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Kamps J, Bader V, Winklhofer KF, Tatzelt J. Liquid-liquid phase separation of the prion protein is regulated by the octarepeat domain independently of histidines and copper. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107310. [PMID: 38657863 PMCID: PMC11126799 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107310] [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: 12/27/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of the mammalian prion protein is mainly driven by its intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain (N-PrP). However, the specific intermolecular interactions that promote LLPS remain largely unknown. Here, we used extensive mutagenesis and comparative analyses of evolutionarily distant PrP species to gain insight into the relationship between protein sequence and phase behavior. LLPS of mouse PrP is dependent on two polybasic motifs in N-PrP that are conserved in all tetrapods. A unique feature of mammalian N-PrP is the octarepeat domain with four histidines that mediate binding to copper ions. We now show that the octarepeat is critical for promoting LLPS and preventing the formation of PrP aggregates. Amphibian N-PrP, which contains the polybasic motifs but lacks a repeat domain and histidines, does not undergo LLPS and forms nondynamic protein assemblies indicative of aggregates. Insertion of the mouse octarepeat domain restored LLPS of amphibian N-PrP, supporting its essential role in regulating the phase transition of PrP. This activity of the octarepeat domain was neither dependent on the four highly conserved histidines nor on copper binding. Instead, the regularly spaced tryptophan residues were critical for regulating LLPS, presumably via cation-π interactions with the polybasic motifs. Our study reveals a novel role for the tryptophan residues in the octarepeat in controlling phase transition of PrP and indicates that the ability of mammalian PrP to undergo LLPS has evolved with the octarepeat in the intrinsically disordered domain but independently of the histidines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janine Kamps
- Department Biochemistry of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Cluster of Excellence RESOLV, Bochum, Germany
| | - Verian Bader
- Department Biochemistry of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Department Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Konstanze F Winklhofer
- Cluster of Excellence RESOLV, Bochum, Germany; Department Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Jörg Tatzelt
- Department Biochemistry of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Cluster of Excellence RESOLV, Bochum, Germany.
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2
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Makarava N, Baskakov IV. Role of sialylation of N-linked glycans in prion pathogenesis. Cell Tissue Res 2023; 392:201-214. [PMID: 35088180 PMCID: PMC9329487 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03584-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian prion or PrPSc is a proteinaceous infectious agent that consists of a misfolded, self-replicating state of the prion protein or PrPC. PrPC and PrPSc are posttranslationally modified with N-linked glycans, which are sialylated at the terminal positions. More than 30 years have passed since the first characterization of the composition and structural diversity of N-linked glycans associated with the prion protein, yet the role of carbohydrate groups that constitute N-glycans and, in particular, their terminal sialic acid residues in prion disease pathogenesis remains poorly understood. A number of recent studies shed a light on the role of sialylation in the biology of prion diseases. This review article discusses several mechanisms by which terminal sialylation dictates the spread of PrPSc across brain regions and the outcomes of prion infection in an organism. In particular, relationships between the sialylation status of PrPSc and important strain-specific features including lymphotropism, neurotropism, and neuroinflammation are discussed. Moreover, emerging evidence pointing out the roles of sialic acid residues in prion replication, cross-species transmission, strain competition, and strain adaptation are reviewed. A hypothesis according to which selective, strain-specified recruitment of PrPC sialoglycoforms dictates unique strain-specific disease phenotypes is examined. Finally, the current article proposes that prion strains evolve as a result of a delicate balance between recruiting highly sialylated glycoforms to avoid an "eat-me" response by glia and limiting heavily sialylated glycoforms for enabling rapid prion replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natallia Makarava
- Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Ilia V Baskakov
- Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
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3
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Myskiw J, Lamoureux L, Peterson A, Knox D, Jansen GH, Coulthart MB, Booth SA. Development of an Automated Capillary Immunoassay to Detect Prion Glycotypes in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. J Transl Med 2023; 103:100029. [PMID: 36925197 DOI: 10.1016/j.labinv.2022.100029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) comprises a group of transmissible neurodegenerative diseases with vast phenotypic diversity. Sporadic CJD heterogeneity is predominantly influenced by the genotype at codon 129 of the prion-encoding gene and the molecular weight of PrPSc fragments after protease digestion, resulting in a classification of 6 subtypes of CJD (MM1, MM2, MV1, MV2, VV1, and VV2). The majority of cases with CJD can be distinguished using this classification system. However, a number of reported CJD cases are phenotypically unique from others within their same subtype, such as variably protease-sensitive prionopathies, or exist as a mixture of subtypes within the same patient. Western blotting of brain tissue, along with the genotyping of codon 129 of the prion-encoding gene, is considered the "gold standard" for the biochemical characterization of CJD. Western blotting requires a significant amount of prion protein for detection, is labor-intensive, and is also associated with high interassay variability. In addition to these limitations, a growing body of research suggests that unique subtypes of CJD are often undetected or misdiagnosed using standard diagnostic western blotting protocols. Consequently, we successfully optimized and developed a capillary-based western assay using the JESS Simple Western (ProteinSimple) to detect and characterize prion proteins from patients with CJD. We found that this novel assay consistently differentiated CJD type 1 and type 2 cases with a limit of detection 10 to 100× higher than traditional western blotting. Cases with CJD in which type 1 and type 2 coexist within the same brain region can be detected using type 1-specific and type 2-specific antibodies, and we found that there was remarkable specificity for the detection of cases with variably protease-sensitive prionopathy. The assay presented displays outstanding sensitivity, allowing for the preservation of valuable samples and enhancing current detection methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Myskiw
- One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Lise Lamoureux
- One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Anne Peterson
- One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - David Knox
- One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Gerard H Jansen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael B Coulthart
- Canadian Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance System, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stephanie A Booth
- One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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4
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Foliaki ST, Smith A, Schwarz B, Bohrnsen E, Bosio CM, Williams K, Orrú CD, Lachenauer H, Groveman BR, Haigh CL. Altered energy metabolism in Fatal Familial Insomnia cerebral organoids is associated with astrogliosis and neuronal dysfunction. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010565. [PMID: 36656833 PMCID: PMC9851538 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) is a rare neurodegenerative disease caused by a dominantly inherited single amino acid substitution (D178N) within the prion protein (PrP). No in vitro human brain tissue model for this disease has previously been available. Consequently, how this mutation exerts its damaging effect on brain cells is still unknown. Using CRISPR-Cas9 engineered induced pluripotent stem cells, we made D178N cerebral organoids and compared these with isotype control organoids. We found that, in the absence of other hallmarks of FFI, the D178N organoids exhibited astrogliosis with cellular oxidative stress. Abnormal post-translational processing of PrP was evident but no tissue deposition or propagation of mis-folded PrP isoforms were observed. Neuronal electrophysiological function was compromised and levels of neurotransmitters, particularly acetylcholine and GABA, altered. Underlying these dysfunctions were changes in cellular energy homeostasis, with substantially increased glycolytic and Krebs cycle intermediates, and greater mitochondrial activity. This increased energy demand in D178N organoids was associated with increased mitophagy and depletion of lipid droplets, in turn resulting in shifts of cellular lipid composition. Using a double mutation (178NN) we could confirm that most changes were caused by the presence of the mutation rather than interaction with PrP molecules lacking the mutation. Our data strongly suggests that shifting biosynthetic intermediates and oxidative stress, caused by an imbalance of energy supply and demand, results in astrogliosis with compromised neuronal activity in FFI organoids. They further support that many of the disease associated changes are due to a corruption of PrP function and do not require propagation of PrP mis-folding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simote T. Foliaki
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Anna Smith
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Benjamin Schwarz
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Eric Bohrnsen
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Catharine M. Bosio
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Katie Williams
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Christina D. Orrú
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Hailey Lachenauer
- Research Technologies Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Bradley R. Groveman
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Cathryn L. Haigh
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America,* E-mail:
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5
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Manka SW, Wenborn A, Collinge J, Wadsworth JDF. Prion strains viewed through the lens of cryo-EM. Cell Tissue Res 2022; 392:167-178. [PMID: 36028585 PMCID: PMC10113314 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03676-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian prions are lethal transmissible pathogens that cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases in humans and animals. They consist of fibrils of misfolded, host-encoded prion protein (PrP) which propagate through templated protein polymerisation. Prion strains produce distinct clinicopathological phenotypes in the same host and appear to be encoded by distinct misfolded PrP conformations and assembly states. Despite fundamental advances in our understanding of prion biology, key knowledge gaps remain. These include precise delineation of prion replication mechanisms, detailed explanation of the molecular basis of prion strains and inter-species transmission barriers, and the structural definition of neurotoxic PrP species. Central to addressing these questions is the determination of prion structure. While high-resolution definition of ex vivo prion fibrils once seemed unlikely, recent advances in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and computational methods for 3D reconstruction of amyloids have now made this possible. Recently, near-atomic resolution structures of highly infectious, ex vivo prion fibrils from hamster 263K and mouse RML prion strains were reported. The fibrils have a comparable parallel in-register intermolecular β-sheet (PIRIBS) architecture that now provides a structural foundation for understanding prion strain diversity in mammals. Here, we review these new findings and discuss directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Szymon W Manka
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Adam Wenborn
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
| | - Jonathan D F Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
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6
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Manka SW, Zhang W, Wenborn A, Betts J, Joiner S, Saibil HR, Collinge J, Wadsworth JDF. 2.7 Å cryo-EM structure of ex vivo RML prion fibrils. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4004. [PMID: 35831275 PMCID: PMC9279362 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30457-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian prions propagate as distinct strains and are composed of multichain assemblies of misfolded host-encoded prion protein (PrP). Here, we present a near-atomic resolution cryo-EM structure of PrP fibrils present in highly infectious prion rod preparations isolated from the brains of RML prion-infected mice. We found that prion rods comprise single-protofilament helical amyloid fibrils that coexist with twisted pairs of the same protofilaments. Each rung of the protofilament is formed by a single PrP monomer with the ordered core comprising PrP residues 94-225, which folds to create two asymmetric lobes with the N-linked glycans and the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor projecting from the C-terminal lobe. The overall architecture is comparable to that of recently reported PrP fibrils isolated from the brain of hamsters infected with the 263K prion strain. However, there are marked conformational variations that could result from differences in PrP sequence and/or represent distinguishing features of the distinct prion strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Szymon W Manka
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Wenjuan Zhang
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Adam Wenborn
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Jemma Betts
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Susan Joiner
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Helen R Saibil
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
| | - Jonathan D F Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
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7
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Phenotypic diversity of genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a histo-molecular-based classification. Acta Neuropathol 2021; 142:707-728. [PMID: 34324063 PMCID: PMC8423680 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-021-02350-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The current classification of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) includes six major clinicopathological subtypes defined by the physicochemical properties of the protease-resistant core of the pathologic prion protein (PrPSc), defining two major PrPSc types (i.e., 1 and 2), and the methionine (M)/valine (V) polymorphic codon 129 of the prion protein gene (PRNP). How these sCJD subtypes relate to the well-documented phenotypic heterogeneity of genetic CJD (gCJD) is not fully understood. We analyzed molecular and phenotypic features in 208 individuals affected by gCJD, carrying 17 different mutations, and compared them with those of a large series of sCJD cases. We identified six major groups of gCJD based on the combination PrPSc type and codon 129 genotype on PRNP mutated allele, each showing distinctive histopathological characteristics, irrespectively of the PRNP associated mutation. Five gCJD groups, named M1, M2C, M2T, V1, and V2, largely reproduced those previously described in sCJD subtypes. The sixth group shared phenotypic traits with the V2 group and was only detected in patients carrying the E200K-129M haplotype in association with a PrPSc type of intermediate size (“i”) between type 1 and type 2. Additional mutation-specific effects involved the pattern of PrP deposition (e.g., a “thickened” synaptic pattern in E200K carriers, cerebellar “stripe-like linear granular deposits” in those with insertion mutations, and intraneuronal globular dots in E200K-V2 or -M”i”). A few isolated cases linked to rare PRNP haplotypes (e.g., T183A-129M), showed atypical phenotypic features, which prevented their classification into the six major groups. The phenotypic variability of gCJD is mostly consistent with that previously found in sCJD. As in sCJD, the codon 129 genotype and physicochemical properties of PrPSc significantly correlated with the phenotypic variability of gCJD. The most common mutations linked to CJD appear to have a variable and overall less significant effect on the disease phenotype, but they significantly influence disease susceptibility often in a strain-specific manner. The criteria currently used for sCJD subtypes can be expanded and adapted to gCJD to provide an updated classification of the disease with a molecular basis.
