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Kothekar H, Chaudhary K. Kuru Disease: Bridging the Gap Between Prion Biology and Human Health. Cureus 2024; 16:e51708. [PMID: 38313950 PMCID: PMC10838565 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.51708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
This article explores the intriguing case of Kuru disease, a rare and fatal prion disease that once afflicted the Fore people of Papua New Guinea. Scientists are still perplexed as to the origins of Kuru because efforts to discover infectious agents like viruses have been ineffective. Initial research revealed similarities between Kuru and scrapie, a neurological disorder that affects sheep, suggesting potential similarities between the two diseases. In further research, experiments in which chimpanzee brain tissue from Kuru patients was implanted led to the development of Kuru-like symptoms in the animals, suggesting a transmissible component to the condition. Furthermore, data collected from epidemiological studies highlights a drop in Kuru transmission, especially after the Fore people stopped engaging in cannibalism, and the disease showed different incubation times that affected persons within particular age groups. Neuropathological tests in the infected brain tissue have found typical intracellular vacuoles, spongiform alterations, and amyloid plaques. According to studies, Kuru susceptibility has been linked genetically to particular PRNP gene variations. Kuru and other prion disorders have few effective treatments currently, underlining the vital need for early identification. Scientists have created sensitive detection techniques to stop the spread of prion diseases and looked into possible inhibitors. Hypochlorous acid, in particular, has shown potential in cleaning processes. Besides making great progress in understanding Kuru, there are still many unresolved issues surrounding its causes, transmission, and management. The terms "kuru disease," "human prion disease," "transmissible spongiform encephalopathies," and "Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome" were used to search the studies; papers unrelated to the review article were removed. Eighty-four articles are included in the review text to fully understand the complexities of this puzzling disease and its consequences for prion biology and human health; additional study is essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Himanshu Kothekar
- Anatomy, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Wardha, IND
| | - Kirti Chaudhary
- Anatomy, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Wardha, IND
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2
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Celauro L, Burato A, Zattoni M, De Cecco E, Fantuz M, Cazzaniga FA, Bistaffa E, Moda F, Legname G. Different tau fibril types reduce prion level in chronically and de novo infected cells. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105054. [PMID: 37454740 PMCID: PMC10432985 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105054] [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: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are often characterized by the codeposition of different amyloidogenic proteins, normally defining distinct proteinopathies. An example is represented by prion diseases, where the classical deposition of the aberrant conformational isoform of the prion protein (PrPSc) can be associated with tau insoluble species, which are usually involved in another class of diseases called tauopathies. How this copresence of amyloidogenic proteins can influence the progression of prion diseases is still a matter of debate. Recently, the cellular form of the prion protein, PrPC, has been investigated as a possible receptor of amyloidogenic proteins, since its binding activity with Aβ, tau, and α-synuclein has been reported, and it has been linked to several neurotoxic behaviors exerted by these proteins. We have previously shown that the treatment of chronically prion-infected cells with tau K18 fibrils reduced PrPSc levels. In this work, we further explored this mechanism by using another tau construct that includes the sequence that forms the core of Alzheimer's disease tau filaments in vivo to obtain a distinct fibril type. Despite a difference of six amino acids, these two constructs form fibrils characterized by distinct biochemical and biological features. However, their effects on PrPSc reduction were comparable and probably based on the binding to PrPC at the plasma membrane, inhibiting the pathological conversion event. Our results suggest PrPC as receptor for different types of tau fibrils and point out a role of tau amyloid fibrils in preventing the pathological PrPC to PrPSc conformational change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Celauro
- Department of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Anna Burato
- Department of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Marco Zattoni
- Department of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Elena De Cecco
- Department of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Marco Fantuz
- Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica Avanzata VIMM, Padova, Italy; Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Federico Angelo Cazzaniga
- Unit of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Edoardo Bistaffa
- Unit of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabio Moda
- Unit of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Department of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy.
