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Marín-Moreno A, Reine F, Herzog L, Aron N, Jaffrézic F, Vilotte JL, Rezaei H, Andréoletti O, Martin D, Béringue V. Assessment of the Zoonotic Potential of Atypical Scrapie Prions in Humanized Mice Reveals Rare Phenotypic Convergence but Not Identity With Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Prions. J Infect Dis 2024; 230:161-171. [PMID: 39052723 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiae093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Atypical/Nor98 scrapie (AS) is an idiopathic infectious prion disease affecting sheep and goats. Recent findings suggest that zoonotic prions from classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (C-BSE) may copropagate with atypical/Nor98 prions in AS sheep brains. Investigating the risk AS poses to humans is crucial. METHODS To assess the risk of sheep/goat-to-human transmission of AS, we serially inoculated brain tissue from field and laboratory isolates into transgenic mice overexpressing human prion protein (Met129 allele). We studied clinical outcomes as well as presence of prions in brains and spleens. RESULTS No transmission occurred on the primary passage, with no clinical disease or pathological prion protein in brains and spleens. On subsequent passages, 1 isolate gradually adapted, manifesting as prions with a phenotype resembling those causing MM1-type sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. However, further characterization using in vivo and in vitro techniques confirmed both prion agents as different strains, revealing a case of phenotypic convergence. Importantly, no C-BSE prions emerged in these mice, especially in the spleen, which is more permissive than the brain for C-BSE cross-species transmission. CONCLUSIONS The results obtained suggest a low zoonotic potential for AS. Rare adaptation may allow the emergence of prions phenotypically resembling those spontaneously forming in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Marín-Moreno
- Université Paris-Saclay, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Université Versailles-Saint Quentin, Unité de Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Fabienne Reine
- Université Paris-Saclay, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Université Versailles-Saint Quentin, Unité de Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Laetitia Herzog
- Université Paris-Saclay, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Université Versailles-Saint Quentin, Unité de Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Naima Aron
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Unité Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Toulouse, France
| | - Florence Jaffrézic
- Université Paris-Saclay, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, AgroParisTech, Unité de Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Jean-Luc Vilotte
- Université Paris-Saclay, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, AgroParisTech, Unité de Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Human Rezaei
- Université Paris-Saclay, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Université Versailles-Saint Quentin, Unité de Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Unité Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Toulouse, France
| | - Davy Martin
- Université Paris-Saclay, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Université Versailles-Saint Quentin, Unité de Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Vincent Béringue
- Université Paris-Saclay, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Université Versailles-Saint Quentin, Unité de Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
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2
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Simmons SM, Bartz JC. Strain-Specific Targeting and Destruction of Cells by Prions. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:57. [PMID: 38275733 PMCID: PMC10813089 DOI: 10.3390/biology13010057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Prion diseases are caused by the disease-specific self-templating infectious conformation of the host-encoded prion protein, PrPSc. Prion strains are operationally defined as a heritable phenotype of disease under controlled conditions. One of the hallmark phenotypes of prion strain diversity is tropism within and between tissues. A defining feature of prion strains is the regional distribution of PrPSc in the CNS. Additionally, in both natural and experimental prion disease, stark differences in the tropism of prions in secondary lymphoreticular system tissues occur. The mechanism underlying prion tropism is unknown; however, several possible hypotheses have been proposed. Clinical target areas are prion strain-specific populations of neurons within the CNS that are susceptible to neurodegeneration following the replication of prions past a toxic threshold. Alternatively, the switch from a replicative to toxic form of PrPSc may drive prion tropism. The normal form of the prion protein, PrPC, is required for prion formation. More recent evidence suggests that it can mediate prion and prion-like disease neurodegeneration. In vitro systems for prion formation have indicated that cellular cofactors contribute to prion formation. Since these cofactors can be strain specific, this has led to the hypothesis that the distribution of prion formation cofactors can influence prion tropism. Overall, there is evidence to support several mechanisms of prion strain tropism; however, a unified theory has yet to emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jason C. Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA;
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3
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Bohl J, Moudjou M, Herzog L, Reine F, Sailer F, Klute H, Halgand F, Rest GVD, Boulard Y, Béringue V, Igel A, Rezaei H. The Smallest Infectious Substructure Encoding the Prion Strain Structural Determinant Revealed by Spontaneous Dissociation of Misfolded Prion Protein Assemblies. J Mol Biol 2023; 435:168280. [PMID: 37730082 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2023.168280] [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: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
It is commonly accepted that the prion replicative propensity and strain structural determinant (SSD) are encoded in the fold of PrPSc amyloid fibril assemblies. By exploring the quaternary structure dynamicity of several prion strains, we revealed that all mammalian prion assemblies exhibit the generic property of spontaneously generating two sets of discreet infectious tetrameric and dimeric species differing significantly by their specific infectivity. By using perturbation approaches such as dilution and ionic strength variation, we demonstrated that these two oligomeric species were highly dynamic and evolved differently in the presence of chaotropic agents. In general, our observations of seven different prion strains from three distinct species highlight the high dynamicity of PrPSc assemblies as a common and intrinsic property of mammalian prions. The existence of such small infectious PrPSc species harboring the SSD indicates that the prion infectivity and the SSD are not restricted only to the amyloid fold but can also be encoded in other alternative quaternary structures. Such diversity in the quaternary structure of prion assemblies tends to indicate that the structure of PrPSc can be divided into two independent folding domains: a domain encoding the strain structural determinant and a second domain whose fold determines the type of quaternary structure that could adopt PrPSc assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Bohl
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France; ICP, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - Mohammed Moudjou
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Laetitia Herzog
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Fabienne Reine
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Fiona Sailer
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Hannah Klute
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | | | | | - Yves Boulard
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Vincent Béringue
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Angelique Igel
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Human Rezaei
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAe, UVSQ, VIM, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
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4
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Acevedo S, Stewart AJ. Eco-evolutionary trade-offs in the dynamics of prion strain competition. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230905. [PMID: 37403499 PMCID: PMC10320356 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0905] [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: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion and prion-like molecules are a type of self-replicating aggregate protein that have been implicated in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Over recent decades, the molecular dynamics of prions have been characterized both empirically and through mathematical models, providing insights into the epidemiology of prion diseases and the impact of prions on the evolution of cellular processes. At the same time, a variety of evidence indicates that prions are themselves capable of a form of evolution, in which changes to their structure that impact their rate of growth or fragmentation are replicated, making such changes subject to natural selection. Here we study the role of such selection in shaping the characteristics of prions under the nucleated polymerization model (NPM). We show that fragmentation rates evolve to an evolutionary stable value which balances rapid reproduction of PrPSc aggregates with the need to produce stable polymers. We further show that this evolved fragmentation rate differs in general from the rate that optimizes transmission between cells. We find that under the NPM, prions that are both evolutionary stable and optimized for transmission have a characteristic length of three times the critical length below which they become unstable. Finally, we study the dynamics of inter-cellular competition between strains, and show that the eco-evolutionary trade-off between intra- and inter-cellular competition favours coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saul Acevedo
- Department of Biology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Alexander J. Stewart
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9SS, UK
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5
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Sun JL, Telling GC. New developments in prion disease research using genetically modified mouse models. Cell Tissue Res 2023; 392:33-46. [PMID: 36929219 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-023-03761-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
While much of what we know about the general principles of protein-based information transfer derives from studies of experimentally adapted rodent prions, these laboratory strains are limited in their ability to recapitulate features of human and animal prions and the diseases they produce. Here, we review how recent approaches using genetically modified mice have informed our understanding of naturally occurring prion diseases, their strain properties, and the factors controlling their transmission and evolution. In light of the increasing importance of chronic wasting disease, the application of mouse transgenesis to study this burgeoning and highly contagious prion disorder, in particular recent insights derived from gene-targeting approaches, will be a major focus of this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julianna L Sun
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA
| | - Glenn C Telling
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA.
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6
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Igel A, Fornara B, Rezaei H, Béringue V. Prion assemblies: structural heterogeneity, mechanisms of formation, and role in species barrier. Cell Tissue Res 2022; 392:149-166. [PMID: 36399162 PMCID: PMC10113350 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03700-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
AbstractPrions are proteinaceous pathogens responsible for a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases in animal and human. Prions are formed from misfolded, ß-sheet rich, and aggregated conformers (PrPSc) of the host-encoded prion protein (PrPC). Prion replication stems from the capacity of PrPSc to self-replicate by templating PrPC conversion and polymerization. The question then arises about the molecular mechanisms of prion replication, host invasion, and capacity to contaminate other species. Studying these mechanisms has gained in recent years further complexity with evidence that PrPSc is a pleiomorphic protein. There is indeed compelling evidence for PrPSc structural heterogeneity at different scales: (i) within prion susceptible host populations with the existence of different strains with specific biological features due to different PrPSc conformers, (ii) within a single infected host with the co-propagation of different strains, and (iii) within a single strain with evidence for co-propagation of PrPSc assemblies differing in their secondary to quaternary structure. This review summarizes current knowledge of prion assembly heterogeneity, potential mechanisms of formation during the replication process, and importance when crossing the species barrier.
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7
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García-Martínez M, Cortez LM, Otero A, Betancor M, Serrano-Pérez B, Bolea R, Badiola JJ, Garza MC. Distinctive Toll-like Receptors Gene Expression and Glial Response in Different Brain Regions of Natural Scrapie. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23073579. [PMID: 35408945 PMCID: PMC8998348 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23073579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are chronic and fatal neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of disease-specific prion protein (PrPSc), spongiform changes, neuronal loss, and gliosis. Growing evidence shows that the neuroinflammatory response is a key component of prion diseases and contributes to neurodegeneration. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been proposed as important mediators of innate immune responses triggered in the central nervous system in other human neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, little is known about the role of TLRs in prion diseases, and their involvement in the neuropathology of natural scrapie has not been studied. We assessed the gene expression of ovine TLRs in four anatomically distinct brain regions in natural scrapie-infected sheep and evaluated the possible correlations between gene expression and the pathological hallmarks of prion disease. We observed significant changes in TLR expression in scrapie-infected sheep that correlate with the degree of spongiosis, PrPSc deposition, and gliosis in each of the regions studied. Remarkably, TLR4 was the only gene upregulated in all regions, regardless of the severity of neuropathology. In the hippocampus, we observed milder neuropathology associated with a distinct TLR gene expression profile and the presence of a peculiar microglial morphology, called rod microglia, described here for the first time in the brain of scrapie-infected sheep. The concurrence of these features suggests partial neuroprotection of the hippocampus. Finally, a comparison of the findings in naturallyinfected sheep versus an ovinized mouse model (tg338 mice) revealed distinct patterns of TLRgene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirta García-Martínez
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, IA2, IIS Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain; (M.G.-M.); (M.B.); (R.B.); (J.J.B.)
| | - Leonardo M. Cortez
- Department of Medicine and Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G3, Canada
- Correspondence: (L.M.C.); (A.O.)
| | - Alicia Otero
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, IA2, IIS Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain; (M.G.-M.); (M.B.); (R.B.); (J.J.B.)