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Brennecke N, Cali I, Mok TH, Speedy H, Hosszu LLP, Stehmann C, Cracco L, Puoti G, Prior TW, Cohen ML, Collins SJ, Mead S, Appleby BS. Characterization of Prion Disease Associated with a Two-Octapeptide Repeat Insertion. Viruses 2021; 13:1794. [PMID: 34578375 PMCID: PMC8473248 DOI: 10.3390/v13091794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic prion disease accounts for 10-15% of prion disease. While insertion of four or more octapeptide repeats are clearly pathogenic, smaller repeat insertions have an unclear pathogenicity. The goal of this case series was to provide an insight into the characteristics of the 2-octapeptide repeat genetic variant and to provide insight into the risk for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in asymptomatic carriers. 2-octapeptide repeat insertion prion disease cases were collected from the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (US), the National Prion Clinic (UK), and the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Registry (Australia). Three largescale population genetic databases were queried for the 2-octapeptide repeat insertion allele. Eight cases of 2-octapeptide repeat insertion were identified. The cases were indistinguishable from the sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob cases of the same molecular subtype. Western blot characterization of the prion protein in the absence of enzymatic digestion with proteinase K revealed that 2-octapeptide repeat insertion and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have distinct prion protein profiles. Interrogation of large-scale population datasets suggested the variant is of very low penetrance. The 2-octapeptide repeat insertion is at most a low-risk genetic variant. Predictive genetic testing for asymptomatic blood relatives is not likely to be justified given the low risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Brennecke
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals Cleveland Medical, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; (N.B.); (M.L.C.)
| | - Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Tze How Mok
- MRC Prion Unit at University College London, Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK; (T.H.M.); (H.S.); (L.L.P.H.); (S.M.)
| | - Helen Speedy
- MRC Prion Unit at University College London, Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK; (T.H.M.); (H.S.); (L.L.P.H.); (S.M.)
| | | | - Laszlo L. P. Hosszu
- MRC Prion Unit at University College London, Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK; (T.H.M.); (H.S.); (L.L.P.H.); (S.M.)
| | - Christiane Stehmann
- Australian National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Registry, The Florey Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia; (C.S.); (S.J.C.)
| | - Laura Cracco
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA;
| | - Gianfranco Puoti
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy;
- Prion Disease Diagnosis and Surveillance Center (PDDSC), University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Thomas W. Prior
- Center for Human Genetics Laboratory, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
| | - Mark L. Cohen
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals Cleveland Medical, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; (N.B.); (M.L.C.)
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Steven J. Collins
- Australian National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Registry, The Florey Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia; (C.S.); (S.J.C.)
| | - Simon Mead
- MRC Prion Unit at University College London, Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK; (T.H.M.); (H.S.); (L.L.P.H.); (S.M.)
| | - Brian S. Appleby
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals Cleveland Medical, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; (N.B.); (M.L.C.)
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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9
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Carta M, Aguzzi A. Molecular foundations of prion strain diversity. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 72:22-31. [PMID: 34416480 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Despite being caused by a single protein, prion diseases are strikingly heterogenous. Individual prion variants, known as strains, possess distinct biochemical properties, form aggregates with characteristic morphologies and preferentially seed certain brain regions, causing markedly different disease phenotypes. Strain diversity is determined by protein structure, post-translational modifications and the presence of extracellular matrix components, with single amino acid substitutions or altered protein glycosylation exerting dramatic effects. Here, we review recent advances in the study of prion strains and discuss how a deeper knowledge of the molecular origins of strain heterogeneity is providing a foundation for the development of anti-prion therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manfredi Carta
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zurich, University of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adriano Aguzzi
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zurich, University of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
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10
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Rábano A, Guerrero Márquez C, Juste RA, Geijo MV, Calero M. Medial Temporal Lobe Involvement in Human Prion Diseases: Implications for the Study of Focal Non Prion Neurodegenerative Pathology. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11030413. [PMID: 33802224 PMCID: PMC7998497 DOI: 10.3390/biom11030413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Human prion and non-prion neurodegenerative diseases share pathogenic mechanisms and neuropathological features. The lesion profile of a particular entity results from specific involvement of vulnerable neuron populations and connectivity circuits by a pathogenic protein isoform with strain-like properties. The lesion profile of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) was studied in postmortem tissue of 143 patients with human prion disease (HPD) including sporadic, genetic, and acquired forms. Most cases (90%) were classified according to PrPres type and/or PRNP codon 129 status, in addition to a full neuropathological profile. Mixed histotypes represented 29.4% of total sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) cases. An intensity score of involvement including spongiosis and astrogliosis was determined for the amygdala, presubiculum, subiculum, entorhinal cortex, CA1 to CA4 sectors of the hippocampal cortex, and dentate gyrus. Connectivity hubs within the MTL presented the highest scores. Diverse lesion profiles were obtained for different types and subtypes of HPD. Impact of mixed PrPres types on the MTL lesion profile was higher for sCJDMV2K cases than in other histotypes. Differences between MTL profiles was globally consistent with current evidence on specific strains in HPD. These results may be relevant for the analysis of possible strain effects in focal non-prion neurodegenerative conditions limited to the MTL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Rábano
- Neuropathology Department, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit, CIEN Foundation, Institute of Health Carlos III, Queen Sofía Foundation Alzheimer Research Center, 28031 Madrid, Spain
- CIEN Foundation and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Institute of Health Carlos III, 28031 Madrid, Spain;
- Correspondence:
| | - Carmen Guerrero Márquez
- Neurological Tissue Bank—HUFA Biobank, Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Ramón A. Juste
- Department of Animal Health, NEIKER-Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Bizkaia P812, 48160 Derio, Spain; (R.A.J.); (M.V.G.)
| | - María V. Geijo
- Department of Animal Health, NEIKER-Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Bizkaia P812, 48160 Derio, Spain; (R.A.J.); (M.V.G.)
| | - Miguel Calero
- CIEN Foundation and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Institute of Health Carlos III, 28031 Madrid, Spain;
- Chronic Disease Program, Institute of Health Carlos III, 28222 Madrid, Spain
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11
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Mok TH, Nihat A, Luk C, Sequeira D, Batchelor M, Mead S, Collinge J, Jackson GS. Bank vole prion protein extends the use of RT-QuIC assays to detect prions in a range of inherited prion diseases. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5231. [PMID: 33664355 PMCID: PMC7933407 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84527-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) real-time quaking-induced conversion assay (RT-QuIC) is an ultrasensitive prion amyloid seeding assay for diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) but several prion strains remain unexplored or resistant to conversion with commonly used recombinant prion protein (rPrP) substrates. Here, bank vole (BV) rPrP was used to study seeding by a wide range of archived post-mortem human CSF samples from cases of sporadic, acquired and various inherited prion diseases in high throughput 384-well format. BV rPrP substrate yielded positive reactions in 70/79 cases of sporadic CJD [Sensitivity 88.6% (95% CI 79.5-94.7%)], 1/2 variant CJD samples, and 9/20 samples from various inherited prion diseases; 5/57 non-prion disease control CSFs had positive reactions, yielding an overall specificity of 91.2% (95% CI 80.1-97.1%). Despite limitations of using post-mortem samples and our results' discrepancy with other studies, we demonstrated for the first time that BV rPrP is susceptible to conversion by human CSF samples containing certain prion strains not previously responsive in conventional rPrPs, thus justifying further optimisation for wider diagnostic and prognostic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tze How Mok
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Akin Nihat
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Connie Luk
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Danielle Sequeira
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Mark Batchelor
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Simon Mead
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Graham S Jackson
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
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12
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Asante EA, Linehan JM, Tomlinson A, Jakubcova T, Hamdan S, Grimshaw A, Smidak M, Jeelani A, Nihat A, Mead S, Brandner S, Wadsworth JDF, Collinge J. Spontaneous generation of prions and transmissible PrP amyloid in a humanised transgenic mouse model of A117V GSS. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000725. [PMID: 32516343 PMCID: PMC7282622 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Inherited prion diseases are caused by autosomal dominant coding mutations in the human prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP) and account for about 15% of human prion disease cases worldwide. The proposed mechanism is that the mutation predisposes to conformational change in the expressed protein, leading to the generation of disease-related multichain PrP assemblies that propagate by seeded protein misfolding. Despite considerable experimental support for this hypothesis, to-date spontaneous formation of disease-relevant, transmissible PrP assemblies in transgenic models expressing only mutant human PrP has not been demonstrated. Here, we report findings from transgenic mice that express human PrP 117V on a mouse PrP null background (117VV Tg30 mice), which model the PRNP A117V mutation causing inherited prion disease (IPD) including Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease phenotypes in humans. By studying brain samples from uninoculated groups of mice, we discovered that some mice (≥475 days old) spontaneously generated abnormal PrP assemblies, which after inoculation into further groups of 117VV Tg30 mice, produced a molecular and neuropathological phenotype congruent with that seen after transmission of brain isolates from IPD A117V patients to the same mice. To the best of our knowledge, the 117VV Tg30 mouse line is the first transgenic model expressing only mutant human PrP to show spontaneous generation of transmissible PrP assemblies that directly mirror those generated in an inherited prion disease in humans. Transgenic mice expressing the human prion protein containing a mutation linked to the inherited prion disease Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease develop spontaneous neuropathology. This represents the first human prion protein transgenic model to show spontaneous generation of transmissible prion assemblies that directly mirror those generated in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel A. Asante
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (EAA); (JDFW); (JC)
| | | | - Andrew Tomlinson
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tatiana Jakubcova
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
| | - Shyma Hamdan
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Grimshaw
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michelle Smidak
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
| | - Asif Jeelani
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
| | - Akin Nihat
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Mead
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sebastian Brandner
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Division of Neuropathology, the National Hospital For Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan D. F. Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (EAA); (JDFW); (JC)
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (EAA); (JDFW); (JC)
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13
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Giaccone G, Moda F. PMCA Applications for Prion Detection in Peripheral Tissues of Patients with Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10030405. [PMID: 32151109 PMCID: PMC7175161 DOI: 10.3390/biom10030405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are neurodegenerative and invariably fatal conditions that affect humans and animals. In particular, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are paradigmatic forms of human and animal prion diseases, respectively. Human exposure to BSE through contaminated food caused the appearance of the new variant form of CJD (vCJD). These diseases are caused by an abnormal prion protein named PrPSc (or prion), which accumulates in the brain and leads to the onset of the disease. Their definite diagnosis can be formulated only at post-mortem after biochemical and neuropathological identification of PrPSc. Thanks to the advent of an innovative technique named protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), traces of PrPSc, undetectable with the standard diagnostic techniques, were found in peripheral tissues of patients with vCJD, even at preclinical stages. The technology is currently being used in specialized laboratories and can be exploited for helping physicians in formulating an early and definite diagnosis of vCJD using peripheral tissues. However, this assay is currently unable to detect prions associated with the sporadic CJD (sCJD) forms, which are more frequent than vCJD. This review will focus on the most recent advances and applications of PMCA in the field of vCJD and other human prion disease diagnosis.