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3
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Bayazid R, Orru' C, Aslam R, Cohen Y, Silva-Rohwer A, Lee SK, Occhipinti R, Kong Q, Shetty S, Cohen ML, Caughey B, Schonberger LB, Appleby BS, Cali I. A novel subtype of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with PRNP codon 129MM genotype and PrP plaques. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 146:121-143. [PMID: 37156880 PMCID: PMC10166463 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02581-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The presence of amyloid kuru plaques is a pathological hallmark of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) of the MV2K subtype. Recently, PrP plaques (p) have been described in the white matter of a small group of CJD (p-CJD) cases with the 129MM genotype and carrying resPrPD type 1 (T1). Despite the different histopathological phenotype, the gel mobility and molecular features of p-CJD resPrPD T1 mimic those of sCJDMM1, the most common human prion disease. Here, we describe the clinical features, histopathology, and molecular properties of two distinct PrP plaque phenotypes affecting the gray matter (pGM) or the white matter (pWM) of sCJD cases with the PrP 129MM genotype (sCJDMM). Prevalence of pGM- and pWM-CJD proved comparable and was estimated to be ~ 0.6% among sporadic prion diseases and ~ 1.1% among the sCJDMM group. Mean age at onset (61 and 68 years) and disease duration (~ 7 months) of pWM- and pGM-CJD did not differ significantly. PrP plaques were mostly confined to the cerebellar cortex in pGM-CJD, but were ubiquitous in pWM-CJD. Typing of resPrPD T1 showed an unglycosylated fragment of ~ 20 kDa (T120) in pGM-CJD and sCJDMM1 patients, while a doublet of ~ 21-20 kDa (T121-20) was a molecular signature of pWM-CJD in subcortical regions. In addition, conformational characteristics of pWM-CJD resPrPD T1 differed from those of pGM-CJD and sCJDMM1. Inoculation of pWM-CJD and sCJDMM1 brain extracts to transgenic mice expressing human PrP reproduced the histotype with PrP plaques only in mice challenged with pWM-CJD. Furthermore, T120 of pWM-CJD, but not T121, was propagated in mice. These data suggest that T121 and T120 of pWM-CJD, and T120 of sCJDMM1 are distinct prion strains. Further studies are required to shed light on the etiology of p-CJD cases, particularly those of T120 of the novel pGM-CJD subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rabeah Bayazid
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Christina Orru'
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT, USA
| | - Rabail Aslam
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Yvonne Cohen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Amelia Silva-Rohwer
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Seong-Ki Lee
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Rossana Occhipinti
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Qingzhong Kong
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Shashirekha Shetty
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Mark L Cohen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT, USA
| | - Lawrence B Schonberger
- Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Brian S Appleby
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
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Noguchi H, Koyama S, Yagita K, Shijo M, Matsuzono K, Hamasaki H, Kanemaru T, Okamoto T, Kai K, Aishima S, Abe K, Sasagasako N, Honda H. Silence of resident microglia in GPI anchorless prion disease and activation of microglia in Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2022; 82:38-48. [PMID: 36331509 DOI: 10.1093/jnen/nlac098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
GPI anchorless prion diseases (GPIALPs) show numerous coarse prion protein (PrP) deposits in the CNS but neuropil spongiform changes are mild and the incidence of dementia is low. Here, we examined differences in resident microglial phenotypes between GPIALP (D178fs25) and the other prion diseases Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) with respect to homeostasis and activation. Immunohistochemistry was performed on 2 GPIALP (D178fs25), 4 GSS (P102L), and 4 sCJD cases. Homeostatic microglia expressing TMEM119 and P2RY12 were preserved in GPIALP compared to GSS and sCJD. Microglia/macrophage activation in GSS and sCJD was associated with the extent of spongiform change. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed TMEM119 and P2RY12 in PrP plaque cores. Activated microglia/macrophages expressing HLA-DR and CD68 were predominant in GSS and sCJD whereas in GPIALP, homeostatic microglia were retained and activated microglia/macrophages were rarely observed. These data suggest that PrP deposition in GPIALP is less toxic and that microglia may be immune-tolerant to PrP deposition. This may be associated with milder tissue damage and a low incidence of dementia. Whereas microglia/macrophage activation is considered to be a reaction to tissue injury, this study shows that the degree of microglia/macrophage activity might influence the extent of tissue damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideko Noguchi
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Sachiko Koyama
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kaoru Yagita
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Masahiro Shijo
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kosuke Matsuzono
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan
| | - Hideomi Hamasaki
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Takaaki Kanemaru
- Department of Morphology Core Unit, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan
| | | | - Keita Kai