- Correspondence: (L.M.C.); (A.O.)
| | - Marina Betancor
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, IA2, IIS Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain; (M.G.-M.); (M.B.); (R.B.); (J.J.B.)
| | - Beatriz Serrano-Pérez
- Agrotecnio-CERCA Center, Department of Animal Science, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain;
| | - Rosa Bolea
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, IA2, IIS Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain; (M.G.-M.); (M.B.); (R.B.); (J.J.B.)
| | - Juan J. Badiola
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, IA2, IIS Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain; (M.G.-M.); (M.B.); (R.B.); (J.J.B.)
| | - María Carmen Garza
- Departamento de Anatomía e Histología Humanas, IIS Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain;
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8
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Wagner K, Pierce R, Gordon E, Hay A, Lessard A, Telling GC, Ballard JR, Moreno JA, Zabel MD. Tissue-specific biochemical differences between chronic wasting disease prions isolated from free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). J Biol Chem 2022; 298:101834. [PMID: 35304100 PMCID: PMC9019250 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an invariably fatal prion disease affecting cervid species worldwide. Prions can manifest as distinct strains that can influence disease pathology and transmission. CWD is profoundly lymphotropic, and most infected cervids likely shed peripheral prions replicated in lymphoid organs. However, CWD is a neurodegenerative disease, and most research on prion strains has focused on neurogenic prions. Thus, a knowledge gap exists comparing neurogenic prions to lymphogenic prions. In this study, we compared prions from the obex and lymph nodes of naturally exposed white-tailed deer to identify potential biochemical strain differences. Here, we report biochemical evidence of strain differences between the brain and lymph node from these animals. Conformational stability assays, glycoform ratio analyses, and immunoreactivity scanning across the structured domain of the prion protein that refolds into the amyloid aggregate of the infectious prion reveal significantly more structural and glycoform variation in lymphogenic prions than neurogenic prions. Surprisingly, we observed greater biochemical differences among neurogenic prions than lymphogenic prions across individuals. We propose that the lymphoreticular system propagates a diverse array of prions from which the brain selects a more restricted pool of prions that may be quite different than those from another individual of the same species. Future work should examine the biological and zoonotic impact of these biochemical differences and examine more cervids from multiple locations to determine if these differences are conserved across species and locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn Wagner
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Robyn Pierce
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Elizabeth Gordon
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Arielle Hay
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Avery Lessard
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Glenn C. Telling
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Jennifer R. Ballard
- Research Division, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
| | - Julie A. Moreno
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Mark D. Zabel
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,For correspondence: Mark D. Zabel
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9
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Moazami-Goudarzi K, Andréoletti O, Vilotte JL, Béringue V. Review on PRNP genetics and susceptibility to chronic wasting disease of Cervidae. Vet Res 2021; 52:128. [PMID: 34620247 PMCID: PMC8499490 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-021-00993-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the most infectious form of prion disease affecting several captive, free ranging and wild cervid species. Responsible for marked population declines in North America, its geographical spread is now becoming a major concern in Europe. Polymorphisms in the prion protein gene (PRNP) are an important factor influencing the susceptibility to prions and their rate of propagation. All reported cervid PRNP genotypes are affected by CWD. However, in each species, some polymorphisms are associated with lower attack rates and slower progression of the disease. This has potential consequences in terms of genetic selection, CWD diffusion and strain evolution. CWD also presents a zoonotic risk due to prions capacity to cross species barriers. This review summarizes our current understanding of CWD control, focusing on PRNP genetic, strain diversity and capacity to infect other animal species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRAE ENVT 1225 - IHAP, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 31076, Toulouse, France
| | - Jean-Luc Vilotte
- University Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Vincent Béringue
- University Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
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10
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Nochebuena J, Quintanar L, Vela A, Cisneros GA. Structural and electronic analysis of the octarepeat region of prion protein with four Cu 2+ by polarizable MD and QM/MM simulations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:21568-21578. [PMID: 34550129 PMCID: PMC8497436 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp03187b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Prions have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases that affect various species of mammals including humans. The prion protein, located mainly in neurons, is believed to play the role of metal ion transporter. High levels of copper ions have been related to structural changes. A 32-residue region of the N-terminal domain, known as octarepeat, can bind up to four copper ions. Different coordination modes have been observed and are strongly dependent on Cu2+ concentration. Many theoretical studies carried out so far have focused on studying the coordination modes of a single copper ion. In this work we investigate the octarepeat region coordinated with four copper ions. Molecular dynamics (MD) and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) simulations using the polarizable AMOEBA force field have been carried out. The polarizable MD simulations starting from a fully extended conformation indicate that the tetra-Cu2+/octarepeat complex forms a globular structure. The globular form is stabilized by interactions between Cu2+ and tryptophan residues resulting in some coordination sites observed to be in close proximity, in agreement with experimental results. Subsequent QM/MM simulations on several snapshots suggests the system is in a high-spin quintet state, with all Cu2+ bearing one single electron, and all unpaired electrons are ferromagnetically coupled. NMR simulations on selected structures provides insights on the chemical shifts of the first shell ligands around the metals with respect to inter-metal distances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Nochebuena
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, 76201, USA.
| | - Liliana Quintanar
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Mexico City, 07360, Mexico
| | - Alberto Vela
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Mexico City, 07360, Mexico
| | - G Andrés Cisneros
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, 76201, USA.
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11
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Hannaoui S, Triscott E, Duque Velásquez C, Chang SC, Arifin MI, Zemlyankina I, Tang X, Bollinger T, Wille H, McKenzie D, Gilch S. New and distinct chronic wasting disease strains associated with cervid polymorphism at codon 116 of the Prnp gene. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009795. [PMID: 34310662 PMCID: PMC8341689 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting cervids. Polymorphisms in the prion protein gene can result in extended survival of CWD-infected animals. However, the impact of polymorphisms on cellular prion protein (PrPC) and prion properties is less understood. Previously, we characterized the effects of a polymorphism at codon 116 (A>G) of the white-tailed deer (WTD) prion protein and determined that it destabilizes PrPC structure. Comparing CWD isolates from WTD expressing homozygous wild-type (116AA) or heterozygous (116AG) PrP, we found that 116AG-prions were conformationally less stable, more sensitive to proteases, with lower seeding activity in cell-free conversion and reduced infectivity. Here, we aimed to understand CWD strain emergence and adaptation. We show that the WTD-116AG isolate contains two different prion strains, distinguished by their host range, biochemical properties, and pathogenesis from WTD-116AA prions (Wisc-1). Serial passages of WTD-116AG prions in tg(CerPrP)1536+/+ mice overexpressing wild-type deer-PrPC revealed two populations of mice with short and long incubation periods, respectively, and remarkably prolonged clinical phase upon inoculation with WTD-116AG prions. Inoculation of serially diluted brain homogenates confirmed the presence of two strains in the 116AG isolate with distinct pathology in the brain. Interestingly, deglycosylation revealed proteinase K-resistant fragments with different electrophoretic mobility in both tg(CerPrP)1536+/+ mice and Syrian golden hamsters infected with WTD-116AG. Infection of tg60 mice expressing deer S96-PrP with 116AG, but not Wisc-1 prions induced clinical disease. On the contrary, bank voles resisted 116AG prions, but not Wisc-1 infection. Our data indicate that two strains co-existed in the WTD-116AG isolate, expanding the variety of CWD prion strains. We argue that the 116AG isolate does not contain Wisc-1 prions, indicating that the presence of 116G-PrPC diverted 116A-PrPC from adopting a Wisc-1 structure. This can have important implications for their possible distinct capacities to cross species barriers into both cervids and non-cervids. Chronic wasting disease belongs to the family of prion diseases. It is considered the most contagious prion disease and the only one that affects free ranging wildlife. The disease range is expanding in North America and Northern Europe. This work describes the emergence and characterization of new chronic wasting disease strains related to a polymorphism in the prion protein gene. It supports the concept that strains are a dynamic mixture of substrains that can influence and interfere with each other. Because transmission barriers are governed by the compatibility of a particular prion strain with the new host’s prion protein, it is critical to understand the emergence and variety of chronic wasting disease strains circulating in wild animals and their ability to infect new host species including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samia Hannaoui
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Triscott
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Camilo Duque Velásquez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Sheng Chun Chang
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Maria Immaculata Arifin
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Irina Zemlyankina
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Xinli Tang
- Department of Biochemistry, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Trent Bollinger
- Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Holger Wille
- Department of Biochemistry, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- * E-mail:
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12
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Bian J, Kim S, Kane SJ, Crowell J, Sun JL, Christiansen J, Saijo E, Moreno JA, DiLisio J, Burnett E, Pritzkow S, Gorski D, Soto C, Kreeger TJ, Balachandran A, Mitchell G, Miller MW, Nonno R, Vikøren T, Våge J, Madslien K, Tran L, Vuong TT, Benestad SL, Telling GC. Adaptive selection of a prion strain conformer corresponding to established North American CWD during propagation of novel emergent Norwegian strains in mice expressing elk or deer prion protein. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009748. [PMID: 34310663 PMCID: PMC8341702 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are infectious proteins causing fatal, transmissible neurodegenerative diseases of animals and humans. Replication involves template-directed refolding of host encoded prion protein, PrPC, by its infectious conformation, PrPSc. Following its discovery in captive Colorado deer in 1967, uncontrollable contagious transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) led to an expanded geographic range in increasing numbers of free-ranging and captive North American (NA) cervids. Some five decades later, detection of PrPSc in free-ranging Norwegian (NO) reindeer and moose marked the first indication of CWD in Europe. To assess the properties of these emergent NO prions and compare them with NA CWD we used transgenic (Tg) and gene targeted (Gt) mice expressing PrP with glutamine (Q) or glutamate (E) at residue 226, a variation in wild type cervid PrP which influences prion strain selection in NA deer and elk. Transmissions of NO moose and reindeer prions to Tg and Gt mice recapitulated the characteristic features of CWD in natural hosts, revealing novel prion strains with disease kinetics, neuropathological profiles, and capacities to infect lymphoid tissues and cultured cells that were distinct from those causing NA CWD. In support of strain variation, PrPSc conformers comprising emergent NO moose and reindeer CWD were subject to selective effects imposed by variation at residue 226 that were different from those controlling established NA CWD. Transmission of particular NO moose CWD prions in mice expressing E at 226 resulted in selection of a kinetically optimized conformer, subsequent transmission of which revealed properties consistent with NA CWD. These findings illustrate the potential for adaptive selection of strain conformers with improved fitness during propagation of unstable NO prions. Their potential for contagious transmission has implications for risk analyses and management of emergent European CWD. Finally, we found that Gt mice expressing physiologically controlled PrP levels recapitulated the lymphotropic properties of naturally occurring CWD strains resulting in improved susceptibilities to emergent NO reindeer prions compared with over-expressing Tg counterparts. These findings underscore the refined advantages of Gt models for exploring the mechanisms and impacts of strain selection in peripheral compartments during natural prion transmission. Prions cause fatal, transmissible neurodegenerative diseases in animals and humans. They are composed of an infectious, neurotoxic protein (PrP) which replicates by imposing pathogenic conformations on its normal, host-encoded counterpart. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious prion disorder threatening increasing numbers of free-ranging and captive North American deer, elk, and moose. While CWD detection in Norwegian reindeer and moose in 2016 marked the advent of disease in Europe, its origins and relationship to North American CWD were initially unclear. Here we show, using mice engineered to express deer or elk PrP, that Norwegian reindeer and moose CWD are caused by novel prion strains with properties distinct from those of North American CWD. We found that selection and propagation of North American and Norwegian CWD strains was controlled by a key amino acid residue in host PrP. We also found that particular Norwegian isolates adapted during their propagation in mice to produce prions with characteristics of the North American strain. Our findings defining the transmission profiles of novel Norwegian prions and their unstable potential to produce adapted strains with improved fitness for contagious transmission have implications for risk analyses and management of emergent European CWD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jifeng Bian