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14
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Moda F, Bolognesi ML, Legname G. Novel screening approaches for human prion diseases drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2019; 14:983-993. [PMID: 31271065 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2019.1637851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: Human prion diseases are rare fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by the misfolding and aggregation of the prion protein in the form of infectious prions. So far, these diseases are incurable. One of the major difficulties in identifying suitable drugs is the availability of robust preclinical screening methods. All molecules identified have been screened using cell-based assays and in vivo murine models. The existence of a continuum of prion strains has hampered the identification of efficacious molecules modulating the progression of different forms of the disease. Areas covered: The advent of new in vitro screening methodologies is allowing for novel strategies to develop new compounds that could interfere with a broad range of diseases. In particular, two innovative techniques named Real Time Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) and Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (PMCA) have opened new venues for testing compounds in a rapid a reproducible way. These are discussed within. Expert opinion: For human prion diseases, one major hurdle has been a well-defined screening methodology. In other animal species, cell-based assays have been employed that could replicate animal prions indefinitely. Such a tool for human prion diseases is still missing. Therefore, the advent of RT-QuIC and PMCA has proven instrumental to overcome this limitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Moda
- Division of Neurology 5 - Neuropathology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta , Milano , Italy
| | - Maria Laura Bolognesi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) , Trieste , Italy
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15
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Rossi M, Baiardi S, Parchi P. Understanding Prion Strains: Evidence from Studies of the Disease Forms Affecting Humans. Viruses 2019; 11:E309. [PMID: 30934971 PMCID: PMC6520670 DOI: 10.3390/v11040309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a unique group of rare neurodegenerative disorders characterized by tissue deposition of heterogeneous aggregates of abnormally folded protease-resistant prion protein (PrPSc), a broad spectrum of disease phenotypes and a variable efficiency of disease propagation in vivo. The dominant clinicopathological phenotypes of human prion disease include Creutzfeldt⁻Jakob disease, fatal insomnia, variably protease-sensitive prionopathy, and Gerstmann⁻Sträussler⁻Scheinker disease. Prion disease propagation into susceptible hosts led to the isolation and characterization of prion strains, initially operatively defined as "isolates" causing diseases with distinctive characteristics, such as the incubation period, the pattern of PrPSc distribution, and the regional severity of neuropathological changes after injection into syngeneic hosts. More recently, the structural basis of prion strains has been linked to amyloid polymorphs (i.e., variant amyloid protein conformations) and the concept extended to all protein amyloids showing polymorphic structures and some evidence of in vivo or in vitro propagation by seeding. Despite the significant advances, however, the link between amyloid structure and disease is not understood in many instances. Here we reviewed the most significant contributions of human prion disease studies to current knowledge of the molecular basis of phenotypic variability and the prion strain phenomenon and underlined the unsolved issues from the human disease perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcello Rossi
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna 40138, Italy.
- IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna 40139, Italy.
| | - Simone Baiardi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna 40123, Italy.
| | - Piero Parchi
- IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna 40139, Italy.
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna 40138, Italy.
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16
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Terry C, Harniman RL, Sells J, Wenborn A, Joiner S, Saibil HR, Miles MJ, Collinge J, Wadsworth JDF. Structural features distinguishing infectious ex vivo mammalian prions from non-infectious fibrillar assemblies generated in vitro. Sci Rep 2019; 9:376. [PMID: 30675000 PMCID: PMC6344479 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36700-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Seeded polymerisation of proteins forming amyloid fibres and their spread in tissues has been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple neurodegenerative diseases: so called "prion-like" mechanisms. While ex vivo mammalian prions, composed of multichain assemblies of misfolded host-encoded prion protein (PrP), act as lethal infectious agents, PrP amyloid fibrils produced in vitro generally do not. The high-resolution structure of authentic infectious prions and the structural basis of prion strain diversity remain unknown. Here we use cryo-electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to examine the structure of highly infectious PrP rods isolated from mouse brain in comparison to non-infectious recombinant PrP fibrils generated in vitro. Non-infectious recombinant PrP fibrils are 10 nm wide single fibres, with a double helical repeating substructure displaying small variations in adhesive force interactions across their width. In contrast, infectious PrP rods are 20 nm wide and contain two fibres, each with a double helical repeating substructure, separated by a central gap of 8-10 nm in width. This gap contains an irregularly structured material whose adhesive force properties are strikingly different to that of the fibres, suggestive of a distinct composition. The structure of the infectious PrP rods, which cause lethal neurodegeneration, readily differentiates them from all other protein assemblies so far characterised in other neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra Terry
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
- London Metropolitan University, North Campus, Holloway Road, London, N7 8DB, UK
| | | | - Jessica Sells
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
- King's Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 9RT, UK
| | - Adam Wenborn
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Susan Joiner
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Helen R Saibil
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Mervyn J Miles
- School of Physics, H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL, UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
| | - Jonathan D F Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
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17
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Mok TH, Koriath C, Jaunmuktane Z, Campbell T, Joiner S, Wadsworth JDF, Hosszu LLP, Brandner S, Parvez A, Truelsen TC, Lund EL, Saha R, Collinge J, Mead S. Evaluating the causality of novel sequence variants in the prion protein gene by example. Neurobiol Aging 2018; 71:265.e1-265.e7. [PMID: 29861043 PMCID: PMC6175539 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Revised: 04/22/2018] [Accepted: 05/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The estimation of pathogenicity and penetrance of novel prion protein gene (PRNP) variants presents significant challenges, particularly in the absence of family history, which precludes the application of Mendelian segregation. Moreover, the ambiguities of prion disease pathophysiology renders conventional in silico predictions inconclusive. Here, we describe 2 patients with rapid cognitive decline progressing to akinetic mutism and death within 10 weeks of symptom onset, both of whom possessed the novel T201S variant in PRNP. Clinically, both satisfied diagnostic criteria for probable sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and in one, the diagnosis was confirmed by neuropathology. While computational analyses predicted that T201S was possibly deleterious, molecular strain typing, prion protein structural considerations, and calculations leveraging large-scale population data (gnomAD) indicate that T201S is at best either of low penetrance or nonpathogenic. Thus, we illustrate the utility of harnessing multiple lines of prion disease-specific evidence in the evaluation of the T201S variant, which may be similarly applied to assess other novel variants in PRNP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tze How Mok
- MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, UK; National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Carolin Koriath
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Zane Jaunmuktane
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK; Division of Neuropathology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Tracy Campbell
- MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, UK
| | - Susan Joiner
- MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, UK
| | | | | | - Sebastian Brandner
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK; Division of Neuropathology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Ambereen Parvez
- Department of Neurology, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Eva Løbner Lund
- Department of Pathology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Romi Saha
- Hurstwood Park Neurological Centre, Sussex, UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, UK; National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Simon Mead
- MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, UK; National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
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18
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Taguchi Y, Lu L, Marrero-Winkens C, Otaki H, Nishida N, Schatzl HM. Disulfide-crosslink scanning reveals prion-induced conformational changes and prion strain-specific structures of the pathological prion protein PrP Sc. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:12730-12740. [PMID: 29934306 PMCID: PMC6102138 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra117.001633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Revised: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are composed solely of the pathological isoform (PrPSc) of the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC). Identification of different PrPSc structures is crucially important for understanding prion biology because the pathogenic properties of prions are hypothesized to be encoded in the structures of PrPSc However, these structures remain yet to be identified, because of the incompatibility of PrPSc with conventional high-resolution structural analysis methods. Previously, we reported that the region between the first and the second α-helix (H1∼H2) of PrPC might cooperate with the more C-terminal side region for efficient interactions with PrPSc From this starting point, we created a series of PrP variants with two cysteine substitutions (C;C-PrP) forming a disulfide-crosslink between H1∼H2 and the distal region of the third helix (Ctrm). We then assessed the conversion capabilities of the C;C-PrP variants in N2a cells infected with mouse-adapted scrapie prions (22L-ScN2a). Specifically, Cys substitutions at residues 165, 166, or 168 in H1∼H2 were combined with cysteine scanning along Ctrm residues 220-229. We found that C;C-PrPs are expressed normally with glycosylation patterns and subcellular localization similar to WT PrP, albeit differing in expression levels. Interestingly, some C;C-PrPs converted to protease-resistant isoforms in the 22L-ScN2a cells, but not in Fukuoka1 prion-infected cells. Crosslink patterns of convertible C;C-PrPs indicated a positional change of H1∼H2 toward Ctrm in PrPSc-induced conformational conversion. Given the properties of the C;C-PrPs reported here, we propose that these PrP variants may be useful tools for investigating prion strain-specific structures and structure-phenotype relationships of PrPSc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzuru Taguchi
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
| | - Li Lu
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada; Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Cristobal Marrero-Winkens
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada; Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Hiroki Otaki
- Center for Bioinformatics and Molecular Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Noriyuki Nishida
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Hermann M Schatzl
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada; Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
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19
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Abstract
Genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is associated with mutations in the human PrP gene (PRNP) on chromosome 20p12-pter. Pathogenic mutations have been identified in 10-15% of all CJD patients, who often have a family history of autosomal-dominant pattern of inheritance and variable penetrance. However, the use of genetic tests implemented by surveillance networks all over the world increasingly identifies unexpectedly PRNP mutations in persons apparently presenting with a sporadic form of CJD. A high phenotypic variability was reported in genetic prion diseases, which partly overlap with the features of sporadic CJD. Here we review recent advances on the epidemiologic, clinical, and neuropathologic features of cases that phenotypically resemble CJD linked to point and insert mutations of the PRNP gene. Multidisciplinary studies are still required to understand the phenotypic spectrum, penetrance, and significance of PRNP mutations.