- Department of Pathology, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan
| | - Shinichi Aishima
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan
| | - Koji Abe
- National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Naokazu Sasagasako
- Department of Neurology, Neuro Muscular Center, National Hospital Organization Omuta National Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Honda
- Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
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5
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Thellung S, Corsaro A, Dellacasagrande I, Nizzari M, Zambito M, Florio T. Proteostasis unbalance in prion diseases: Mechanisms of neurodegeneration and therapeutic targets. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:966019. [PMID: 36148145 PMCID: PMC9485628 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.966019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are progressive neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system that affect humans and animals as sporadic, inherited, and infectious forms. Similarly to Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, any attempt to reduce TSEs' lethality or increase the life expectancy of affected individuals has been unsuccessful. Typically, the onset of symptoms anticipates the fatal outcome of less than 1 year, although it is believed to be the consequence of a decades-long process of neuronal death. The duration of the symptoms-free period represents by itself a major obstacle to carry out effective neuroprotective therapies. Prions, the infectious entities of TSEs, are composed of a protease-resistant protein named prion protein scrapie (PrPSc) from the prototypical TSE form that afflicts ovines. PrPSc misfolding from its physiological counterpart, cellular prion protein (PrPC), is the unifying pathogenic trait of all TSEs. PrPSc is resistant to intracellular turnover and undergoes amyloid-like fibrillation passing through the formation of soluble dimers and oligomers, which are likely the effective neurotoxic entities. The failure of PrPSc removal is a key pathogenic event that defines TSEs as proteopathies, likewise other neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease, characterized by alteration of proteostasis. Under physiological conditions, protein quality control, led by the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and macroautophagy clears cytoplasm from improperly folded, redundant, or aggregation-prone proteins. There is evidence that both of these crucial homeostatic pathways are impaired during the development of TSEs, although it is still unclear whether proteostasis alteration facilitates prion protein misfolding or, rather, PrPSc protease resistance hampers cytoplasmic protein quality control. This review is aimed to critically analyze the most recent advancements in the cause-effect correlation between PrPC misfolding and proteostasis alterations and to discuss the possibility that pharmacological restoring of ubiquitin-proteasomal competence and stimulation of autophagy could reduce the intracellular burden of PrPSc and ameliorate the severity of prion-associated neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Thellung
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine (DiMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Alessandro Corsaro
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine (DiMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Irene Dellacasagrande
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine (DiMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Mario Nizzari
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine (DiMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Martina Zambito
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine (DiMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Tullio Florio
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine (DiMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
- *Correspondence: Tullio Florio
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Golan N, Engelberg Y, Landau M. Structural Mimicry in Microbial and Antimicrobial Amyloids. Annu Rev Biochem 2022; 91:403-422. [PMID: 35729071 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biochem-032620-105157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The remarkable variety of microbial species of human pathogens and microbiomes generates significant quantities of secreted amyloids, which are structured protein fibrils that serve diverse functions related to virulence and interactions with the host. Human amyloids are associated largely with fatal neurodegenerative and systemic aggregation diseases, and current research has put forward the hypothesis that the interspecies amyloid interactome has physiological and pathological significance. Moreover, functional and molecular-level connections between antimicrobial activity and amyloid structures suggest a neuroimmune role for amyloids that are otherwise known to be pathological. Compared to the extensive structural information that has been accumulated for human amyloids, high-resolution structures of microbial and antimicrobial amyloids are only emerging. These recent structures reveal both similarities and surprising departures from the typical amyloid motif, in accordance with their diverse activities, and advance the discovery of novel antivirulence and antimicrobial agents. In addition, the structural information has led researchers to postulate that amyloidogenic sequences are natural targets for structural mimicry, for instance in host-microbe interactions. Microbial amyloid research could ultimately be used to fight aggressive infections and possibly processes leading to autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nimrod Golan
