapie-inoculated and control mice were studied. Seven brain-cell cultures, four of which were from mice inoculated intracerebrally or subcutaneously with scrapie, were examined. Status spongiosus and vacuolated neurons were found in the brains. Structures 35 nm in diameter were seen in the brains of mice inoculated intracerebrally. They were not evident in cell cultures, although a vacuolated structure was found in one such culture. No significant changes were found in the spleens.
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Narang HK. An electron microscopic study of natural scrapie sheep brain: further observations on virus-like particles and paramyxovirus-like tubules. Acta Neuropathol 1974; 28:317-29. [PMID: 4446935 DOI: 10.1007/bf00685286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Field EJ, Narang HK. An electron-microscopic study of scrapie in the rat: further observations on "inclusion bodies" and virus-like particles. J Neurol Sci 1972; 17:347-64. [PMID: 4631789 DOI: 10.1016/0022-510x(72)90038-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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Draper P. Unemployment and health care. Lancet 1972; 1:689. [PMID: 4125192 DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(72)90493-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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46
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Adornato B, Lampert P. Status spongiosus of nervous tissue. Electron microscopic studies. Acta Neuropathol 1971; 19:271-89. [PMID: 5004121 DOI: 10.1007/bf00692148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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