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Sehun Kim
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Sarah J. Kane
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Jenna Crowell
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Julianna L. Sun
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey Christiansen
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Eri Saijo
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Julie A. Moreno
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - James DiLisio
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Emily Burnett
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Sandra Pritzkow
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Damian Gorski
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Claudio Soto
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Terry J. Kreeger
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wheatland, Wyoming, United States of America
| | - Aru Balachandran
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Gordon Mitchell
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Michael W. Miller
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Veterinary Public Health, Nutrition and Food Safety, Rome, Italy
| | - Turid Vikøren
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jørn Våge
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Knut Madslien
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Linh Tran
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Tram Thu Vuong
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sylvie L. Benestad
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Glenn C. Telling
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Betancor M, Moreno-Martínez L, López-Pérez Ó, Otero A, Hernaiz A, Barrio T, Badiola JJ, Osta R, Bolea R, Martín-Burriel I. Therapeutic Assay with the Non-toxic C-Terminal Fragment of Tetanus Toxin (TTC) in Transgenic Murine Models of Prion Disease. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:5312-5326. [PMID: 34283400 PMCID: PMC8497292 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02489-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The non-toxic C-terminal fragment of the tetanus toxin (TTC) has been described as a neuroprotective molecule since it binds to Trk receptors and activates Trk-dependent signaling, activating neuronal survival pathways and inhibiting apoptosis. Previous in vivo studies have demonstrated the ability of this molecule to increase mice survival, inhibit apoptosis and regulate autophagy in murine models of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy. Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders in which the main pathogenic event is the conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into an abnormal and misfolded isoform known as PrPSc. These diseases share different pathological features with other neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease. Hitherto, there are no effective therapies to treat prion diseases. Here, we present a pilot study to test the therapeutic potential of TTC to treat prion diseases. C57BL6 wild-type mice and the transgenic mice Tg338, which overexpress PrPC, were intracerebrally inoculated with scrapie prions and then subjected to a treatment consisting of repeated intramuscular injections of TTC. Our results indicate that TTC displays neuroprotective effects in the murine models of prion disease reducing apoptosis, regulating autophagy and therefore increasing neuronal survival, although TTC did not increase survival time in these models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Betancor
- Centro de Encefalopatías Y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Universidad de Zaragoza, IA2, IIS Aragón, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Laura Moreno-Martínez
- Laboratory of Genetics and Biochemistry (LAGENBIO), Faculty of Veterinary, Institute for Health Research Aragon (IIS Aragón), AgriFood Institute of Aragon (IA2), University of Zaragoza, Miguel Servet 177, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Óscar López-Pérez
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alicia Otero
- Centro de Encefalopatías Y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Universidad de Zaragoza, IA2, IIS Aragón, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Adelaida Hernaiz
- Centro de Encefalopatías Y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Universidad de Zaragoza, IA2, IIS Aragón, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.,Laboratory of Genetics and Biochemistry (LAGENBIO), Faculty of Veterinary, Institute for Health Research Aragon (IIS Aragón), AgriFood Institute of Aragon (IA2), University of Zaragoza, Miguel Servet 177, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Tomás Barrio
- UMR Institut National de La Recherche Pour L'Agriculture, L'Alimentation Et L'Environment (INRAE)/École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT) 1225 IHAP (Interactions Hôtes-Agents Pathogènes), 31076, Toulouse, France
| | - Juan José Badiola
- Centro de Encefalopatías Y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Universidad de Zaragoza, IA2, IIS Aragón, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Rosario Osta
- Laboratory of Genetics and Biochemistry (LAGENBIO), Faculty of Veterinary, Institute for Health Research Aragon (IIS Aragón), AgriFood Institute of Aragon (IA2), University of Zaragoza, Miguel Servet 177, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rosa Bolea
- Centro de Encefalopatías Y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Universidad de Zaragoza, IA2, IIS Aragón, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - Inmaculada Martín-Burriel
- Centro de Encefalopatías Y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Universidad de Zaragoza, IA2, IIS Aragón, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.,Laboratory of Genetics and Biochemistry (LAGENBIO), Faculty of Veterinary, Institute for Health Research Aragon (IIS Aragón), AgriFood Institute of Aragon (IA2), University of Zaragoza, Miguel Servet 177, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
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14
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Bartz JC. Environmental and host factors that contribute to prion strain evolution. Acta Neuropathol 2021; 142:5-16. [PMID: 33899132 PMCID: PMC8932343 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-021-02310-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Prions are novel pathogens that are composed entirely of PrPSc, the self-templating conformation of the host prion protein, PrPC. Prion strains are operationally defined as a heritable phenotype of disease that are encoded by strain-specific conformations of PrPSc. The factors that influence the relative distribution of strains in a population are only beginning to be understood. For prions with an infectious etiology, environmental factors, such as strain-specific binding to surfaces and resistance to weathering, can influence which strains are available for transmission to a naïve host. Strain-specific differences in efficiency of infection by natural routes of infection can also select for prion strains. The host amino acid sequence of PrPC has the greatest effect on dictating the repertoire of prion strains. The relative abundance of PrPC, post-translational modifications of PrPC and cellular co-factors involved in prion conversion can also provide conditions that favor the prevalence of a subset of prion strains. Additionally, prion strains can interfere with each other, influencing the emergence of a dominant strain. Overall, both environmental and host factors may influence the repertoire and distribution of strains within a population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason C Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA.
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15
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Considering the use of the terms strain and adaptation in prion research. Heliyon 2021; 7:e06801. [PMID: 33898853 PMCID: PMC8060586 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary biologists and disease biologists use the terms strain and adaptation in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) research in different ways. In evolutionary biology, a strain is a nascent genetic lineage that can be described by a genealogy, and a phylogenetic nomenclature constructed to reflect that genealogy. Prion strains are described as showing distinct host range, clinical presentation, disease progression, and neuropathological and PrP biochemical profiles, and lack information that would permit phylogenetic reconstruction of their history. Prion strains are alternative protein conformations, sometimes derived from the same genotype. I suggest referring to prion strains as ecotypes, because the variant phenotypic conformations ("strains") are a function of the interaction between PRNP amino acid genotype and the host environment. In the case of CWD, a prion ecotype in white-tailed deer would be described by its genotype and the host in which it occurs, such as the H95 + ecotype. However, an evolutionary nomenclature is difficult because not all individuals with the same PRNP genotype show signs of CWD, therefore creating a nomenclature reflecting and one-to-one relationship between PRNP genealogy and CWD presence is difficult. Furthermore, very little information exists on the phylogenetic distribution of CWD ecotypes in wild deer populations. Adaptation has a clear meaning in evolutionary biology, the differential survival and reproduction of individual genotypes. If a new prion ecotype arises in a particular host and kills more hosts or kills at an earlier age, it is the antithesis of the evolutionary definition of adaptation. However, prion strains might be transmitted across generations epigenetically, but whether this represents adaptation depends on the fitness consequences of the strain. Protein phenotypes of PRNP that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), and CWD, are maladaptive and would not be propagated genetically or epigenetically via a process consistent with an evolutionary view of adaptation. I suggest terming the process of prion strain origination "phenotypic transformation", and only adaptation if evidence shows they are not maladaptive and persist over evolutionary time periods (e.g., thousands of generations) and across distinct species boundaries (via inheritance). Thus, prion biologists use strain and adaptation, historically evolutionary terms, in quite different ways.
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16
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Marín-Moreno A, Aguilar-Calvo P, Espinosa JC, Zamora-Ceballos M, Pitarch JL, González L, Fernández-Borges N, Orge L, Andréoletti O, Nonno R, Torres JM. Classical scrapie in small ruminants is caused by at least four different prion strains. Vet Res 2021; 52:57. [PMID: 33858518 PMCID: PMC8048364 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-021-00929-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The diversity of goat scrapie strains in Europe has recently been studied using bioassays in a wide collection of rodent models, resulting in the classification of classical scrapie into four different categories. However, the sole use of the first passage does not lead to isolate adaptation and identification of the strains involved and might therefore lead to misclassification of some scrapie isolates. Therefore, this work reports the complete transmission study of a wide collection of goat transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) isolates by intracranial inoculation in two transgenic mouse lines overexpressing either small ruminant (TgGoat-ARQ) or bovine (TgBov) PrPC. To compare scrapie strains in sheep and goats, sheep scrapie isolates from different European countries were also included in the study. Once the species barrier phenomenon was overcome, an accurate classification of the isolates was attained. Thus, the use of just two rodent models allowed us to fully differentiate at least four different classical scrapie strains in small ruminants and to identify isolates containing mixtures of strains. This work reinforces the idea that classical scrapie in small ruminants is a prion disease caused by multiple different prion strains and not by a single strain, as is the case for epidemic classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE-C). In addition, the clear dissimilarity between the different scrapie strains and BSE-C does not support the idea that classical scrapie is the origin of epidemic BSE-C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Marín-Moreno
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Aguilar-Calvo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.,Departments of Pathology and Medicine, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Juan Carlos Espinosa
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - José Luis Pitarch
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Leonor Orge
- Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRAE ENVT 1225-IHAP, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Veterinary Public Health, Nutrition and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanitá, Rome, Italy
| | - Juan María Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.