- Department of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel;
| | - Yizhaq Engelberg
- Department of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel;
| | - Meytal Landau
- Department of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; .,European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Hamburg, Germany
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Crestini A, Santilli F, Martellucci S, Carbone E, Sorice M, Piscopo P, Mattei V. Prions and Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Focus on Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 85:503-518. [PMID: 34864675 DOI: 10.3233/jad-215171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Specific protein misfolding and aggregation are mechanisms underlying various neurodegenerative diseases such as prion disease and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The misfolded proteins are involved in prions, amyloid-β (Aβ), tau, and α-synuclein disorders; they share common structural, biological, and biochemical characteristics, as well as similar mechanisms of aggregation and self-propagation. Pathological features of AD include the appearance of plaques consisting of deposition of protein Aβ and neurofibrillary tangles formed by the hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Although it is not clear how protein aggregation leads to AD, we are learning that the cellular prion protein (PrPC) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AD. Herein, we first examined the pathogenesis of prion and AD with a focus on the contribution of PrPC to the development of AD. We analyzed the mechanisms that lead to the formation of a high affinity bond between Aβ oligomers (AβOs) and PrPC. Also, we studied the role of PrPC as an AβO receptor that initiates an AβO-induced signal cascade involving mGluR5, Fyn, Pyk2, and eEF2K linking Aβ and tau pathologies, resulting in the death of neurons in the central nervous system. Finally, we have described how the PrPC-AβOs interaction can be used as a new potential therapeutic target for the treatment of PrPC-dependent AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Crestini
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Santilli
- Biomedicine and Advanced Technologies Rieti Center, "Sabina Universitas", Rieti, Italy.,Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Martellucci
- Biomedicine and Advanced Technologies Rieti Center, "Sabina Universitas", Rieti, Italy
| | - Elena Carbone
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Sorice
- Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Piscopo
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Mattei
- Biomedicine and Advanced Technologies Rieti Center, "Sabina Universitas", Rieti, Italy.,Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy
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Jankovska N, Rusina R, Bruzova M, Parobkova E, Olejar T, Matej R. Human Prion Disorders: Review of the Current Literature and a Twenty-Year Experience of the National Surveillance Center in the Czech Republic. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:1821. [PMID: 34679519 PMCID: PMC8534461 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11101821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Human prion disorders (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, TSEs) are unique, progressive, and fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by aggregation of misfolded prion protein in neuronal tissue. Due to the potential transmission, human TSEs are under active surveillance in a majority of countries; in the Czech Republic data are centralized at the National surveillance center (NRL) which has a clinical and a neuropathological subdivision. The aim of our article is to review current knowledge about human TSEs and summarize the experience of active surveillance of human prion diseases in the Czech Republic during the last 20 years. Possible or probable TSEs undergo a mandatory autopsy using a standardized protocol. From 2001 to 2020, 305 cases of sporadic and genetic TSEs including 8 rare cases of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS) were confirmed. Additionally, in the Czech Republic, brain samples from all corneal donors have been tested by the NRL immunology laboratory to increase the safety of corneal transplants since January 2007. All tested 6590 corneal donor brain tissue samples were negative for prion protein deposits. Moreover, the routine use of diagnostic criteria including biomarkers are robust enough, and not even the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted TSEs surveillance in the Czech Republic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikol Jankovska
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer University Hospital, 14059 Prague, Czech Republic; (M.B.); (E.P.); (T.O.); (R.M.)
| | - Robert Rusina
- Department of Neurology, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer University Hospital, 14059 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Magdalena Bruzova
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer University Hospital, 14059 Prague, Czech Republic; (M.B.); (E.P.); (T.O.); (R.M.)
| | - Eva Parobkova
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer University Hospital, 14059 Prague, Czech Republic; (M.B.); (E.P.); (T.O.); (R.M.)
| | - Tomas Olejar
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer University Hospital, 14059 Prague, Czech Republic; (M.B.); (E.P.); (T.O.); (R.M.)
| | - Radoslav Matej
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer University Hospital, 14059 Prague, Czech Republic; (M.B.); (E.P.); (T.O.); (R.M.)