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20
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Genetic human prion disease modelled in PrP transgenic Drosophila. Biochem J 2017; 474:3253-3267. [PMID: 28814578 PMCID: PMC5606059 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20170462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Revised: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Inherited human prion diseases, such as fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and familial Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (fCJD), are associated with autosomal dominant mutations in the human prion protein gene PRNP and accumulation of PrPSc, an abnormal isomer of the normal host protein PrPC, in the brain of affected individuals. PrPSc is the principal component of the transmissible neurotoxic prion agent. It is important to identify molecular pathways and cellular processes that regulate prion formation and prion-induced neurotoxicity. This will allow identification of possible therapeutic interventions for individuals with, or at risk from, genetic human prion disease. Increasingly, Drosophila has been used to model human neurodegenerative disease. An important unanswered question is whether genetic prion disease with concomitant spontaneous prion formation can be modelled in Drosophila. We have used pUAST/PhiC31-mediated site-directed mutagenesis to generate Drosophila transgenic for murine or hamster PrP (prion protein) that carry single-codon mutations associated with genetic human prion disease. Mouse or hamster PrP harbouring an FFI (D178N) or fCJD (E200K) mutation showed mild Proteinase K resistance when expressed in Drosophila. Adult Drosophila transgenic for FFI or fCJD variants of mouse or hamster PrP displayed a spontaneous decline in locomotor ability that increased in severity as the flies aged. Significantly, this mutant PrP-mediated neurotoxic fly phenotype was transferable to recipient Drosophila that expressed the wild-type form of the transgene. Collectively, our novel data are indicative of the spontaneous formation of a PrP-dependent neurotoxic phenotype in FFI- or CJD-PrP transgenic Drosophila and show that inherited human prion disease can be modelled in this invertebrate host.
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21
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Wadsworth JDF, Adamson G, Joiner S, Brock L, Powell C, Linehan JM, Beck JA, Brandner S, Mead S, Collinge J. Methods for Molecular Diagnosis of Human Prion Disease. Methods Mol Biol 2017; 1658:311-346. [PMID: 28861799 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7244-9_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Human prion diseases are associated with a range of clinical presentations, and they are classified by both clinicopathological syndrome and etiology, with subclassification according to molecular criteria. Here, we describe updated procedures that are currently used within the MRC Prion Unit at UCL to determine a molecular diagnosis of human prion disease. Sequencing of the PRNP open reading frame to establish the presence of pathogenic mutations is described, together with detailed methods for immunoblot or immunohistochemical determination of the presence of abnormal prion protein in the brain or peripheral tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D F Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
| | - Gary Adamson
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Susan Joiner
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Lara Brock
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Caroline Powell
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jacqueline M Linehan
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jonathan A Beck
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Sebastian Brandner
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Simon Mead
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
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22
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Minikel EV, Vallabh SM, Lek M, Estrada K, Samocha KE, Sathirapongsasuti JF, McLean CY, Tung JY, Yu LPC, Gambetti P, Blevins J, Zhang S, Cohen Y, Chen W, Yamada M, Hamaguchi T, Sanjo N, Mizusawa H, Nakamura Y, Kitamoto T, Collins SJ, Boyd A, Will RG, Knight R, Ponto C, Zerr I, Kraus TFJ, Eigenbrod S, Giese A, Calero M, de Pedro-Cuesta J, Haïk S, Laplanche JL, Bouaziz-Amar E, Brandel JP, Capellari S, Parchi P, Poleggi A, Ladogana A, O'Donnell-Luria AH, Karczewski KJ, Marshall JL, Boehnke M, Laakso M, Mohlke KL, Kähler A, Chambert K, McCarroll S, Sullivan PF, Hultman CM, Purcell SM, Sklar P, van der Lee SJ, Rozemuller A, Jansen C, Hofman A, Kraaij R, van Rooij JGJ, Ikram MA, Uitterlinden AG, van Duijn CM, Daly MJ, MacArthur DG. Quantifying prion disease penetrance using large population control cohorts. Sci Transl Med 2016; 8:322ra9. [PMID: 26791950 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aad5169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
More than 100,000 genetic variants are reported to cause Mendelian disease in humans, but the penetrance-the probability that a carrier of the purported disease-causing genotype will indeed develop the disease-is generally unknown. We assess the impact of variants in the prion protein gene (PRNP) on the risk of prion disease by analyzing 16,025 prion disease cases, 60,706 population control exomes, and 531,575 individuals genotyped by 23andMe Inc. We show that missense variants in PRNP previously reported to be pathogenic are at least 30 times more common in the population than expected on the basis of genetic prion disease prevalence. Although some of this excess can be attributed to benign variants falsely assigned as pathogenic, other variants have genuine effects on disease susceptibility but confer lifetime risks ranging from <0.1 to ~100%. We also show that truncating variants in PRNP have position-dependent effects, with true loss-of-function alleles found in healthy older individuals, a finding that supports the safety of therapeutic suppression of prion protein expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Vallabh Minikel
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Prion Alliance, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Sonia M Vallabh
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Prion Alliance, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Monkol Lek
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Karol Estrada
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Kaitlin E Samocha
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Cory Y McLean
- Research, 23andMe Inc., Mountain View, CA 94041, USA
| | - Joyce Y Tung
- Research, 23andMe Inc., Mountain View, CA 94041, USA
| | - Linda P C Yu
- Research, 23andMe Inc., Mountain View, CA 94041, USA
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Janis Blevins
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Shulin Zhang
- University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Yvonne Cohen
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Wei Chen
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Masahito Yamada
- Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Hamaguchi
- Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
| | - Nobuo Sanjo
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Science, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
| | - Hidehiro Mizusawa
- National Center Hospital, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan
| | - Yosikazu Nakamura
- Department of Public Health, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke 329-0498, Japan
| | - Tetsuyuki Kitamoto
- Department of Neurological Science, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
| | - Steven J Collins
- Australian National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Registry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Alison Boyd
- Australian National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Registry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Robert G Will
- National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Research & Surveillance Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Richard Knight
- National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Research & Surveillance Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Claudia Ponto
- National Reference Center for the Surveillance of Human Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, Georg-August-University, Goettingen 37073, Germany
| | - Inga Zerr
- National Reference Center for the Surveillance of Human Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, Georg-August-University, Goettingen 37073, Germany
| | - Theo F J Kraus
- Center for Neuropathology and Prion Research (ZNP), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Sabina Eigenbrod
- Center for Neuropathology and Prion Research (ZNP), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Armin Giese
- Center for Neuropathology and Prion Research (ZNP), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Miguel Calero
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28031, Spain
| | - Jesús de Pedro-Cuesta
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28031, Spain
| | - Stéphane Haïk
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, Pierre and Marie Curie University Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, 75013 Paris, France. Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Cellule Nationale de Référence des Maladies de Creutzfeldt-Jakob, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Jean-Louis Laplanche
- AP-HP, Service de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire, Hôpital Lariboisière, 75010 Paris, France
| | - Elodie Bouaziz-Amar
- AP-HP, Service de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire, Hôpital Lariboisière, 75010 Paris, France
| | - Jean-Philippe Brandel
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, Pierre and Marie Curie University Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, 75013 Paris, France. Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Cellule Nationale de Référence des Maladies de Creutzfeldt-Jakob, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Sabina Capellari
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna 40123, Italy. Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
| | - Piero Parchi
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna 40123, Italy. Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
| | - Anna Poleggi
- Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Anna Ladogana
- Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Anne H O'Donnell-Luria
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Konrad J Karczewski
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Jamie L Marshall
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Michael Boehnke
- Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Markku Laakso
- Department of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Karen L Mohlke
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Anna Kähler
- Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm SE-171 77, Sweden
| | - Kimberly Chambert
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Steven McCarroll
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Patrick F Sullivan
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm SE-171 77, Sweden
| | | | - Shaun M Purcell
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Pamela Sklar
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Sven J van der Lee
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center (MC), Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands
| | - Annemieke Rozemuller
- Dutch Surveillance Centre for Prion Diseases, Department of Pathology, University Medical Center, Utrecht 3584 CX, Netherlands
| | - Casper Jansen
- Dutch Surveillance Centre for Prion Diseases, Department of Pathology, University Medical Center, Utrecht 3584 CX, Netherlands
| | - Albert Hofman
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center (MC), Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands
| | - Robert Kraaij
- Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands
| | | | - M Arfan Ikram
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center (MC), Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands
| | - André G Uitterlinden
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center (MC), Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands. Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands
| | - Cornelia M van Duijn
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center (MC), Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands
| | | | - Mark J Daly
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Daniel G MacArthur
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Analytical and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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23
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Terry C, Wenborn A, Gros N, Sells J, Joiner S, Hosszu LLP, Tattum MH, Panico S, Clare DK, Collinge J, Saibil HR, Wadsworth JDF. Ex vivo mammalian prions are formed of paired double helical prion protein fibrils. Open Biol 2016; 6:rsob.160035. [PMID: 27249641 PMCID: PMC4892434 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.160035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2016] [Accepted: 04/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian prions are hypothesized to be fibrillar or amyloid forms of prion protein (PrP), but structures observed to date have not been definitively correlated with infectivity and the three-dimensional structure of infectious prions has remained obscure. Recently, we developed novel methods to obtain exceptionally pure preparations of prions from mouse brain and showed that pathogenic PrP in these high-titre preparations is assembled into rod-like assemblies. Here, we have used precise cell culture-based prion infectivity assays to define the physical relationship between the PrP rods and prion infectivity and have used electron tomography to define their architecture. We show that infectious PrP rods isolated from multiple prion strains have a common hierarchical assembly comprising twisted pairs of short fibres with repeating substructure. The architecture of the PrP rods provides a new structural basis for understanding prion infectivity and can explain the inability to systematically generate high-titre synthetic prions from recombinant PrP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra Terry
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Adam Wenborn
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Nathalie Gros
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jessica Sells
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Susan Joiner
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Laszlo L P Hosszu
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - M Howard Tattum
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Silvia Panico
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Daniel K Clare
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Helen R Saibil
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Jonathan D F Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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24
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Carrillo Robles D, García Maldonado G. [Psychiatric manifestations by prions. A narrative review]. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 45:124-32. [PMID: 27132762 DOI: 10.1016/j.rcp.2015.07.005] [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: 11/06/2014] [Revised: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 07/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of rare and rapidly progressive neurodegenerative conditions that may cause neuropsychiatric symptoms. This group of diseases has been described since the 18(th) century, but they were recognized decades later, when it became clear that the humans were affected by infected animals. There was controversy when the problem was attributed to a single protein with infective capacity. The common pathological process is characterized by the conversion of the normal cellular prion protein into an abnormal form. In humans, the illness has been classified as idiopathic, inherited and acquired through exposure to exogenous material containing abnormal prions. The most prominent neurological manifestation of prion diseases is the emergence of a rapidly progressive dementia, mioclonus associated with cerebellar ataxia and also extra pyramidal symptoms. Psychiatric symptoms occur in early stages of the illness and can contribute to timely diagnosis of this syndrome. Psychiatric symptoms have traditionally been grouped in three categories: affective symptoms, impaired motor function and psychotic symptoms. Such events usually occur during the prodromal period prior to the neurological manifestations and consists in the presence of social isolation, onset of delusions, irritability/aggression, visual hallucinations, anxiety and depression, and less frequent first-rank symptoms among others. Definite diagnosis requires post mortem examination. The possibility that a large number of cases may occur in the next years or that many cases have not been considered with this diagnosis is a fact. In our opinion, psychiatrists should be aware of symptoms of this disease. The main objective of this research consisted of assessing the correlation between this disturbance and neuro-psychiatric symptoms and particularly if this psychiatric manifestations integrate a clinical picture suggestive for the diagnosis of these diseases, but firstly reviewed taxonomic, pathogenic and pathological aspects. The authors of this project also added an element in relation to some diagnostic considerations based on scientific evidence. For the search controlled descriptors applied to the research for indexing scientific articles in databases were used. The electronic data bases used were PubMed, EMBASE and also PsycInfo. The descriptors were prion diseases, psychotic disorders, depression, mood disorders, pathology, classification, prion protein, history, neurological manifestations, and psychiatric manifestations. The selection criteria for the material were qualitative. To conclude, and based on the extensive literature review, the authors propose that the period where the evidence is more robust for mental impaired is named "psychiatric symptoms phase, which can be extended for a few months, being the psychiatric affective symptoms the most characteristic of this phase. In conclusion, we considered that the identification of these symptoms in a patient with risk factors for developing the disease will contribute to the early identification, and would regulate the guidelines in suspected diagnosis of this group of disorders. The intention is provide a better quality of life to the sick people.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gerardo García Maldonado