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Arifin MI, Hannaoui S, Chang SC, Thapa S, Schatzl HM, Gilch S. Cervid Prion Protein Polymorphisms: Role in Chronic Wasting Disease Pathogenesis. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22052271. [PMID: 33668798 PMCID: PMC7956812 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22052271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease found in both free-ranging and farmed cervids. Susceptibility of these animals to CWD is governed by various exogenous and endogenous factors. Past studies have demonstrated that polymorphisms within the prion protein (PrP) sequence itself affect an animal's susceptibility to CWD. PrP polymorphisms can modulate CWD pathogenesis in two ways: the ability of the endogenous prion protein (PrPC) to convert into infectious prions (PrPSc) or it can give rise to novel prion strains. In vivo studies in susceptible cervids, complemented by studies in transgenic mice expressing the corresponding cervid PrP sequence, show that each polymorphism has distinct effects on both PrPC and PrPSc. It is not entirely clear how these polymorphisms are responsible for these effects, but in vitro studies suggest they play a role in modifying PrP epitopes crucial for PrPC to PrPSc conversion and determining PrPC stability. PrP polymorphisms are unique to one or two cervid species and most confer a certain degree of reduced susceptibility to CWD. However, to date, there are no reports of polymorphic cervid PrP alleles providing absolute resistance to CWD. Studies on polymorphisms have focused on those found in CWD-endemic areas, with the hope that understanding the role of an animal's genetics in CWD can help to predict, contain, or prevent transmission of CWD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Immaculata Arifin
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Samia Hannaoui
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Sheng Chun Chang
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Simrika Thapa
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Hermann M. Schatzl
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Correspondence:
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18
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Nakić N, Tran TH, Novokmet M, Andreoletti O, Lauc G, Legname G. Site-specific analysis of N-glycans from different sheep prion strains. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009232. [PMID: 33600485 PMCID: PMC7891774 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of neurodegenerative diseases affecting a wide range of mammalian species, including humans. During the course of the disease, the abnormally folded scrapie prion protein (PrPSc) accumulates in the central nervous system where it causes neurodegeneration. In prion disorders, the diverse spectrum of illnesses exists because of the presence of different isoforms of PrPSc where they occupy distinct conformational states called strains. Strains are biochemically distinguished by a characteristic three-band immunoblot pattern, defined by differences in the occupancy of two glycosylation sites on the prion protein (PrP). Characterization of the exact N-glycan structures attached on either PrPC or PrPSc is lacking. Here we report the characterization and comparison of N-glycans from two different sheep prion strains. PrPSc from both strains was isolated from brain tissue and enzymatically digested with trypsin. By using liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry, a site-specific analysis was performed. A total of 100 structures were detected on both glycosylation sites. The N-glycan profile was shown to be similar to the one on mouse PrP, however, with additional 40 structures reported. The results presented here show no major differences in glycan composition, suggesting that glycans may not be responsible for the differences in the two analyzed prion strains. To date, prion diseases remain a controversy amongst scientists. Although we know now it is the abnormal form of the prion protein (PrPSc) that causes the disease, many questions are still left unanswered. To understand the cellular mechanism of these diseases, we should first and foremost try to fully understand the prion protein itself. Even though many findings have been made regarding the structure of the protein, a large part of it is still unknown. Since the prion protein is actually a glycoprotein, to resolve its structure we need to put our focus not only on the protein part of the glycoprotein but also on the glycan structures as well. Here we compared two different sheep prion strains and although no major differences have been found between the glycan structures, this analysis may help the understanding of the role glycans have in prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natali Nakić
- Genos Glycoscience Research Laboratory, Zagreb, Croatia.,Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Thanh Hoa Tran
- Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy.,VNUK Institute for Research and Executive Education, The University of Danang, Da Nang, Vietnam
| | | | - Olivier Andreoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225-IHAP, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Gordan Lauc
- Genos Glycoscience Research Laboratory, Zagreb, Croatia.,Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy.,ELETTRA Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
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19
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Mysterud A, Ytrehus B, Tranulis MA, Rauset GR, Rolandsen CM, Strand O. Antler cannibalism in reindeer. Sci Rep 2020; 10:22168. [PMID: 33335134 PMCID: PMC7747554 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79050-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases constitute a class of invariably fatal and degenerative encephalopathies. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a contagious prion disease among cervids, which is spreading and causing marked population declines in USA and Canada. The first outbreak of CWD in Europe was discovered in a reindeer population in Norway in 2016. In the worst-case scenario with continental-wide spreading of CWD in Eurasia, an annual harvest of around 4 million cervids is at stake only in Europe, with huge economic and cultural significance. An in situ origin of CWD was suspected, and it appear urgent to identify the likely cause to prevent future emergences. Here, we document the novel phenomenon of extensive antler cannibalism prior to shedding among reindeer in the CWD-infected population. The extent of antler cannibalism increased over the last decades when CWD emerged, and included ingestion of vascularized antlers. Ingestion of tissues from conspecifics is a risk factor for the emergence of prion diseases, where the presence of extensive antler cannibalism opens the intriguing possibility of a ‘Kuru-analogue’ origin of CWD among the reindeer in Europe. Based on general insight on pathology of prion diseases and strain selection processes, we propose an hypothesis for how contagious CWD may emerge from sporadic CWD under the unique epidemiological conditions we document here. More research is required to document the presence of prions in reindeer antlers, and whether antler cannibalism actually led to a strain selection process and the emergence of a contagious form of CWD from a sporadic form of CWD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atle Mysterud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Blindern, P.O. Box 1066, 0316, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Bjørnar Ytrehus
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Torgarden, P. O. Box 5685, 7485, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Michael A Tranulis
- Department of Preclinical Sciences and Pathology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 369 Sentrum, 0102, Oslo, Norway
| | - Geir Rune Rauset
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Torgarden, P. O. Box 5685, 7485, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Christer M Rolandsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Torgarden, P. O. Box 5685, 7485, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Olav Strand
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Torgarden, P. O. Box 5685, 7485, Trondheim, Norway
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20
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Nonno R, Di Bari MA, Pirisinu L, D'Agostino C, Vanni I, Chiappini B, Marcon S, Riccardi G, Tran L, Vikøren T, Våge J, Madslien K, Mitchell G, Telling GC, Benestad SL, Agrimi U. Studies in bank voles reveal strain differences between chronic wasting disease prions from Norway and North America. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:31417-31426. [PMID: 33229531 PMCID: PMC7733848 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2013237117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a relentless epidemic disorder caused by infectious prions that threatens the survival of cervid populations and raises increasing public health concerns in North America. In Europe, CWD was detected for the first time in wild Norwegian reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces) in 2016. In this study, we aimed at comparing the strain properties of CWD prions derived from different cervid species in Norway and North America. Using a classical strain typing approach involving transmission and adaptation to bank voles (Myodes glareolus), we found that prions causing CWD in Norway induced incubation times, neuropathology, regional deposition of misfolded prion protein aggregates in the brain, and size of their protease-resistant core, different from those that characterize North American CWD. These findings show that CWD prion strains affecting Norwegian cervids are distinct from those found in North America, implying that the highly contagious North American CWD prions are not the proximate cause of the newly discovered Norwegian CWD cases. In addition, Norwegian CWD isolates showed an unexpected strain variability, with reindeer and moose being caused by different CWD strains. Our findings shed light on the origin of emergent European CWD, have significant implications for understanding the nature and the ecology of CWD in Europe, and highlight the need to assess the zoonotic potential of the new CWD strains detected in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romolo Nonno
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Michele A Di Bari
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D'Agostino
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Chiappini
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Marcon
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Geraldina Riccardi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Linh Tran
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Turid Vikøren
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jørn Våge
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Knut Madslien
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Gordon Mitchell
- National and World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and Chronic Wasting Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON K2H 8P9, Canada
| | - Glenn C Telling
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80525
| | - Sylvie L Benestad
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
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21
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Moudjou M, Castille J, Passet B, Herzog L, Reine F, Vilotte JL, Rezaei H, Béringue V, Igel-Egalon A. Improving the Predictive Value of Prion Inactivation Validation Methods to Minimize the Risks of Iatrogenic Transmission With Medical Instruments. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:591024. [PMID: 33335894 PMCID: PMC7736614 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.591024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are pathogenic infectious agents responsible for fatal, incurable neurodegenerative diseases in animals and humans. Prions are composed exclusively of an aggregated and misfolded form (PrPSc) of the cellular prion protein (PrPC). During the propagation of the disease, PrPSc recruits and misfolds PrPC into further PrPSc. In human, iatrogenic prion transmission has occurred with incompletely sterilized medical material because of the unusual resistance of prions to inactivation. Most commercial prion disinfectants validated against the historical, well-characterized laboratory strain of 263K hamster prions were recently shown to be ineffective against variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease human prions. These observations and previous reports support the view that any inactivation method must be validated against the prions for which they are intended to be used. Strain-specific variations in PrPSc physico-chemical properties and conformation are likely to explain the strain-specific efficacy of inactivation methods. Animal bioassays have long been used as gold standards to validate prion inactivation methods, by measuring reduction of prion infectivity. Cell-free assays such as the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay and the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) assay have emerged as attractive alternatives. They exploit the seeding capacities of PrPSc to exponentially amplify minute amounts of prions in biospecimens. European and certain national medicine agencies recently implemented their guidelines for prion inactivation of non-disposable medical material; they encourage or request the use of human prions and cell-free assays to improve the predictive value of the validation methods. In this review, we discuss the methodological and technical issues regarding the choice of (i) the cell-free assay, (ii) the human prion strain type, (iii) the prion-containing biological material. We also introduce a new optimized substrate for high-throughput PMCA amplification of human prions bound on steel wires, as translational model for prion-contaminated instruments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Moudjou
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Johan Castille
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Bruno Passet
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Laetitia Herzog
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Fabienne Reine
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Jean-Luc Vilotte
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Human Rezaei
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Vincent Béringue
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Angélique Igel-Egalon
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, Jouy-en-Josas, France.,FB.INT'L, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France
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22