- Department of Pathology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, and General University Hospital, 12800 Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Pathology, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, and University Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady, 10034 Prague, Czech Republic
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Gómez-López VM, Viramontes-Pintos A, Ontiveros-Torres MÁ, Garcés-Ramírez L, de la Cruz F, Villanueva-Fierro I, Bravo-Muñoz M, Harrington CR, Martínez-Robles S, Yescas P, Guadarrama-Ortíz P, Hernandes-Alejandro M, Montiel-Sosa F, Pacheco-Herrero M, Luna-Muñoz J. Tau Protein Phosphorylated at Threonine-231 is Expressed Abundantly in the Cerebellum in Prion Encephalopathies. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 81:769-785. [PMID: 33814431 PMCID: PMC8203236 DOI: 10.3233/jad-201308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Background: Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are rare neurodegenerative disorders that affect animals and humans. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, and Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans belong to this group. The causative agent of TSEs is called “prion”, which corresponds to a pathological form (PrPSc) of a normal cellular protein (PrPC) expressed in nerve cells. PrPSc is resistant to degradation and can induce abnormal folding of PrPC, and TSEs are characterized by extensive spongiosis and gliosis and the presence of PrPSc amyloid plaques. CJD presents initially with clinical symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In AD, tau aggregates and amyloid-β protein plaques are associated with memory loss and cognitive impairment in patients. Objective: In this work, we study the role of tau and its relationship with PrPSc plaques in CJD. Methods: Multiple immunostainings with specific antibodies were carried out and analyzed by confocal microscopy. Results: We found increased expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9), and an exacerbated apoptosis in the granular layer in cases with prion disease. In these cases, tau protein phosphorylated at Thr-231 was overexpressed in the axons and dendrites of Purkinje cells and the extensions of parallel fibers in the cerebellum. Conclusion: We conclude that phosphorylation of tau may be a response to a toxic and inflammatory environment generated by the pathological form of prion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vıctor Manuel Gómez-López
- National Dementia BioBank. Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Estudios Superiores, Cuautitlán, UNAM, Estado de México, México.,Physiology, Biophysics and Neuroscience, CINVESTAV, CDMX, México
| | - Amparo Viramontes-Pintos
- National Dementia BioBank. Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Estudios Superiores, Cuautitlán, UNAM, Estado de México, México
| | | | - Linda Garcés-Ramírez
- Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Departamento Fisiología, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CDMX, México
| | - Fidel de la Cruz
- Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Departamento Fisiología, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CDMX, México
| | | | - Marely Bravo-Muñoz
- National Dementia BioBank. Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Estudios Superiores, Cuautitlán, UNAM, Estado de México, México
| | - Charles R Harrington
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Sandra Martínez-Robles
- National Dementia BioBank. Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Estudios Superiores, Cuautitlán, UNAM, Estado de México, México
| | - Petra Yescas
- Genética, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, "Manuel Velazco Suerez" CDMX, México
| | - Parménides Guadarrama-Ortíz
- Departamento de Neurocirugía, Centro Especializado en Neurocirugía y Neurociencias, México, (CENNM), CDMX, México
| | - Mario Hernandes-Alejandro
- Departamento de Bioingeniería, Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnología del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Gustavo A. Madero, México
| | - Francisco Montiel-Sosa
- National Dementia BioBank. Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Estudios Superiores, Cuautitlán, UNAM, Estado de México, México
| | - Mar Pacheco-Herrero
- Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Faculty of Health Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
| | - José Luna-Muñoz
- National Dementia BioBank. Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Estudios Superiores, Cuautitlán, UNAM, Estado de México, México.,National Brain Bank. Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
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10
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Neurotoxicity of oligomers of phosphorylated Tau protein carrying tauopathy-associated mutation is inhibited by prion protein. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2021; 1867:166209. [PMID: 34246750 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2021.166209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), are manifested by the deposition of well-characterized amyloid aggregates of Tau protein in the brain. However, it is rather unlikely that these aggregates constitute the major form of Tau responsible for neurodegenerative changes. Currently, it is postulated that the intermediates termed as soluble oligomers, assembled on the amyloidogenic pathway, are the most neurotoxic form of Tau. However, Tau oligomers reported so far represent a population of poorly characterized, heterogeneous and unstable assemblies. In this study, to obtain the oligomers, we employed the aggregation-prone K18 fragment of Tau protein with deletion of Lys280 (K18Δ280) linked to a hereditary tauopathy. We have described a new procedure of inducing aggregation of mutated K18 which leads either to the formation of nontoxic amyloid fibrils or neurotoxic globular oligomers, depending on its phosphorylation status. We demonstrate that PKA-phosphorylated K18Δ280 oligomers are toxic to hippocampal neurons, which is manifested by loss of dendritic spines and neurites, and impairment of cell-membrane integrity leading to cell death. We also show that N1, the soluble N-terminal fragment of prion protein (PrP), protects neurons from the oligomers-induced cytotoxicity. Our findings support the hypothesis on the neurotoxicity of Tau oligomers and neuroprotective role of PrP-derived fragments in AD and other tauopathies. These observations could be useful in the development of therapeutic strategies for these diseases.