- Hospital Psiquiátrico de Tampico, Secretaria de Salud, Tampico, Tamaulipas, México; Universidad del Noreste, Tampico, Tamaulipas, México
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25
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Llorens F, Thüne K, Schmitz M, Ansoleaga B, Frau-Méndez MA, Cramm M, Tahir W, Gotzmann N, Berjaoui S, Carmona M, Silva CJ, Fernandez-Vega I, José Zarranz J, Zerr I, Ferrer I. Identification of new molecular alterations in fatal familial insomnia. Hum Mol Genet 2016; 25:2417-2436. [PMID: 27056979 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddw108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2016] [Revised: 04/01/2016] [Accepted: 04/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Fatal familial insomnia is a rare disease caused by a D178N mutation in combination with methionine (Met) at codon 129 in the mutated allele of PRNP (D178N-129M haplotype). FFI is manifested by sleep disturbances with insomnia, autonomic disorders and spontaneous and evoked myoclonus, among other symptoms. This study describes new neuropathological and biochemical observations in a series of eight patients with FFI. The mediodorsal and anterior nuclei of the thalamus have severe neuronal loss and marked astrocytic gliosis in every case, whereas the entorhinal cortex is variably affected. Spongiform degeneration only occurs in the entorhinal cortex. Synaptic and fine granular proteinase K digestion (PrPres) immunoreactivity is found in the entorhinal cortex but not in the thalamus. Interleukin 6, interleukin 10 receptor alpha subunit, colony stimulating factor 3 receptor and toll-like receptor 7 mRNA expression increases in the thalamus in FFI. PrPc levels are significantly decreased in the thalamus, entorhinal cortex and cerebellum in FFI. This is accompanied by a particular PrPc and PrPres band profile. Altered PrP solubility consistent with significantly reduced PrP levels in the cytoplasmic fraction and increased PrP levels in the insoluble fraction are identified in FFI cases. Amyloid-like deposits are only seen in the entorhinal cortex. The RT-QuIC assay reveals that all the FFI samples of the entorhinal cortex are positive, whereas the thalamus is positive only in three cases and the cerebellum in two cases. The present findings unveil particular neuropathological and neuroinflammatory profiles in FFI and novel characteristics of natural prion protein in FFI, altered PrPres and Scrapie PrP (abnormal and pathogenic PrP) patterns and region-dependent putative capacity of PrP seeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franc Llorens
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-site Göttingen, Göttingen 37075, Germany
| | - Katrin Thüne
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-site Göttingen, Göttingen 37075, Germany
| | - Matthias Schmitz
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-site Göttingen, Göttingen 37075, Germany
| | - Belén Ansoleaga
- Institute of Neuropathology, Service of Pathological Anatomy, Bellvitge University Hospital, University of Barcelona, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Biomedical Research Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) Hospitalet del Llobregat 08907, Spain
| | - Margalida A Frau-Méndez
- Institute of Neuropathology, Service of Pathological Anatomy, Bellvitge University Hospital, University of Barcelona, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Biomedical Research Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) Hospitalet del Llobregat 08907, Spain
| | - Maria Cramm
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-site Göttingen, Göttingen 37075, Germany
| | - Waqas Tahir
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-site Göttingen, Göttingen 37075, Germany
| | - Nadine Gotzmann
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-site Göttingen, Göttingen 37075, Germany
| | - Sara Berjaoui
- Institute of Neuropathology, Service of Pathological Anatomy, Bellvitge University Hospital, University of Barcelona, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Biomedical Research Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) Hospitalet del Llobregat 08907, Spain
| | - Margarita Carmona
- Institute of Neuropathology, Service of Pathological Anatomy, Bellvitge University Hospital, University of Barcelona, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Biomedical Research Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) Hospitalet del Llobregat 08907, Spain
| | - Christopher J Silva
- USDA, Produce Safety & Microbiology Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, Albany, CA 94710, USA
| | - Ivan Fernandez-Vega
- Pathology Department University Hospital Araba, and Brain Bank Araba University Hospital, Basque Biobank for Research (O+eHun), Alava 01009, Spain
| | - Juan José Zarranz
- Neurology Department, University Hospital Cruces, University of the Basque Country, Bizkaia 48903, Spain
| | - Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-site Göttingen, Göttingen 37075, Germany
| | - Isidro Ferrer
- Institute of Neuropathology, Service of Pathological Anatomy, Bellvitge University Hospital, University of Barcelona, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Biomedical Research Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) Hospitalet del Llobregat 08907, Spain
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26
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Scientific Opinion on a request for a review of a scientific publication concerning the zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions. EFSA J 2015. [DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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27
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Transmission Properties of Human PrP 102L Prions Challenge the Relevance of Mouse Models of GSS. PLoS Pathog 2015; 11:e1004953. [PMID: 26135918 PMCID: PMC4489887 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2015] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Inherited prion disease (IPD) is caused by autosomal-dominant pathogenic mutations in the human prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP). A proline to leucine substitution at PrP residue 102 (P102L) is classically associated with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease but shows marked clinical and neuropathological variability within kindreds that may be caused by variable propagation of distinct prion strains generated from either PrP 102L or wild type PrP. To-date the transmission properties of prions propagated in P102L patients remain ill-defined. Multiple mouse models of GSS have focused on mutating the corresponding residue of murine PrP (P101L), however murine PrP 101L, a novel PrP primary structure, may not have the repertoire of pathogenic prion conformations necessary to accurately model the human disease. Here we describe the transmission properties of prions generated in human PrP 102L expressing transgenic mice that were generated after primary challenge with ex vivo human GSS P102L or classical CJD prions. We show that distinct strains of prions were generated in these mice dependent upon source of the inoculum (either GSS P102L or CJD brain) and have designated these GSS-102L and CJD-102L prions, respectively. GSS-102L prions have transmission properties distinct from all prion strains seen in sporadic and acquired human prion disease. Significantly, GSS-102L prions appear incapable of transmitting disease to conventional mice expressing wild type mouse PrP, which contrasts strikingly with the reported transmission properties of prions generated in GSS P102L-challenged mice expressing mouse PrP 101L. We conclude that future transgenic modeling of IPDs should focus exclusively on expression of mutant human PrP, as other approaches may generate novel experimental prion strains that are unrelated to human disease. Inherited prion disease (IPD) is caused by pathogenic mutations in the human prion protein (PrP) gene leading to the formation of lethal prions in the brain. To-date the properties of prions causing IPD and their similarities to prions causing other forms of human prion disease remain ill-defined. In the present study we have investigated the properties of prions seen in patients with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease associated with the substitution of leucine for proline at amino acid position 102 (GSS P102L). We examined the ability of these prions to infect transgenic mice expressing human mutant 102L PrP, human wild-type PrP or wild-type mice. We found that GSS-102L prions have properties distinct from other types of human prions by showing that they can only infect transgenic mice expressing human PrP carrying the same mutation. Mice expressing wild-type human PrP or wild-type mouse PrP were entirely resistant to infection with GSS-102L prions. We conclude that accurate modeling of inherited prion disease requires the expression of authentic mutant human PrP in transgenic models, as other approaches may generate results that do not mirror the human disease.
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28
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Magnusson K, Simon R, Sjölander D, Sigurdson CJ, Hammarström P, Nilsson KPR. Multimodal fluorescence microscopy of prion strain specific PrP deposits stained by thiophene-based amyloid ligands. Prion 2014; 8:319-29. [PMID: 25495506 PMCID: PMC4601348 DOI: 10.4161/pri.29239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The disease-associated prion protein (PrP) forms aggregates which vary in structural conformation yet share an identical primary sequence. These variations in PrP conformation are believed to manifest in prion strains exhibiting distinctly different periods of disease incubation as well as regionally specific aggregate deposition within the brain. The anionic luminescent conjugated polythiophene (LCP), polythiophene acetic acid (PTAA) has previously been used to distinguish PrP deposits associated with distinct mouse adapted strains via distinct fluorescence emission profiles from the dye. Here, we employed PTAA and 3 structurally related chemically defined luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs) to stain brain tissue sections from mice inoculated with 2 distinct prion strains. Our results showed that in addition to emission spectra, excitation, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) can fruitfully be assessed for optical distinction of PrP deposits associated with distinct prion strains. Our findings support the theory that alterations in LCP/LCO fluorescence are due to distinct conformational restriction of the thiophene backbone upon interaction with PrP aggregates associated with distinct prion strains. We foresee that LCP and LCO staining in combination with multimodal fluorescence microscopy might aid in detecting structural differences among discrete protein aggregates and in linking protein conformational features with disease phenotypes for a variety of neurodegenerative proteinopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Magnusson
- a Department of Chemistry ; Linköping University ; Linköping , Sweden
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29
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Cramm M, Schmitz M, Karch A, Zafar S, Varges D, Mitrova E, Schroeder B, Raeber A, Kuhn F, Zerr I. Characteristic CSF prion seeding efficiency in humans with prion diseases. Mol Neurobiol 2014; 51:396-405. [PMID: 24809690 PMCID: PMC4309904 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-014-8709-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2014] [Accepted: 04/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The development of in vitro amplification systems allows detecting femtomolar amounts of prion protein scrapie (PrPSc) in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We performed a CSF study to determine the effects of prion disease type, codon 129 genotype, PrPSc type, and other disease-related factors on the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) response. We analyzed times to 10,000 relative fluorescence units, areas under the curve and the signal maximum of RT-QuIC response as seeding parameters of interest. Interestingly, type of prion disease (sporadic vs. genetic) and the PRNP mutation (E200K vs. V210I and FFI), codon 129 genotype, and PrPSc type affected RT-QuIC response. In genetic forms, type of mutation showed the strongest effect on the observed outcome variables. In sporadic CJD, MM1 patients displayed a higher RT-QuIC signal maximum compared to MV1 and VV1. Age and gender were not associated with RT-QuIC signal, but patients with a short disease course showed a higher seeding efficiency of the RT-QuIC response. This study demonstrated that PrPSc characteristics in the CSF of human prion disease patients are associated with disease subtypes and rate of decline as defined by disease duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Cramm
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center, University Medical Center Göttingen and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - site Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
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30
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Robinson SW, Nugent ML, Dinsdale D, Steinert JR. Prion protein facilitates synaptic vesicle release by enhancing release probability. Hum Mol Genet 2014; 23:4581-96. [PMID: 24722203 PMCID: PMC4119408 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddu171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) has been implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases as a result of protein misfolding. In humans, prion disease occurs typically with a sporadic origin where uncharacterized mechanisms induce spontaneous PrP(C) misfolding leading to neurotoxic PrP-scrapie formation (PrP(SC)). The consequences of misfolded PrP(C) signalling are well characterized but little is known about the physiological roles of PrP(C) and its involvement in disease. Here we investigated wild-type PrP(C) signalling in synaptic function as well as the effects of a disease-relevant mutation within PrP(C) (proline-to-leucine mutation at codon 101). Expression of wild-type PrP(C) at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction leads to enhanced synaptic responses as detected in larger miniature synaptic currents which are caused by enlarged presynaptic vesicles. The expression of the mutated PrP(C) leads to reduction of both parameters compared with wild-type PrP(C). Wild-type PrP(C) enhances synaptic release probability and quantal content but reduces the size of the ready-releasable vesicle pool. Partially, these changes are not detectable following expression of the mutant PrP(C). A behavioural test revealed that expression of either protein caused an increase in locomotor activities consistent with enhanced synaptic release and stronger muscle contractions. Both proteins were sensitive to proteinase digestion. These data uncover new functions of wild-type PrP(C) at the synapse with a disease-relevant mutation in PrP(C) leading to diminished functional phenotypes. Thus, our data present essential new information possibly related to prion pathogenesis in which a functional synaptic role of PrP(C) is compromised due to its advanced conversion into PrP(SC) thereby creating a lack-of-function scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan W Robinson
- MRC Toxicology Unit, Hodgkin Building, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK
| | - Marie L Nugent
- MRC Toxicology Unit, Hodgkin Building, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - David Dinsdale
- MRC Toxicology Unit, Hodgkin Building, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK