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Béringue V, Tixador P, Andréoletti O, Reine F, Castille J, Laï TL, Le Dur A, Laisné A, Herzog L, Passet B, Rezaei H, Vilotte JL, Laude H. Host prion protein expression levels impact prion tropism for the spleen. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008283. [PMID: 32702070 PMCID: PMC7402522 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are pathogens formed from abnormal conformers (PrPSc) of the host-encoded cellular prion protein (PrPC). PrPSc conformation to disease phenotype relationships extensively vary among prion strains. In particular, prions exhibit a strain-dependent tropism for lymphoid tissues. Prions can be composed of several substrain components. There is evidence that these substrains can propagate in distinct tissues (e.g. brain and spleen) of a single individual, providing an experimental paradigm to study the cause of prion tissue selectivity. Previously, we showed that PrPC expression levels feature in prion substrain selection in the brain. Transmission of sheep scrapie isolates (termed LAN) to multiple lines of transgenic mice expressing varying levels of ovine PrPC in their brains resulted in the phenotypic expression of the dominant sheep substrain in mice expressing near physiological PrPC levels, whereas a minor substrain replicated preferentially on high expresser mice. Considering that PrPC expression levels are markedly decreased in the spleen compared to the brain, we interrogate whether spleen PrPC dosage could drive prion selectivity. The outcome of the transmission of a large cohort of LAN isolates in the spleen from high expresser mice correlated with the replication rate dependency on PrPC amount. There was a prominent spleen colonization by the substrain preferentially replicating on low expresser mice and a relative incapacity of the substrain with higher-PrPC level need to propagate in the spleen. Early colonization of the spleen after intraperitoneal inoculation allowed neuropathological expression of the lymphoid substrain. In addition, a pair of substrain variants resulting from the adaptation of human prions to ovine high expresser mice, and exhibiting differing brain versus spleen tropism, showed different tropism on transmission to low expresser mice, with the lymphoid substrain colonizing the brain. Overall, these data suggest that PrPC expression levels are instrumental in prion lymphotropism. The cause of prion phenotype variation among prion strains remains poorly understood. In particular, prions replicate in a strain-dependent manner in the spleen. This can result in prion asymptomatic carriers. Based on our previous observations that dosage of the prion precursor (PrP) determined prion substrain selection in the brain, we examine whether PrP levels in the spleen could drive prion replication in this tissue, due to the low levels of the protein. We observe that the prion substrain with higher PrP need for replication does barely replicate in the spleen, while the component with low PrP need replicates efficiently. In addition, other human co-propagating prions with differing spleen and brain tropism showed different tropism on transmission to mice expressing low PrP levels, with the lymphoid substrain colonizing the brain. PrPC expression levels may thus be instrumental in prion tropism for the lymphoid tissue. From a diagnostic point of view, given the apparent complexity of prion diseases with respect to prion substrain composition, these data advocate to type extraneural tissues or fluids for a comprehensive identification of the circulating prions in susceptible mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Béringue
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM Jouy-en-Josas, France
- * E-mail:
| | | | | | - Fabienne Reine
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Johan Castille
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Thanh-Lan Laï
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Annick Le Dur
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Aude Laisné
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Laetitia Herzog
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Bruno Passet
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Human Rezaei
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Jean-Luc Vilotte
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Hubert Laude
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM Jouy-en-Josas, France
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23
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Abstract
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) cases are currently classified according to the methionine/valine polymorphism at codon 129 of the PRNP gene and the proteinase K-digested abnormal prion protein (PrPres) isoform identified by Western blotting (type 1 or type 2). Converging evidence led to the view that MM/MV1, VV/MV2, and VV1 and MM2 sCJD cases are caused by distinct prion strains. However, in a significant proportion of sCJD patients, both type 1 and type 2 PrPres were reported to accumulate in the brain, which raised questions about the diversity of sCJD prion strains and the coexistence of two prion strains in the same patient. In this study, a panel of sCJD brain isolates (n = 29) that displayed either a single or mixed type 1/type 2 PrPres were transmitted into human-PrP-expressing mice (tgHu). These bioassays demonstrated that two distinct prion strains (M1CJD and V2CJD) were associated with the development of sCJD in MM1/MV1 and VV2/MV2 patients. However, in about 35% of the investigated VV and MV cases, transmission results were consistent with the presence of both M1CJD and V2CJD strains, including in patients who displayed a "pure" type 1 or type 2 PrPres The use of a highly sensitive prion in vitro amplification technique that specifically probes the V2CJD strain revealed the presence of the V2CJD prion in more than 80% of the investigated isolates, including isolates that propagated as a pure M1CJD strain in tgHu. These results demonstrate that at least two sCJD prion strains can be present in a single patient.IMPORTANCE sCJD occurrence is currently assumed to result from spontaneous and stochastic formation of a misfolded PrP nucleus in the brains of affected patients. This original nucleus then recruits and converts nascent PrPC into PrPSc, leading to the propagation of prions in the patient's brain. Our study demonstrates the coexistence of two prion strains in the brains of a majority of the 23 sCJD patients investigated. The relative proportion of these sCJD strains varied both between patients and between brain areas in a single patient. These findings strongly support the view that the replication of an sCJD prion strain in the brain of a patient can result in the propagation of different prion strain subpopulations. Beyond its conceptual importance for our understanding of prion strain properties and evolution, the sCJD strain mixture phenomenon and its frequency among patients have important implications for the development of therapeutic strategies for prion diseases.
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24
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Marín-Moreno A, Huor A, Espinosa JC, Douet JY, Aguilar-Calvo P, Aron N, Píquer J, Lugan S, Lorenzo P, Tillier C, Cassard H, Andreoletti O, Torres JM. Radical Change in Zoonotic Abilities of Atypical BSE Prion Strains as Evidenced by Crossing of Sheep Species Barrier in Transgenic Mice. Emerg Infect Dis 2020; 26:1130-1139. [PMID: 32441630 PMCID: PMC7258450 DOI: 10.3201/eid2606.181790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is the only zoonotic prion disease described to date. Although the zoonotic potential of atypical BSE prions have been partially studied, an extensive analysis is still needed. We conducted a systematic study by inoculating atypical BSE isolates from different countries in Europe into transgenic mice overexpressing human prion protein (PrP): TgMet129, TgMet/Val129, and TgVal129. L-type BSE showed a higher zoonotic potential in TgMet129 mice than classical BSE, whereas Val129-PrP variant was a strong molecular protector against L-type BSE prions, even in heterozygosis. H-type BSE could not be transmitted to any of the mice. We also adapted 1 H- and 1 L-type BSE isolate to sheep-PrP transgenic mice and inoculated them into human-PrP transgenic mice. Atypical BSE prions showed a modification in their zoonotic ability after adaptation to sheep-PrP producing agents able to infect TgMet129 and TgVal129, bearing features that make them indistinguishable of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease prions.
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25
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Duque Velásquez C, Kim C, Haldiman T, Kim C, Herbst A, Aiken J, Safar JG, McKenzie D. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) prion strains evolve via adaptive diversification of conformers in hosts expressing prion protein polymorphisms. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:4985-5001. [PMID: 32111742 PMCID: PMC7152757 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.012546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is caused by an unknown spectrum of prions and has become enzootic in populations of cervid species that express cellular prion protein (PrPC) molecules varying in amino acid composition. These PrPC polymorphisms can affect prion transmission, disease progression, neuropathology, and emergence of new prion strains, but the mechanistic steps in prion evolution are not understood. Here, using conformation-dependent immunoassay, conformation stability assay, and protein-misfolding cyclic amplification, we monitored the conformational and phenotypic characteristics of CWD prions passaged through deer and transgenic mice expressing different cervid PrPC polymorphisms. We observed that transmission through hosts with distinct PrPC sequences diversifies the PrPCWD conformations and causes a shift toward oligomers with defined structural organization, replication rate, and host range. When passaged in host environments that restrict prion replication, distinct co-existing PrPCWD conformers underwent competitive selection, stabilizing a new prion strain. Nonadaptive conformers exhibited unstable replication and accumulated only to low levels. These results suggest a continuously evolving diversity of CWD conformers and imply a critical interplay between CWD prion plasticity and PrPC polymorphisms during prion strain evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilo Duque Velásquez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
| | - Chae Kim
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Tracy Haldiman
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Chiye Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
| | - Allen Herbst
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Judd Aiken
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Jiri G Safar
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
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26
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Igel-Egalon A, Laferrière F, Tixador P, Moudjou M, Herzog L, Reine F, Torres JM, Laude H, Rezaei H, Béringue V. Crossing Species Barriers Relies on Structurally Distinct Prion Assemblies and Their Complementation. Mol Neurobiol 2020; 57:2572-2587. [PMID: 32239450 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-01897-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Prion replication results from the autocatalytic templated assisted conversion of the host-encoded prion protein PrPC into misfolded, polydisperse PrPSc conformers. Structurally distinct PrPSc conformers can give rise to multiple prion strains. Within and between prion strains, the biological activity (replicative efficacy and specific infectivity) of PrPSc assemblies is size dependent and thus reflects an intrinsic structural heterogeneity. The contribution of such PrPSc heterogeneity across species prion adaptation, which is believed to be based on fit adjustment between PrPSc template(s) and host PrPC, has not been explored. To define the structural-to-fitness PrPSc landscape, we measured the relative capacity of size-fractionated PrPSc assemblies from different prion strains to cross mounting species barriers in transgenic mice expressing foreign PrPC. In the absence of a transmission barrier, the relative efficacy of the isolated PrPSc assemblies to induce the disease is like the efficacy observed in the homotypic context. However, in the presence of a transmission barrier, size fractionation overtly delays and even abrogates prion pathogenesis in both the brain and spleen tissues, independently of the infectivity load of the isolated assemblies. Altering by serial dilution PrPSc assembly content of non-fractionated inocula aberrantly reduces their specific infectivity, solely in the presence of a transmission barrier. This suggests that synergy between structurally distinct PrPSc assemblies in the inoculum is requested for crossing the species barrier. Our data support a mechanism whereby overcoming prion species barrier requires complementation between structurally distinct PrPSc assemblies. This work provides key insight into the "quasispecies" concept applied to prions, which would not necessarily rely on prion substrains as constituent but on structural PrPSc heterogeneity within prion population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Florent Laferrière
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France.,Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, CNRS UMR5293, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Philippe Tixador
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Mohammed Moudjou
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Laetitia Herzog
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Fabienne Reine
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Hubert Laude
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Human Rezaei
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Vincent Béringue
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
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27
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Barrio T, Filali H, Otero A, Sheleby-Elías J, Marín B, Vidal E, Béringue V, Torres JM, Groschup M, Andréoletti O, Badiola JJ, Bolea R. Mixtures of prion substrains in natural scrapie cases revealed by ovinised murine models. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5042. [PMID: 32193445 PMCID: PMC7081250 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61977-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic variability in prion diseases, such as scrapie, is associated to the existence of prion strains, which are different pathogenic prion protein (PrPSc) conformations with distinct pathobiological properties. To faithfully study scrapie strain variability in natural sheep isolates, transgenic mice expressing sheep cellular prion protein (PrPC) are used. In this study, we used two of such models to bioassay 20 scrapie isolates from the Spain-France-Andorra transboundary territory. Animals were intracerebrally inoculated and survival periods, proteinase K-resistant PrP (PrPres) banding patterns, lesion profiles and PrPSc distribution were studied. Inocula showed a remarkable homogeneity on banding patterns, all of them but one showing 19-kDa PrPres. However, a number of isolates caused accumulation of 21-kDa PrPres in TgShp XI. A different subgroup of isolates caused long survival periods and presence of 21-kDa PrPres in Tg338 mice. It seemed that one major 19-kDa prion isoform and two distinct 21-kDa variants coexisted in source inocula, and that they could be separated by bioassay in each transgenic model. The reason why each model favours a specific component of the mixture is unknown, although PrPC expression level may play a role. Our results indicate that coinfection with more than one substrain is more frequent than infection with a single component.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomás Barrio
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Hicham Filali
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Alicia Otero
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jessica Sheleby-Elías
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Belén Marín
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Enric Vidal
- Priocat Laboratory, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vincent Béringue
- UMR Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires (VIM-UR892), INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78352, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Juan María Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, CISA-INIA, 28130, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Martin Groschup
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, Germany
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225- IHAP, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 31076, Toulouse, France
| | - Juan José Badiola
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Rosa Bolea
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.