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11
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Menšíková K, Matěj R, Parobková E, Smětáková M, Kaňovský P. PART and ARTAG tauopathies at a relatively young age as a concomitant finding in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Prion 2021; 15:138-142. [PMID: 34224311 PMCID: PMC8259715 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2021.1946378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions between prion protein (PrP) and tau protein have long been discussed, especially in relation to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. The presence of tauopathy in the genetic forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) brains is not uncommon. Molecular interactions between PrP and tau protein have been demonstrated in animal models; the role is attributed to the structural properties of misfolded isoform of the host-encoded prion protein (PrPSc) aggregates, especially amyloid, which contributes to the phosphorylation of tau protein, which is reflected in the frequent occurrence of tau pathology in inherited prion amyloidoses. The question is the relationship between PrPSc and hippocampal tau pathology without amyloid deposits (i.e. PART and ARTAG) in sporadic CJD (sCJD). The co-occurrence of these two proteinopathies in sCJD brains is quite rare. These pathological entities have been described in only a few cases of sCJD, all of them were older than 70 years. There have been speculations about the possibility of accelerating the course of pre-existing tauopathy or the possibility of accelerating the ageing process in the CJD brains. Here we present the clinical course and neuropathological findings of a patient with sCJD in whom the above mentioned tauopathies PART and ARTAG, considered to be typical for older age, were found as early as 58 years of age. According to the available information, this case represents an unusually early occurrence of age-related tauopathies not only in relation to sCJD, but also in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kateřina Menšíková
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Radoslav Matěj
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Parobková
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, 3 Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Magdalena Smětáková
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, 3 Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Kaňovský
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
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12
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Race B, Williams K, Striebel JF, Chesebro B. Prion-associated cerebral amyloid angiopathy is not exacerbated by human phosphorylated tau aggregates in scrapie-infected mice expressing anchorless prion protein. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 144:105057. [PMID: 32829029 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau aggregates consisting of hyperphosphorylated tau fibrils are associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and progressive supranuclear palsy. Tau may contribute to the pathogenesis of these diseases, collectively referred to as tauopathies. In human genetic prion diseases, tau aggregates are detected in association with amyloid plaques consisting of prion protein (PrP). However, the role of abnormal tau aggregates in PrP amyloid disease remains unclear. Previously we inoculated scrapie prions into transgenic mice expressing human tau, mouse tau, glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored PrP, and anchorless PrP. These mice developed both spongiform vacuolar pathology and PrP amyloid pathology, and human tau was detected near PrP amyloid plaques. However, the presence of human tau did not alter the disease tempo or prion-induced neuropathology. In the present study, we tested mice which more closely modeled familial human prion disease. These mice expressed human tau but lacked both mouse tau and GPI-anchored PrP. However, they did produce anchorless PrP, resulting in perivascular PrP amyloid plaques, i.e. cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), without spongiform degeneration. Typical of PrP amyloid disease, the clinical course was very slow in this model. Nevertheless, the accumulation of aggregated, phosphorylated human tau and its association with PrP amyloid plaques failed to alter the timing or course of the clinical disease observed. These data suggest that human tau does not contribute to the pathogenesis of mouse PrP amyloid brain disease and raise the possibility that tau may also not be pathogenic in human PrP amyloid disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brent Race
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South Fourth Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.