| | - Joern R Steinert
- MRC Toxicology Unit, Hodgkin Building, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK
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31
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Schmitz M, Lüllmann K, Zafar S, Ebert E, Wohlhage M, Oikonomou P, Schlomm M, Mitrova E, Beekes M, Zerr I. Association of prion protein genotype and scrapie prion protein type with cellular prion protein charge isoform profiles in cerebrospinal fluid of humans with sporadic or familial prion diseases. Neurobiol Aging 2013; 35:1177-88. [PMID: 24360565 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2013] [Revised: 10/31/2013] [Accepted: 11/10/2013] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigates whether posttranslational modifications of cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of humans with prion diseases are associated with methionine (M) and/or valine (V) polymorphism at codon 129 of the prion protein gene (PRNP), scrapie prion protein (PrP(Sc)) type in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), or PRNP mutations in familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD/E200K), and fatal familial insomnia (FFI). We performed comparative 2-dimensional immunoblotting of PrP(C) charge isoforms in CSF samples from cohorts of diseased and control donors. Mean levels of total PrP(C) were significantly lower in the CSF from fCJD patients than from those with sCJD or FFI. Of the 12 most abundant PrP(C) isoforms in the examined CSF, one (IF12) was relatively decreased in (1) sCJD with VV (vs. MM or MV) at PRNP codon 129; (2) in sCJD with PrP(Sc) type 2 (vs. PrP(Sc) type 1); and (3) in FFI versus sCJD or fCJD. Furthermore, truncated PrP(C) species were detected in sCJD and control samples without discernible differences. Finally, serine 43 of PrP(C) in the CSF and brain tissue from CJD patients showed more pronounced phosphorylation than in control donors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Schmitz
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Katharina Lüllmann
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Saima Zafar
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Ebert
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marie Wohlhage
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Panteleimon Oikonomou
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Markus Schlomm
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Eva Mitrova
- Slovak Medical University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Michael Beekes
- Robert Koch-Institute, FG 14 - AG 5: Work Group Unconventional Pathogens and Their Inactivation, Division of Applied Infection Control and Nosocomial Hygiene, Berlin, Germany
| | - Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Dementia Center and DZNE Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
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Mead S, Gandhi S, Beck J, Caine D, Gallujipali D, Carswell C, Hyare H, Joiner S, Ayling H, Lashley T, Linehan JM, Al-Doujaily H, Sharps B, Revesz T, Sandberg MK, Reilly MM, Koltzenburg M, Forbes A, Rudge P, Brandner S, Warren JD, Wadsworth JDF, Wood NW, Holton JL, Collinge J. A novel prion disease associated with diarrhea and autonomic neuropathy. N Engl J Med 2013; 369:1904-14. [PMID: 24224623 PMCID: PMC3863770 DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa1214747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Human prion diseases, although variable in clinicopathological phenotype, generally present as neurologic or neuropsychiatric conditions associated with rapid multifocal central nervous system degeneration that is usually dominated by dementia and cerebellar ataxia. Approximately 15% of cases of recognized prion disease are inherited and associated with coding mutations in the gene encoding prion protein (PRNP). The availability of genetic diagnosis has led to a progressive broadening of the recognized spectrum of disease. METHODS We used longitudinal clinical assessments over a period of 20 years at one hospital combined with genealogical, neuropsychological, neurophysiological, neuroimaging, pathological, molecular genetic, and biochemical studies, as well as studies of animal transmission, to characterize a novel prion disease in a large British kindred. We studied 6 of 11 affected family members in detail, along with autopsy or biopsy samples obtained from 5 family members. RESULTS We identified a PRNP Y163X truncation mutation and describe a distinct and consistent phenotype of chronic diarrhea with autonomic failure and a length-dependent axonal, predominantly sensory, peripheral polyneuropathy with an onset in early adulthood. Cognitive decline and seizures occurred when the patients were in their 40s or 50s. The deposition of prion protein amyloid was seen throughout peripheral organs, including the bowel and peripheral nerves. Neuropathological examination during end-stage disease showed the deposition of prion protein in the form of frequent cortical amyloid plaques, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and tauopathy. A unique pattern of abnormal prion protein fragments was seen in brain tissue. Transmission studies in laboratory mice were negative. CONCLUSIONS Abnormal forms of prion protein that were found in multiple peripheral tissues were associated with diarrhea, autonomic failure, and neuropathy. (Funded by the U.K. Medical Research Council and others.).
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Mead
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Sonia Gandhi
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Jon Beck
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Diana Caine
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Dillip Gallujipali
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Christopher Carswell
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Harpreet Hyare
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Susan Joiner
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Hilary Ayling
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Tammaryn Lashley
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Jacqueline M Linehan
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Huda Al-Doujaily
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Bernadette Sharps
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Tamas Revesz
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Malin K Sandberg
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Mary M Reilly
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Martin Koltzenburg
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Alastair Forbes
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Peter Rudge
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Sebastian Brandner
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Jason D Warren
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Jonathan D F Wadsworth
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Nicholas W Wood
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - Janice L Holton
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
| | - John Collinge
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit (S.M., J.B., C.C., S.J., J.M.L., H.A.-D., B.S., M.K.S., S.B., J.D.F.W., J.C.), Department of Molecular Neuroscience (S.G., N.W.W.), and Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (J.D.W.), and MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases (M.M.R.), University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology; the National Prion Clinic (S.M., D.C., D.G., H.H., P.R., J.C.), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (M.K.), UCL Hospitals National Health Service Trust (A.F.); and the Queen Square Brain Bank (H.A., T.L., T.R., J.L.H.) - all in London
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Asante EA, Linehan JM, Smidak M, Tomlinson A, Grimshaw A, Jeelani A, Jakubcova T, Hamdan S, Powell C, Brandner S, Wadsworth JDF, Collinge J. Inherited prion disease A117V is not simply a proteinopathy but produces prions transmissible to transgenic mice expressing homologous prion protein. PLoS Pathog 2013; 9:e1003643. [PMID: 24086135 PMCID: PMC3784465 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2013] [Accepted: 08/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are infectious agents causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases of humans and animals. In humans, these have sporadic, acquired and inherited aetiologies. The inherited prion diseases are caused by one of over 30 coding mutations in the human prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP) and many of these generate infectious prions as evidenced by their experimental transmissibility by inoculation to laboratory animals. However, some, and in particular an extensively studied type of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS) caused by a PRNP A117V mutation, are thought not to generate infectious prions and instead constitute prion proteinopathies with a quite distinct pathogenetic mechanism. Multiple attempts to transmit A117V GSS have been unsuccessful and typical protease-resistant PrP (PrP(Sc)), pathognomonic of prion disease, is not detected in brain. Pathogenesis is instead attributed to production of an aberrant topological form of PrP, C-terminal transmembrane PrP ((Ctm)PrP). Barriers to transmission of prion strains from one species to another appear to relate to structural compatibility of PrP in host and inoculum and we have therefore produced transgenic mice expressing human 117V PrP. We found that brain tissue from GSS A117V patients did transmit disease to these mice and both the neuropathological features of prion disease and presence of PrP(Sc) was demonstrated in the brains of recipient transgenic mice. This PrP(Sc) rapidly degraded during laboratory analysis, suggesting that the difficulty in its detection in patients with GSS A117V could relate to post-mortem proteolysis. We conclude that GSS A117V is indeed a prion disease although the relative contributions of (Ctm)PrP and prion propagation in neurodegeneration and their pathogenetic interaction remains to be established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel A. Asante
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jacqueline M. Linehan
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michelle Smidak
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Tomlinson
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Grimshaw
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Asif Jeelani
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tatiana Jakubcova
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Shyma Hamdan
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Powell
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sebastian Brandner
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan D. F. Wadsworth
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - John Collinge
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom
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Reiniger L, Mirabile I, Lukic A, Wadsworth JDF, Linehan JM, Groves M, Lowe J, Druyeh R, Rudge P, Collinge J, Mead S, Brandner S. Filamentous white matter prion protein deposition is a distinctive feature of multiple inherited prion diseases. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2013; 1:8. [PMID: 24252267 PMCID: PMC4046834 DOI: 10.1186/2051-5960-1-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2013] [Accepted: 03/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sporadic, inherited and acquired prion diseases show distinct histological patterns of abnormal prion protein (PrP) deposits. Many of the inherited prion diseases show striking histological patterns, which often associate with specific mutations. Most reports have focused on the pattern of PrP deposition in the cortical or cerebellar grey matter. RESULTS We observed that the subcortical white matter in inherited prion diseases frequently contained filamentous depositions of abnormal PrP, and we have analysed by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy 35 cases of inherited prion disease seen at the UK National Prion Clinic. We report here that filamentous PrP is abundantly deposited in myelinated fibres in inherited prion diseases, in particular in those with N-terminal mutations. CONCLUSIONS It is possible that the presence of filamentous PrP is related to the pathogenesis of inherited forms, which is different from those sporadic and acquired forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilla Reiniger
- />Division of Neuropathology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London UK
| | - Ilaria Mirabile
- />Division of Neuropathology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London UK
| | - Ana Lukic
- />Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London UK
- />National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London UK
| | | | | | - Michael Groves
- />Division of Neuropathology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London UK
| | - Jessica Lowe
- />MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Ronald Druyeh
- />MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Peter Rudge
- />National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London UK
- />MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - John Collinge
- />Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London UK
- />National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London UK
- />MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Simon Mead
- />National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London UK
- />MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Sebastian Brandner
- />Division of Neuropathology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London UK
- />Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London UK
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Head MW, Ironside JW. The contribution of different prion protein types and host polymorphisms to clinicopathological variations in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Rev Med Virol 2012; 22:214-29. [DOI: 10.1002/rmv.725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2011] [Revised: 10/21/2011] [Accepted: 10/21/2011] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark W. Head
- The National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, School of Molecular & Clinical Medicine; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
| | - James W. Ironside
- The National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, School of Molecular & Clinical Medicine; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
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Biochemical properties of highly neuroinvasive prion strains. PLoS Pathog 2012; 8:e1002522. [PMID: 22319450 PMCID: PMC3271082 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2011] [Accepted: 12/21/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Infectious prions propagate from peripheral entry sites into the central nervous system (CNS), where they cause progressive neurodegeneration that ultimately leads to death. Yet the pathogenesis of prion disease can vary dramatically depending on the strain, or conformational variant of the aberrantly folded and aggregated protein, PrPSc. Although most prion strains invade the CNS, some prion strains cannot gain entry and do not cause clinical signs of disease. The conformational basis for this remarkable variation in the pathogenesis among strains is unclear. Using mouse-adapted prion strains, here we show that highly neuroinvasive prion strains primarily form diffuse aggregates in brain and are noncongophilic, conformationally unstable in denaturing conditions, and lead to rapidly lethal disease. These neuroinvasive strains efficiently generate PrPSc over short incubation periods. In contrast, the weakly neuroinvasive prion strains form large fibrillary plaques and are stable, congophilic, and inefficiently generate PrPSc over long incubation periods. Overall, these results indicate that the most neuroinvasive prion strains are also the least stable, and support the concept that the efficient replication and unstable nature of the most rapidly converting prions may be a feature linked to their efficient spread into the CNS. Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders that are also infectious. Prions are composed of a misfolded, aggregated form of a normal cellular protein that is highly expressed in neurons. Prion- infected individuals show variability in the clinical signs and brain regions that selectively accumulate prions, even within the same species expressing the same prion protein sequence. The basis of these divergent disease phenotypes is unclear, but is thought to be due to different conformations of the misfolded prion protein, known as strains. Here we characterized the neuropathology and biochemical properties of prion strains that efficiently or poorly invade the CNS from their peripheral entry site. We show that prion strains that efficiently invade the CNS also cause a rapidly terminal disease after an intracerebral exposure. These rapidly lethal strains were unstable when exposed to denaturants or high temperatures, and efficiently accumulated misfolded prion protein over a short incubation period in vivo. Our findings indicate that the most invasive, rapidly spreading strains are also the least conformationally stable.