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28
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Ziaunys M, Sneideris T, Smirnovas V. Formation of distinct prion protein amyloid fibrils under identical experimental conditions. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4572. [PMID: 32165692 PMCID: PMC7067779 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61663-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein aggregation into amyloid fibrils is linked to multiple neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A better understanding of the way these aggregates form is vital for the development of drugs. A large detriment to amyloid research is the ability of amyloidogenic proteins to spontaneously aggregate into multiple structurally distinct fibrils (strains) with different stability and seeding properties. In this work we show that prion proteins are capable of forming more than one type of fibril under the exact same conditions by assessing their Thioflavin T (ThT) binding ability, morphology, secondary structure, stability and seeding potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mantas Ziaunys
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Tomas Sneideris
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Vytautas Smirnovas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
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29
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Nonno R, Marin-Moreno A, Carlos Espinosa J, Fast C, Van Keulen L, Spiropoulos J, Lantier I, Andreoletti O, Pirisinu L, Di Bari MA, Aguilar-Calvo P, Sklaviadis T, Papasavva-Stylianou P, Acutis PL, Acin C, Bossers A, Jacobs JG, Vaccari G, D'Agostino C, Chiappini B, Lantier F, Groschup MH, Agrimi U, Maria Torres J, Langeveld JPM. Characterization of goat prions demonstrates geographical variation of scrapie strains in Europe and reveals the composite nature of prion strains. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19. [PMID: 31913327 PMCID: PMC6949283 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-57005-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is the only animal prion which has been recognized as a zoonotic agent so far. The identification of BSE in two goats raised the need to reliably identify BSE in small ruminants. However, our understanding of scrapie strain diversity in small ruminants remains ill-defined, thus limiting the accuracy of BSE surveillance and spreading fear that BSE might lurk unrecognized in goats. We investigated prion strain diversity in a large panel of European goats by a novel experimental approach that, instead of assessing the neuropathological profile after serial transmissions in a single animal model, was based on the direct interaction of prion isolates with several recipient rodent models expressing small ruminants or heterologous prion proteins. The findings show that the biological properties of scrapie isolates display different patterns of geographical distribution in Europe and suggest that goat BSE could be reliably discriminated from a wide range of biologically and geographically diverse goat prion isolates. Finally, most field prion isolates showed composite strain features, with discrete strain components or sub-strains being present in different proportions in individual goats or tissues. This has important implications for understanding the nature and evolution of scrapie strains and their transmissibility to other species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romolo Nonno
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy.
| | | | | | - Christine Fast
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, Germany
| | | | - John Spiropoulos
- Animal and Plant Health Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Isabelle Lantier
- INRA-Centre Val de Loire, Infectiologie et Santé Publique, Nouzilly, France
| | - Olivier Andreoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225- IHAP, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele A Di Bari
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Theodoros Sklaviadis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Pier Luigi Acutis
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, Italy
| | - Cristina Acin
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Alex Bossers
- Wageningen BioVeterinary Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Jorge G Jacobs
- Wageningen BioVeterinary Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Gabriele Vaccari
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D'Agostino
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Chiappini
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Frederic Lantier
- INRA-Centre Val de Loire, Infectiologie et Santé Publique, Nouzilly, France
| | - Martin H Groschup
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, Germany
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
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30
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Langeveld JPM, Pirisinu L, Jacobs JG, Mazza M, Lantier I, Simon S, Andréoletti O, Acin C, Esposito E, Fast C, Groschup M, Goldmann W, Spiropoulos J, Sklaviadis T, Lantier F, Ekateriniadou L, Papasavva-Stylianou P, van Keulen LJM, Acutis PL, Agrimi U, Bossers A, Nonno R. Four types of scrapie in goats differentiated from each other and bovine spongiform encephalopathy by biochemical methods. Vet Res 2019; 50:97. [PMID: 31767033 PMCID: PMC6878695 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-019-0718-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Scrapie in goats has been known since 1942, the archetype of prion diseases in which only prion protein (PrP) in misfolded state (PrPSc) acts as infectious agent with fatal consequence. Emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) with its zoonotic behaviour and detection in goats enhanced fears that its source was located in small ruminants. However, in goats knowledge on prion strain typing is limited. A European-wide study is presented concerning the biochemical phenotypes of the protease resistant fraction of PrPSc (PrPres) in over thirty brain isolates from transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affected goats collected in seven countries. Three different scrapie forms were found: classical scrapie (CS), Nor98/atypical scrapie and one case of CH1641 scrapie. In addition, CS was found in two variants-CS-1 and CS-2 (mainly Italy)-which differed in proteolytic resistance of the PrPres N-terminus. Suitable PrPres markers for discriminating CH1641 from BSE (C-type) appeared to be glycoprofile pattern, presence of two triplets instead of one, and structural (in)stability of its core amino acid region. None of the samples exhibited BSE like features. BSE and these four scrapie types, of which CS-2 is new, can be recognized in goats with combinations of a set of nine biochemical parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan P M Langeveld
- Wageningen BioVeterinary Research (WBVR), Wageningen University & Research, Houtribweg 39, 8221RA, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS), 299-00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Jorg G Jacobs
- Wageningen BioVeterinary Research (WBVR), Wageningen University & Research, Houtribweg 39, 8221RA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Mazza
- Italian Reference Centre for TSEs, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte (IZSTO), 10154, Turin, TO, Italy
| | - Isabelle Lantier
- UMR 1282 ISP, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), University of Tours, 37380, Nouzilly, France
| | - Stéphanie Simon
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA), 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRA/ENVT 1225 IHAP, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), 31300, Toulouse, France
| | - Cristina Acin
- Research Centre for TSE and Emerging Transmissible Diseases, University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Elena Esposito
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS), 299-00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Christine Fast
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, 17493, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Martin Groschup
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, 17493, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Wilfred Goldmann
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh (UEDIN), Easter Bush, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - John Spiropoulos
- Department of Pathology, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
| | - Theodoros Sklaviadis
- School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Frederic Lantier
- UMR 1282 ISP, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), University of Tours, 37380, Nouzilly, France
| | - Loukia Ekateriniadou
- Hellenic Agricultural Organization DEMETER, Veterinary Research Institute, 57001, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Lucien J M van Keulen
- Wageningen BioVeterinary Research (WBVR), Wageningen University & Research, Houtribweg 39, 8221RA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Pier-Luigi Acutis
- Italian Reference Centre for TSEs, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte (IZSTO), 10154, Turin, TO, Italy
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS), 299-00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Alex Bossers
- Wageningen BioVeterinary Research (WBVR), Wageningen University & Research, Houtribweg 39, 8221RA, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS), 299-00161, Rome, Italy
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31
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Koutsoumanis K, Allende A, Alvarez-Ordoňez A, Bolton D, Bover-Cid S, Chemaly M, Davies R, De Cesare A, Herman L, Hilbert F, Lindqvist R, Nauta M, Peixe L, Ru G, Skandamis P, Suffredini E, Andreoletti O, Benestad SL, Comoy E, Nonno R, da Silva Felicio T, Ortiz-Pelaez A, Simmons MM. Update on chronic wasting disease (CWD) III. EFSA J 2019; 17:e05863. [PMID: 32626163 PMCID: PMC7008890 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The European Commission asked EFSA for a Scientific Opinion: to revise the state of knowledge about the differences between the chronic wasting disease (CWD) strains found in North America (NA) and Europe and within Europe; to review new scientific evidence on the zoonotic potential of CWD and to provide recommendations to address the potential risks and to identify risk factors for the spread of CWD in the European Union. Full characterisation of European isolates is being pursued, whereas most NA CWD isolates have not been characterised in this way. The differing surveillance programmes in these continents result in biases in the types of cases that can be detected. Preliminary data support the contention that the CWD strains identified in Europe and NA are different and suggest the presence of strain diversity in European cervids. Current data do not allow any conclusion on the implications of strain diversity on transmissibility, pathogenesis or prevalence. Available data do not allow any conclusion on the zoonotic potential of NA or European CWD isolates. The risk of CWD to humans through consumption of meat cannot be directly assessed. At individual level, consumers of meat, meat products and offal derived from CWD-infected cervids will be exposed to the CWD agent(s). Measures to reduce human dietary exposure could be applied, but exclusion from the food chain of whole carcasses of infected animals would be required to eliminate exposure. Based on NA experiences, all the risk factors identified for the spread of CWD may be associated with animals accumulating infectivity in both the peripheral tissues and the central nervous system. A subset of risk factors is relevant for infected animals without involvement of peripheral tissues. All the risk factors should be taken into account due to the potential co-localisation of animals presenting with different disease phenotypes.