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Quadrio I, Perret-Liaudet A, Kovacs GG. Molecular diagnosis of human prion disease. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 5:291-306. [PMID: 23484550 DOI: 10.1517/17530059.2011.576664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Human prion diseases (PrDs) are transmissible fatal nervous system disorders with public health implications. They are characterized by the presence of a disease-associated form of the physiological cellular prion protein. Development of diagnostic procedures is important to avoid transmission, including through blood products. Methods used for the detection of disease-associated PrP have implications for other neurodegenerative diseases. AREAS COVERED In this review, the authors discuss recent progress in the understanding of the molecular background of phenotypic variability of human PrDs, and the current concepts of molecular diagnosis. Also, the authors provide a critical summary of the diagnostic methods with regard to the molecular subtypes. EXPERT OPINION In spite of a lack of specific tests to detect disease-associated PrP in body fluids, the constellation of clinical symptoms, detection of protein 14-3-3 in cerebrospinal fluid, electroencephalogram, cranial MRI and prion protein gene examinations, together have increased the specificity and sensitivity of in vivo diagnostics. As new forms of PrDs are reported, continuous evaluation of their incidence and the search for their etiology is crucial. Recent studies, suggesting prion-like properties of certain proteinopathies associated with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease, have again brought PrDs to the center of interest as a model of diseases with disordered protein processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Quadrio
- Hospices Civils de Lyon/Claude Bernard University , Groupement Hospitalier Est, Prion Disease Laboratory, Pathology and Biochemistry, 59 bd Pinel , 69677, BRON Cedex , France
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Kaski DN, Pennington C, Beck J, Poulter M, Uphill J, Bishop MT, Linehan JM, O’Malley C, Wadsworth JDF, Joiner S, Knight RSG, Ironside JW, Brandner S, Collinge J, Mead S. Inherited prion disease with 4-octapeptide repeat insertion: disease requires the interaction of multiple genetic risk factors. Brain 2011; 134:1829-38. [DOI: 10.1093/brain/awr079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
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Tayebi M, Jones DR, Taylor WA, Stileman BF, Chapman C, Zhao D, David M. PrP(Sc)-specific antibodies with the ability to immunodetect prion oligomers. PLoS One 2011; 6:e19998. [PMID: 21625515 PMCID: PMC3098279 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2010] [Accepted: 04/22/2011] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of antibodies with binding capacity towards soluble oligomeric forms of PrPSc recognised in the aggregation process in early stage of the disease would be of paramount importance in diagnosing prion diseases before extensive neuropathology has ensued. As blood transfusion appears to be efficient in the transmission of the infectious prion agent, there is an urgent need to develop reagents that would specifically recognize oligomeric forms of the abnormally folded prion protein, PrPSc. To that end, we show that anti-PrP monoclonal antibodies (called PRIOC mAbs) derived from mice immunised with native PrP-coated microbeads are able to immunodetect oligomers/multimers of PrPSc. Oligomer-specific immunoreactivity displayed by these PRIOC mAbs was demonstrated as large aggregates of immunoreactive deposits in prion-permissive neuroblastoma cell lines but not in equivalent non-infected or prn-p0/0 cell lines. In contrast, an anti-monomer PrP antibody displayed diffuse immunoreactivity restricted to the cell membrane. Furthermore, our PRIOC mAbs did not display any binding with monomeric recombinant and cellular prion proteins but strongly detected PrPSc oligomers as shown by a newly developed sensitive and specific ELISA. Finally, PrioC antibodies were also able to bind soluble oligomers formed of Aβ and α-synuclein. These findings demonstrate the potential use of anti-prion antibodies that bind PrPSc oligomers, recognised in early stage of the disease, for the diagnosis of prion diseases in blood and other body fluids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mourad Tayebi
- Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
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Wadsworth JDF, Asante EA, Collinge J. Review: contribution of transgenic models to understanding human prion disease. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2011; 36:576-97. [PMID: 20880036 PMCID: PMC3017745 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2990.2010.01129.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Transgenic mice expressing human prion protein in the absence of endogenous mouse prion protein faithfully replicate human prions. These models reproduce all of the key features of human disease, including long clinically silent incubation periods prior to fatal neurodegeneration with neuropathological phenotypes that mirror human prion strain diversity. Critical contributions to our understanding of human prion disease pathogenesis and aetiology have only been possible through the use of transgenic mice. These models have provided the basis for the conformational selection model of prion transmission barriers and have causally linked bovine spongiform encephalopathy with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In the future these models will be essential for evaluating newly identified potentially zoonotic prion strains, for validating effective methods of prion decontamination and for developing effective therapeutic treatments for human prion disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- J D F Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College London, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK.
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41
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Stevens JC, Fisher EMC, Mead S. How does the genetic assassin select its neuronal target? Mamm Genome 2011; 22:139-47. [PMID: 21373885 DOI: 10.1007/s00335-011-9319-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2010] [Accepted: 01/23/2011] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Through many different routes of analysis, including human familial studies and animal models, we are identifying an increasing number of genes that are causative for human neurodegenerative disease and are now in a position for many such disorders to dissect the molecular pathology that gives rise to neuronal death. Yet a paradox remains: The majority of the genes identified cause neurodegeneration in specific neuronal subtypes, but the genes themselves are ubiquitously expressed. Furthermore, the different mutations in the same gene may cause quite different types of neurodegeneration. Something in our understanding of neurodegenerative disease is clearly missing, and we refer to this as the phenomenon of "neuronal targeting." Here we discuss possible explanations for neuronal targeting, why specific neuronal subtypes are vulnerable to specific mutations in ubiquitously expressed genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- James C Stevens
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
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Wadsworth JDF, Collinge J. Molecular pathology of human prion disease. Acta Neuropathol 2011; 121:69-77. [PMID: 20694796 PMCID: PMC3015177 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-010-0735-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2010] [Revised: 07/29/2010] [Accepted: 07/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Human prion diseases are associated with a range of clinical presentations and are classified by both clinicopathological syndrome and aetiology with sub-classification according to molecular criteria. Considerable experimental evidence suggests that phenotypic diversity in human prion disease relates in significant part to the existence of distinct human prion strains encoded by abnormal PrP isoforms with differing physicochemical properties. To date, however, the conformational repertoire of pathological isoforms of wild-type human PrP and the various forms of mutant human PrP has not been fully defined. Efforts to produce a unified international classification of human prion disease are still ongoing. The ability of genetic background to influence prion strain selection together with knowledge of numerous other factors that may influence clinical and neuropathological presentation strongly emphasises the requirement to identify distinct human prion strains in appropriate transgenic models, where host genetic variability and other modifiers of phenotype are removed. Defining how many human prion strains exist allied with transgenic modelling of potentially zoonotic prion strains will inform on how many human infections may have an animal origin. Understanding these relationships will have direct translation to protecting public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D. F. Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG UK
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Kovacs GG, Seguin J, Quadrio I, Höftberger R, Kapás I, Streichenberger N, Biacabe AG, Meyronet D, Sciot R, Vandenberghe R, Majtenyi K, László L, Ströbel T, Budka H, Perret-Liaudet A. Genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease associated with the E200K mutation: characterization of a complex proteinopathy. Acta Neuropathol 2011; 121:39-57. [PMID: 20593190 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-010-0713-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2010] [Revised: 06/10/2010] [Accepted: 06/20/2010] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The E200K mutation is the most frequent prion protein gene (PRNP) mutation detected worldwide that is associated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and thought to have overlapping features with sporadic CJD, yet detailed neuropathological studies have not been reported. In addition to the prion protein, deposition of tau, α-synuclein, and amyloid-β has been reported in human prion disease. To describe the salient and concomitant neuropathological alterations, we performed a systematic clinical, neuropathological, and biochemical study of 39 individuals carrying the E200K PRNP mutation originating from different European countries. The most frequent clinical symptoms were dementia and ataxia followed by myoclonus and various combinations of further symptoms, including vertical gaze palsy and polyneuropathy. Neuropathological examination revealed relatively uniform anatomical pattern of tissue lesioning, predominating in the basal ganglia and thalamus, and also substantia nigra, while the deposition of disease-associated PrP was more influenced by the codon 129 constellation, including different or mixed types of PrP(res) detected by immunoblotting. Unique and prominent intraneuronal PrP deposition involving brainstem nuclei was also noted. Systematic examination of protein depositions revealed parenchymal amyloid-β in 53.8%, amyloid angiopathy (Aβ) in 23.1%, phospho-tau immunoreactive neuritic profiles in 92.3%, neurofibrillary degeneration in 38.4%, new types of tau pathology in 33.3%, and Lewy-type α-synuclein pathology in 15.4%. TDP-43 and FUS immunoreactive protein deposits were not observed. This is the first demonstration of intensified and combined neurodegeneration in a genetic prion disease due to a single point mutation, which might become an important model to decipher the molecular interplay between neurodegeneration-associated proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabor G Kovacs
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, AKH 4J, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1097, Vienna, Austria.