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32
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Igel-Egalon A, Laferrière F, Moudjou M, Bohl J, Mezache M, Knäpple T, Herzog L, Reine F, Jas-Duval C, Doumic M, Rezaei H, Béringue V. Early stage prion assembly involves two subpopulations with different quaternary structures and a secondary templating pathway. Commun Biol 2019; 2:363. [PMID: 31602412 PMCID: PMC6778151 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-019-0608-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The dynamics of aggregation and structural diversification of misfolded, host-encoded proteins in neurodegenerative diseases are poorly understood. In many of these disorders, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and prion diseases, the misfolded proteins are self-organized into conformationally distinct assemblies or strains. The existence of intrastrain structural heterogeneity is increasingly recognized. However, the underlying processes of emergence and coevolution of structurally distinct assemblies are not mechanistically understood. Here, we show that early prion replication generates two subsets of structurally different assemblies by two sequential processes of formation, regardless of the strain considered. The first process corresponds to a quaternary structural convergence, by reducing the parental strain polydispersity to generate small oligomers. The second process transforms these oligomers into larger ones, by a secondary autocatalytic templating pathway requiring the prion protein. This pathway provides mechanistic insights into prion structural diversification, a key determinant for prion adaptation and toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Florent Laferrière
- VIM, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
- Present Address: Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, CNRS UMR5293, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | | | - Jan Bohl
- VIM, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
- LCP, CNRS, Université Paris Sud, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - Mathieu Mezache
- VIM, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
- INRIA, MAMBA, Université Paris VI, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Tina Knäpple
- VIM, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Laetitia Herzog
- VIM, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Fabienne Reine
- VIM, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Christelle Jas-Duval
- VIM, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
- Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic Infections, EFS, INSERM, University of Montpellier, 34000 Montpellier, France
| | - Marie Doumic
- INRIA, MAMBA, Université Paris VI, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Human Rezaei
- VIM, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
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33
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Transient multimers modulate conformer abundances of prion protein monomer through conformational selection. Sci Rep 2019; 9:12159. [PMID: 31434938 PMCID: PMC6704068 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48377-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions are known to be involved in neurodegenerative pathologies such as Creutzfeld-Jakob disease. Current models point to a molecular event which rely on a transmissible structural change that leads to the production of β-sheet-rich prion conformer (PrPSc). PrPSc itself has the capability to trigger the structural rearrangement of the ubiquitously present prion (PrPc) substrate in a self-perpetuating cascade. In this article, we demonstrate that recombinant PrPc exists in a conformational equilibrium. The conformers’ abundances were shown to be dependent on PrPc concentration through the formation of transient multimers leading to conformational selection. The study of PrPc mutants that follow dedicated oligomerization pathways demonstrated that the conformers’ relative abundances are modified, thus reinforcing the assertion that the nature of conformers’ interactions orient the oligomerization pathways. Further this result can be viewed as the “signature” of an aborted oligomerization process. This discovery sheds a new light on the possible origin of prion protein diseases, namely that a change in prion protein structure could be transmitted through the formation of transient multimers having different conformer compositions. This could explain the selection of a transient multimeric type that could be viewed as the precursor of PrPSc responsible for structural information transmission, and strain apparition.
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34
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Primary structural differences at residue 226 of deer and elk PrP dictate selection of distinct CWD prion strains in gene-targeted mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:12478-12487. [PMID: 31147460 PMCID: PMC6589652 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903947116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Our gene-targeting strategy addresses several critical issues relating to chronic wasting disease (CWD), a contagious, lethal neurodegenerative prion disease affecting wild as well as captive cervids, which poses an uncertain risk to humans. First, we show that residue 226, the sole primary structural difference between deer and elk prion protein, dictates the selection and propagation of different CWD strains. Because the strain properties of prions affect their host-range potential, these findings suggest that CWD from elk and deer pose distinct risks to humans and other species. Second, we show that these gene-targeted mice offer an unprecedented means to address distinctive aspects of CWD peripheral pathogenesis and horizontal transmission that are not afforded by previously generated transgenic mouse models. Although the unifying hallmark of prion diseases is CNS neurodegeneration caused by conformational corruption of host prion protein (PrP) to its infective counterpart, contagious transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) results from shedding of prions produced at high titers in the periphery of diseased cervids. While deer and elk PrP primary structures are equivalent except at residue 226, which is glutamate in elk and glutamine in deer, the effect of this difference on CWD pathogenesis is largely unknown. Using a gene-targeting approach where the mouse PrP coding sequence was replaced with elk or deer PrP, we show that the resulting GtE226 and GtQ226 mice had distinct kinetics of disease onset, prion conformations, and distributions of prions in the brains of diseased mice following intracerebral CWD challenge. These findings indicate that amino acid differences at PrP residue 226 dictate the selection and propagation of divergent strains in deer and elk with CWD. Because prion strain properties largely dictate host-range potential, our findings suggest that prion strains from elk and deer pose distinct risks to sympatric species or humans exposed to CWD. GtE226 and GtQ226 mice were also highly susceptible to CWD prions following intraperitoneal and oral exposures, a characteristic that stood in stark contrast to previously produced transgenic models. Remarkably, disease transmission was effective when infected mice were cohoused with naïve cagemates. Our findings indicate that gene-targeted mice provide unprecedented opportunities to accurately investigate CWD peripheral pathogenesis, CWD strains, and mechanisms of horizontal CWD transmission.
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35
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Heterogeneity and Architecture of Pathological Prion Protein Assemblies: Time to Revisit the Molecular Basis of the Prion Replication Process? Viruses 2019; 11:v11050429. [PMID: 31083283 PMCID: PMC6563208 DOI: 10.3390/v11050429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Revised: 05/07/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions are proteinaceous infectious agents responsible for a range of neurodegenerative diseases in animals and humans. Prion particles are assemblies formed from a misfolded, β-sheet rich, aggregation-prone isoform (PrPSc) of the host-encoded cellular prion protein (PrPC). Prions replicate by recruiting and converting PrPC into PrPSc, by an autocatalytic process. PrPSc is a pleiomorphic protein as different conformations can dictate different disease phenotypes in the same host species. This is the basis of the strain phenomenon in prion diseases. Recent experimental evidence suggests further structural heterogeneity in PrPSc assemblies within specific prion populations and strains. Still, this diversity is rather seen as a size continuum of assemblies with the same core structure, while analysis of the available experimental data points to the existence of structurally distinct arrangements. The atomic structure of PrPSc has not been elucidated so far, making the prion replication process difficult to understand. All currently available models suggest that PrPSc assemblies exhibit a PrPSc subunit as core constituent, which was recently identified. This review summarizes our current knowledge on prion assembly heterogeneity down to the subunit level and will discuss its importance with regard to the current molecular principles of the prion replication process.
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36
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Gribaudo S, Tixador P, Bousset L, Fenyi A, Lino P, Melki R, Peyrin JM, Perrier AL. Propagation of α-Synuclein Strains within Human Reconstructed Neuronal Network. Stem Cell Reports 2019; 12:230-244. [PMID: 30639210 PMCID: PMC6372945 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Reappraisal of neuropathological studies suggests that pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease (PD) spread progressively along predictable neuronal pathways in the human brain through unknown mechanisms. Although there is much evidence supporting the prion-like propagation and amplification of α-synuclein (α-Syn) in vitro and in rodent models, whether this scenario occurs in the human brain remains to be substantiated. Here we reconstructed in microfluidic devices corticocortical neuronal networks using human induced pluripotent stem cells derived from a healthy donor. We provide unique experimental evidence that different strains of human α-Syn disseminate in “wild-type” human neuronal networks in a prion-like manner. We show that two distinct α-Syn strains we named fibrils and ribbons are transported, traffic between neurons, and trigger to different extents, in a dose- and structure-dependent manner, the progressive accumulation of PD-like pathological hallmarks. We further demonstrate that seeded aggregation of endogenous soluble α-Syn affects synaptic integrity and mitochondria morphology. Different α-Syn strains propagate within WT human iPSC-derived cortical neuronal networks α-Syn strains differentially seed endogenous WT α-Syn forming LB/LN-like structures Phospho-α-Syn endogenous aggregates resist degradation and accumulate in cytoplasm Accumulation of phospho-α-Syn induces early neuronal dysfunctions
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Gribaudo
- INSERM U861, I-STEM, AFM, Corbeil-Essonnes 91100, France; UEVE U861, I-STEM, AFM, Corbeil-Essonnes 91100, France
| | - Philippe Tixador
- Sorbonne Universités, Faculté des Sciences et Ingénierie, CNRS/UMR 8256, B2A, Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Paris 75005, France
| | - Luc Bousset
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institut François Jacob, MIRCen, CEA-CNRS, Fontenay aux Roses 92265, France
| | - Alexis Fenyi
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institut François Jacob, MIRCen, CEA-CNRS, Fontenay aux Roses 92265, France
| | - Patricia Lino
- INSERM U861, I-STEM, AFM, Corbeil-Essonnes 91100, France; UEVE U861, I-STEM, AFM, Corbeil-Essonnes 91100, France
| | - Ronald Melki
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institut François Jacob, MIRCen, CEA-CNRS, Fontenay aux Roses 92265, France.
| | - Jean-Michel Peyrin
- Sorbonne Universités, Faculté des Sciences et Ingénierie, CNRS/UMR 8256, B2A, Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Paris 75005, France.
| | - Anselme L Perrier
- INSERM U861, I-STEM, AFM, Corbeil-Essonnes 91100, France; UEVE U861, I-STEM, AFM, Corbeil-Essonnes 91100, France.