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Abstract
AbstractNeuropathological and biochemical studies in a case of Gerstmann-Straüssler-Scheinker disease bearing the PRNP P102L-129V mutation showed numerous multicentric PrPres in the cerebral cortex, striatum, thalamus and cerebellum, PrPres globular deposits in the anterior and posterior horns of the spinal cord, and multiple granular PrPres deposits in the grey and white matter of the encephalon and spinal cord. Western blots with antiPrPres antibodies revealed several weak bands ranging from 36 to 66 kDa, weak bands of 29 and 24 kDa, a strong band of about 20 kDa, a low band of molecular weight around 15 kDa and a weaker band of about 7 kDa. Spongiform degeneration was absent. Hyper-phosphorylated 3R and 4R tau occurred in dystrophic neurites surrounding PrPres plaques, neuropil threads and, to a lesser degree, in the form of neurofibrillary tangles. Gel electrophoresis of sarkosyl-insoluble fractions and western blotting with anti-phospho-tau antibodies showed a pattern similar to that seen in Alzheimer disease cases run in parallel. Dystrophic neurites in the vicinity of PrPres plaques were enriched in voltage dependent anion channel thus suggesting abnormal accumulation of mitochondria. These changes were associated with increased oxidative damage in neurons and astrocytes, Finally, increased expression of active stress kinases, that have the capacity to phosphorylate tau in vitro, p38 (p-38-P) and SAPK/ JNK (SAPK/JNK-P) was found in cell processes surrounding PrP plaques. Together, these observations provide evidences of mitochondrial abnormalities, and increased oxidative stress damage and oxidative stress responses in GSS bearing the PRNP P102L-129V mutation.
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Parchi P, Strammiello R, Giese A, Kretzschmar H. Phenotypic variability of sporadic human prion disease and its molecular basis: past, present, and future. Acta Neuropathol 2011; 121:91-112. [PMID: 21107851 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-010-0779-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2010] [Revised: 11/05/2010] [Accepted: 11/06/2010] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Human prion diseases are rare neurodegenerative disorders related to prion protein misfolding that can occur as sporadic, familial or acquired forms. In comparison to other more common neurodegenerative disorders, prion diseases show a wider range of phenotypic variation and largely transmit to experimental animals, a feature that led to the isolation and characterization of different strains of the transmissible agent or prion with distinct biological properties. Biochemically distinct PrP(Sc) types have been demonstrated which differ in their size after proteinase cleavage, glycosylation pattern, and possibly other features related to their conformation. These PrP(Sc) types, possibly enciphering the prion strains, together with the naturally occurring polymorphism at codon 129 in the prion protein gene have a major influence on the disease phenotype. In the sporadic form, the most common but perhaps least understood form of human prion disease, there are at least six major combinations of codon 129 genotype and prion protein isotype, which are significantly related to distinctive clinical-pathological subgroups of the disease. In this review, we provide an update on the current knowledge and classification of the disease subtypes of the sporadic human prion diseases as defined by molecular features and pathological changes. Furthermore, we discuss the molecular basis of phenotypic variability taking into account the results of recent transmission studies that shed light on the extent of prion strain variation in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piero Parchi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Neurologiche, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Capellari S, Strammiello R, Saverioni D, Kretzschmar H, Parchi P. Genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and fatal familial insomnia: insights into phenotypic variability and disease pathogenesis. Acta Neuropathol 2011; 121:21-37. [PMID: 20978903 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-010-0760-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2010] [Revised: 09/17/2010] [Accepted: 10/11/2010] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Human prion diseases are a group of rare neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the conversion of the constitutively expressed prion protein, PrP(C), into an abnormally aggregated isoform, called PrP(Sc). While most people who develop a prion disease have no identifiable cause and a few acquire the disease through an identified source of infection, about 10-15% of patients are affected by a genetic form and carry either a point mutation or an insertion of octapeptide repeats in the prion protein gene. Prion diseases show the highest extent of phenotypic heterogeneity among neurodegenerative disorders and comprise three major disease entities with variable though overlapping phenotypic features: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), fatal insomnia and the Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome. Both CJD and fatal insomnia are fully transmissible diseases, a feature that led to the isolation and characterization of different strains of the agent or prion showing distinctive clinical and neuropathological features after transmission to syngenic animals. Here, we review the current knowledge of the effects of the pathogenic mutations linked to genetic CJD and fatal familial insomnia on the prion protein metabolism and physicochemical properties, the disease phenotype and the strain characteristics. The data derived from studies in vitro and from those using cell and animal models are compared with those obtained from the analyses of the naturally occurring disease. The extent of phenotypic variation in genetic prion disease is analyzed in comparison to that of the sporadic disease, which has recently been the topic of a systematic and detailed characterization.
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Isolation of proteinase K-sensitive prions using pronase E and phosphotungstic acid. PLoS One 2010; 5:e15679. [PMID: 21187933 PMCID: PMC3004958 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0015679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2010] [Accepted: 11/21/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Disease-related prion protein, PrPSc, is classically distinguished from its normal cellular precursor, PrPC, by its detergent insolubility and partial resistance to proteolysis. Molecular diagnosis of prion disease typically relies upon detection of protease-resistant fragments of PrPSc using proteinase K, however it is now apparent that the majority of disease-related PrP and indeed prion infectivity may be destroyed by this treatment. Here we report that digestion of RML prion-infected mouse brain with pronase E, followed by precipitation with sodium phosphotungstic acid, eliminates the large majority of brain proteins, including PrPC, while preserving >70% of infectious prion titre. This procedure now allows characterization of proteinase K-sensitive prions and investigation of their clinical relevance in human and animal prion disease without being confounded by contaminating PrPC.
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Wadsworth JDF, Dalmau-Mena I, Joiner S, Linehan JM, O'Malley C, Powell C, Brandner S, Asante EA, Ironside JW, Hilton DA, Collinge J. Effect of fixation on brain and lymphoreticular vCJD prions and bioassay of key positive specimens from a retrospective vCJD prevalence study. J Pathol 2010; 223:511-8. [PMID: 21294124 DOI: 10.1002/path.2821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2010] [Revised: 10/21/2010] [Accepted: 11/06/2010] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Anonymous screening of lymphoreticular tissues removed during routine surgery has been applied to estimate the UK population prevalence of asymptomatic vCJD prion infection. The retrospective study of Hilton et al (J Pathol 2004; 203: 733-739) found accumulation of abnormal prion protein in three formalin-fixed appendix specimens. This led to an estimated UK prevalence of vCJD infection of ∼1 in 4000, which remains the key evidence supporting current risk reduction measures to reduce iatrogenic transmission of vCJD prions in the UK. Confirmatory testing of these positives has been hampered by the inability to perform immunoblotting of formalin-fixed tissue. Animal transmission studies offer the potential for 'gold standard' confirmatory testing but are limited by both transmission barrier effects and known effects of fixation on scrapie prion titre in experimental models. Here we report the effects of fixation on brain and lymphoreticular human vCJD prions and comparative bioassay of two of the three prevalence study formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) appendix specimens using transgenic mice expressing human prion protein (PrP). While transgenic mice expressing human PrP 129M readily reported vCJD prion infection after inoculation with frozen vCJD brain or appendix, and also FFPE vCJD brain, no infectivity was detected in FFPE vCJD spleen. No prion transmission was observed from either of the FFPE appendix specimens. The absence of detectable infectivity in fixed, known positive vCJD lymphoreticular tissue precludes interpreting negative transmissions from vCJD prevalence study appendix specimens. In this context, the Hilton et al study should continue to inform risk assessment pending the outcome of larger-scale studies on discarded surgical tissues and autopsy samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D F Wadsworth
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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Rodríguez-Martínez AB, Garrido JM, Zarranz JJ, Arteagoitia JM, de Pancorbo MM, Atarés B, Bilbao MJ, Ferrer I, Juste RA. A novel form of human disease with a protease-sensitive prion protein and heterozygosity methionine/valine at codon 129: Case report. BMC Neurol 2010; 10:99. [PMID: 20973975 PMCID: PMC2987858 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2377-10-99] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2009] [Accepted: 10/25/2010] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder in humans included in the group of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies or prion diseases. The vast majority of sCJD cases are molecularly classified according to the abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) conformations along with polymorphism of codon 129 of the PRNP gene. Recently, a novel human disease, termed "protease-sensitive prionopathy", has been described. This disease shows a distinct clinical and neuropathological phenotype and it is associated to an abnormal prion protein more sensitive to protease digestion. CASE PRESENTATION We report the case of a 75-year-old-man who developed a clinical course and presented pathologic lesions compatible with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and biochemical findings reminiscent of "protease-sensitive prionopathy". Neuropathological examinations revealed spongiform change mainly affecting the cerebral cortex, putamen/globus pallidus and thalamus, accompanied by mild astrocytosis and microgliosis, with slight involvement of the cerebellum. Confluent vacuoles were absent. Diffuse synaptic PrP deposits in these regions were largely removed following proteinase treatment. PrP deposition, as revealed with 3F4 and 1E4 antibodies, was markedly sensitive to pre-treatment with proteinase K. Molecular analysis of PrPSc showed an abnormal prion protein more sensitive to proteinase K digestion, with a five-band pattern of 28, 24, 21, 19, and 16 kDa, and three aglycosylated isoforms of 19, 16 and 6 kDa. This PrPSc was estimated to be 80% susceptible to digestion while the pathogenic prion protein associated with classical forms of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were only 2% (type VV2) and 23% (type MM1) susceptible. No mutations in the PRNP gene were found and genotype for codon 129 was heterozygous methionine/valine. CONCLUSIONS A novel form of human disease with abnormal prion protein sensitive to protease and MV at codon 129 was described. Although clinical signs were compatible with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the molecular subtype with the abnormal prion protein isoforms showing enhanced protease sensitivity was reminiscent of the "protease-sensitive prionopathy". It remains to be established whether the differences found between the latter and this case are due to the polymorphism at codon 129. Different degrees of proteinase K susceptibility were easily determined with the chemical polymer detection system which could help to detect proteinase-susceptible pathologic prion protein in diseases other than the classical ones.
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Alzualde A, Moreno F, Martínez-Lage P, Ferrer I, Gorostidi A, Otaegui D, Blázquez L, Atares B, Cardoso S, Martínez de Pancorbo M, Juste R, Rodríguez-Martínez AB, Indakoetxea B, López de Munain A. Somatic mosaicism in a case of apparently sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease carrying a de novo D178N mutation in the PRNP gene. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2010; 153B:1283-91. [PMID: 20872767 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.31099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of rare fatal neurodegenerative disorders. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) represents the most common form of TSE and can be classified into sporadic, genetic, iatrogenic and variant forms. Genetic cases are related to prion protein gene mutations but they only account for 10-20% of cases. Here we report an apparently sporadic CJD case with negative family history carrying a mutation at codon 178 of prion protein gene. This mutation is a de novo mutation as the parents of the case do not show it. Furthermore the presence of three different alleles (wild type 129M-178D and 129V-178D and mutated 129V-178N), confirmed by different methods, indicates that this de novo mutation is a post-zygotic mutation that produces somatic mosaicism. The proportion of mutated cells in peripheral blood cells and in brain tissue was similar and was estimated at approximately 97%, suggesting that the mutation occurred at an early stage of embryogenesis. Neuropathological examination disclosed spongiform change mainly involving the caudate and putamen, and the cerebral cortex, together with proteinase K-resistant PrP globular deposits in the cerebrum and cerebellum. PrP typing was characterized by a lower band of 21 kDa. This is the first case of mosaicism described in prion diseases and illustrates a potential etiology for apparently sporadic neurodegenerative diseases. In light of this case, genetic counseling for inherited and sporadic forms of transmissible encephalopathies should take into account this possibility for genetic screening procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Alzualde
- Unidad Neurociencias, Instituto de Investigación Biodonostia, San Sebastián, Spain.
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