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37
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Eckland TE, Shikiya RA, Bartz JC. Independent amplification of co-infected long incubation period low conversion efficiency prion strains. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007323. [PMID: 30335854 PMCID: PMC6193734 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are caused by a misfolded isoform of the prion protein, PrPSc. Prion strains are hypothesized to be encoded by strain-specific conformations of PrPSc and prions can interfere with each other when a long-incubation period strain (i.e. blocking strain) inhibits the conversion of a short-incubation period strain (i.e. non-blocking). Prion strain interference influences prion strain dynamics and the emergence of a strain from a mixture; however, it is unknown if two long-incubation period strains can interfere with each other. Here, we show that co-infection of animals with combinations of long-incubation period strains failed to identify evidence of strain interference. To exclude the possibility that this inability of strains to interfere in vivo was due to a failure to infect common populations of neurons we used protein misfolding cyclic amplification strain interference (PMCAsi). Consistent with the animal bioassay studies, PMCAsi indicated that both co-infecting strains were amplifying independently, suggesting that the lack of strain interference is not due to a failure to target the same cells but is an inherent property of the strains involved. Importantly PMCA reactions seeded with long incubation-period strains contained relatively higher levels of remaining PrPC compared to reactions seeded with a short-incubation period strain. Mechanistically, we hypothesize the abundance of PrPC is not limiting in vivo or in vitro resulting in prion strains with relatively low prion conversion efficiency to amplify independently. Overall, this observation changes the paradigm of the interactions of prion strains and has implications for interspecies transmission and emergence of prion strains from a mixture. This is the first example of prion strains that replicate independently in vitro and in vivo. This observation changes the paradigm of the interactions of prion strains and provides further evidence that strains are a dynamic mixture of substrains. Strain interference is influenced by the abundance of PrPC that is convertible by the strains involved. These observations have implications for interspecies transmission and emergence of prion strains from a mixture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E. Eckland
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Ronald A. Shikiya
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Jason C. Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Lemarre P, Pujo-Menjouet L, Sindi SS. Generalizing a mathematical model of prion aggregation allows strain coexistence and co-stability by including a novel misfolded species. J Math Biol 2018; 78:465-495. [PMID: 30116882 PMCID: PMC6399074 DOI: 10.1007/s00285-018-1280-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Prions are proteins capable of adopting misfolded conformations and transmitting these conformations to other normally folded proteins. Prions are most commonly known for causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases in mammals but are also associated with several harmless phenotypes in yeast. A distinct feature of prion propagation is the existence of different phenotypical variants, called strains. It is widely accepted that these strains correspond to different conformational states of the protein, but the mechanisms driving their interactions remain poorly understood. This study uses mathematical modeling to provide insight into this problem. We show that the classical model of prion dynamics allows at most one conformational strain to stably propagate. In order to conform to biological observations of strain coexistence and co-stability, we develop an extension of the classical model by introducing a novel prion species consistent with biological studies. Qualitative analysis of this model reveals a new variety of behavior. Indeed, it allows for stable coexistence of different strains in a wide parameter range, and it also introduces intricate initial condition dependency. These new behaviors are consistent with experimental observations of prions in both mammals and yeast. As such, our model provides a valuable tool for investigating the underlying mechanisms of prion propagation and the link between prion strains and strain specific phenotypes. The consideration of a novel prion species brings a change in perspective on prion biology and we use our model to generate hypotheses about prion infectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Lemarre
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, CA, 95343, USA
| | - Laurent Pujo-Menjouet
- Institut Camille Jordan, Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5208, 43 blvd. du 11 novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne cedex, France.,Team Dracula, INRIA, 69603, Villeurbanne cedex, France
| | - Suzanne S Sindi
- Applied Mathematics School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, CA, 95343, USA.
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Bistaffa E, Moda F, Virgilio T, Campagnani I, De Luca CMG, Rossi M, Salzano G, Giaccone G, Tagliavini F, Legname G. Synthetic Prion Selection and Adaptation. Mol Neurobiol 2018; 56:2978-2989. [PMID: 30074230 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-018-1279-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Prion pathologies are characterized by the conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a pathological infectious isoform, known as PrPSc. The latter acquires different abnormal conformations, which are associated with specific pathological phenotypes. Recent evidence suggests that prions adapt their conformation to changes in the context of replication. This phenomenon is known as either prion selection or adaptation, where distinct conformations of PrPSc with higher propensity to propagate in the new environment prevail over the others. Here, we show that a synthetically generated prion isolate, previously subjected to protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) and then injected in animals, is able to change its biochemical and biophysical properties according to the context of replication. In particular, in second transmission passage in vivo, two different prion isolates were found: one characterized by a predominance of the monoglycosylated band (PrPSc-M) and the other characterized by a predominance of the diglycosylated one (PrPSc-D). Neuropathological, biochemical, and biophysical assays confirmed that these PrPSc possess distinctive characteristics. Finally, PMCA analysis of PrPSc-M and PrPSc-D generated PrPSc (PrPSc-PMCA) whose biophysical properties were different from those of both inocula, suggesting that PMCA selectively amplified a third PrPSc isolate. Taken together, these results indicate that the context of replication plays a pivotal role in either prion selection or adaptation. By exploiting the ability of PMCA to mimic the process of prion replication in vitro, it might be possible to assess how changes in the replication environment influence the phenomenon of prion selection and adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edoardo Bistaffa
- Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
- Unit of Neuropathology and Neurology 5, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabio Moda
- Unit of Neuropathology and Neurology 5, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Tommaso Virgilio
- Unit of Neuropathology and Neurology 5, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Ilaria Campagnani
- Unit of Neuropathology and Neurology 5, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Martina Rossi
- Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Giulia Salzano
- Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Giorgio Giaccone
- Unit of Neuropathology and Neurology 5, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Tagliavini
- Unit of Neuropathology and Neurology 5, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy.
- ELETTRA Laboratory, Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy.
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40
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Igel-Egalon A, Béringue V, Rezaei H, Sibille P. Prion Strains and Transmission Barrier Phenomena. Pathogens 2018; 7:E5. [PMID: 29301257 PMCID: PMC5874731 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens7010005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Revised: 12/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Several experimental evidences show that prions are non-conventional pathogens, which physical support consists only in proteins. This finding raised questions regarding the observed prion strain-to-strain variations and the species barrier that happened to be crossed with dramatic consequences on human health and veterinary policies during the last 3 decades. This review presents a focus on a few advances in the field of prion structure and prion strains characterization: from the historical approaches that allowed the concept of prion strains to emerge, to the last results demonstrating that a prion strain may in fact be a combination of a few quasi species with subtle biophysical specificities. Then, we will focus on the current knowledge on the factors that impact species barrier strength and species barrier crossing. Finally, we present probable scenarios on how the interaction of strain properties with host characteristics may account for differential selection of new conformer variants and eventually species barrier crossing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angélique Igel-Egalon
- Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, UR892, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Vincent Béringue
- Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, UR892, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Human Rezaei
- Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, UR892, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Pierre Sibille
- Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, UR892, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
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Diack AB, Bartz JC. Experimental models of human prion diseases and prion strains. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2018; 153:69-84. [PMID: 29887156 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-63945-5.00004-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Prion strains occur in natural prion diseases, including prion diseases of humans. Prion strains can correspond with differences in the clinical signs and symptoms of disease and the distribution of prion infectivity in the host and are hypothesized to be encoded by strain-specific differences in the conformation of the disease-specific isoform of the host-encoded prion protein, PrPTSE. Prion strains can differ in biochemical properties of PrPTSE that can include the relative sensitivity to digestion with proteinase K and conformational stability in denaturants. These strain-specific biochemical properties of field isolates are maintained upon transmission to experimental animal models of prion disease. Experimental human models of prion disease include traditional and gene-targeted mice that express endogenous PrPC. Transgenic mice that express different polymorphs of human PrPC or mutations in human PrPC that correspond with familial forms of human prion disease have been generated that can recapitulate the clinical, pathologic, and biochemical features of disease. These models aid in understanding disease pathogenesis, evaluating zoonotic potential of animal prion diseases, and assessing human-to-human transmission of disease. Models of sporadic or familial forms of disease offer an opportunity to define mechanisms of disease, identify key neurodegenerative pathways, and assess therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail B Diack
- Infection and Immunity, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, United Kingdom.
| | - Jason C Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, United States
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42
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Ricci A, Allende A, Bolton D, Chemaly M, Davies R, Fernández Escámez PS, Gironés R, Herman L, Koutsoumanis K, Lindqvist R, Nørrung B, Robertson L, Ru G, Sanaa M, Skandamis P, Speybroeck N, Simmons M, Kuile BT, Threlfall J, Wahlström H, Acutis PL, Andreoletti O, Goldmann W, Langeveld J, Windig JJ, Ortiz Pelaez A, Snary E. Genetic resistance to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in goats. EFSA J 2017; 15:e04962. [PMID: 32625625 PMCID: PMC7010077 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Breeding programmes to promote resistance to classical scrapie, similar to those for sheep in existing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) regulations, have not been established in goats. The European Commission requested a scientific opinion from EFSA on the current knowledge of genetic resistance to TSE in goats. An evaluation tool, which considers both the weight of evidence and strength of resistance to classical scrapie of alleles in the goat PRNP gene, was developed and applied to nine selected alleles of interest. Using the tool, the quality and certainty of the field and experimental data are considered robust enough to conclude that the K222, D146 and S146 alleles both confer genetic resistance against classical scrapie strains known to occur naturally in the EU goat population, with which they have been challenged both experimentally and under field conditions. The weight of evidence for K222 is greater than that currently available for the D146 and S146 alleles and for the ARR allele in sheep in 2001. Breeding for resistance can be an effective tool for controlling classical scrapie in goats and it could be an option available to member states, both at herd and population levels. There is insufficient evidence to assess the impact of K222, D146 and S146 alleles on susceptibility to atypical scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or on health and production traits. These alleles are heterogeneously distributed across the EU Member States and goat breeds, but often at low frequencies (< 10%). Given these low frequencies, high selection pressure may have an adverse effect on genetic diversity so any breeding for resistance programmes should be developed at Member States, rather than EU level and their impact monitored, with particular attention to the potential for any negative impact in rare or small population breeds.
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43
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Diack AB, Alibhai JD, Manson JC. Gene Targeted Transgenic Mouse Models in Prion Research. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2017; 150:157-179. [PMID: 28838660 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2017.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The production of transgenic mice expressing different forms of the prion protein (PrP) or devoid of PrP has enabled researchers to study the role of PrP in the infectious process of a prion disease and its normal function in the healthy individual. A wide range of transgenic models have been produced ranging from PrP null mice, normal expression levels to overexpression models, models expressing different species of the Prnp gene and different mutations and polymorphisms within the gene. Using this range of transgenic models has allowed us to define the influence of PrP expression on disease susceptibility and transmission, assess zoonotic potential, define strains of human prion diseases, elucidate the function of PrP, and start to unravel the mechanisms involved in chronic neurodegeneration. This chapter focuses mainly on the use of the gene targeted transgenic models and summarizes the ways in which they have allowed us to study the role of PrP in prion disease and the insights they have provided into the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail B Diack
- The Roslin Institute & R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, United Kingdom.
| | - James D Alibhai
- The National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Jean C Manson
- The Roslin Institute & R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, United Kingdom
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