| | - Katie Williams
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South Fourth Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - James F Striebel
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South Fourth Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - Bruce Chesebro
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South Fourth Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
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13
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De Cecco E, Celauro L, Vanni S, Grandolfo M, Bistaffa E, Moda F, Aguzzi A, Legname G. The uptake of tau amyloid fibrils is facilitated by the cellular prion protein and hampers prion propagation in cultured cells. J Neurochem 2020; 155:577-591. [DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elena De Cecco
- Laboratory of Prion BiologyDepartment of NeuroscienceScuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) Trieste Italy
| | - Luigi Celauro
- Laboratory of Prion BiologyDepartment of NeuroscienceScuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) Trieste Italy
| | - Silvia Vanni
- Laboratory of Prion BiologyDepartment of NeuroscienceScuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) Trieste Italy
| | - Micaela Grandolfo
- Laboratory of Prion BiologyDepartment of NeuroscienceScuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) Trieste Italy
| | - Edoardo Bistaffa
- Unit of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta Milan Italy
| | - Fabio Moda
- Unit of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta Milan Italy
| | - Adriano Aguzzi
- Institute of Neuropathology University Hospital of Zürich Zürich Switzerland
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Laboratory of Prion BiologyDepartment of NeuroscienceScuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) Trieste Italy
- ELETTRA Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A Basovizza, Trieste Italy
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14
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Niklasson B, Lindquist L, Klitz W, Englund E. Picornavirus Identified in Alzheimer's Disease Brains: A Pathogenic Path? J Alzheimers Dis Rep 2020; 4:141-146. [PMID: 32587947 PMCID: PMC7306919 DOI: 10.3233/adr-200174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated formalin-fixed postmortem brain tissue from the hippocampus region of 18 AD cases and 11 age-matched controls using a polyclonal antibody against Ljungan virus (LV) capsid protein 1. Evidence of a LV antigen was found in all AD cases but in none of the control specimens (p < 0.0001). The antibodies reacted with neurons and astrocytes and also showed distinct positive reaction in the amyloid/neuritic plaques. The possible role of an incompletely characterized picornavirus as the etiologic agent in AD open up the possibility of treatment with antiviral therapy directed against picornaviruses. The positive result of such treatment in a small number of patients is presented separately back to back to this report.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Niklasson
- Jordbro Primary Health Care Center, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lars Lindquist
- Department of Medicine Huddinge, Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - William Klitz
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Netherlands Brain Bank
- Netherlands Brain Bank, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Elisabet Englund
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Pathology, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden
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15
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Bošnjak M, Zupan A, Fiorini M, Popović KŠ, Popović M. A case of MV2K subtype of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with florid-like plaques: Similarities and differences to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Neuropathology 2020; 40:389-398. [PMID: 32249464 DOI: 10.1111/neup.12652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is traditionally regarded as having a distinct clinical course, imaging study findings and neuropathological features, which in combination should allow a clear distinction from the six currently well-defined subtypes of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). This is of major importance, especially from the standpoint of epidemiology. As we would like to demonstrate through this case report, the MV2K subtype of sCJD, being rare and heterogeneous in both clinical and neuropathological presentations, might challenge this concept by virtue of partial overlapping, both clinically and neuropathologically, with the characteristic phenotype of vCJD. Chiefly, we observed prolonged isolated psychiatric prodrome, new onset limb pain and late cognitive decline clinically, while florid-like plaques were present on routine histology, albeit in scarce and regionally restricted distribution when compared to vCJD. However, the issue is further complicated by the fact that a case of vCJD in a heterozygous (i.e. methionine - M and valine - V) allelic state with regard to the polymorphic codon 129 of the prion protein gene (PRNP) has recently been described in the UK, which deviated from the otherwise well-defined and constant clinicopathological phenotype that vCJD had thus far demonstrated. Taking both the facts into account, we would like to emphasize the use of complementary diagnostic methods to the established and otherwise reliable histological type-based model, particularly when confronted with a rare or atypical phenotype such as ours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matic Bošnjak
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Andrej Zupan
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Michele Fiorini
- Department of Neurologic and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Katarina Š Popović
- Clinical Institute of Radiology, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Mara Popović
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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16
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Kuru, the First Human Prion Disease. Viruses 2019; 11:v11030232. [PMID: 30866511 PMCID: PMC6466359 DOI: 10.3390/v11030232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Kuru, the first human prion disease was transmitted to chimpanzees by D. Carleton Gajdusek (1923–2008). In this review, we summarize the history of this seminal discovery, its anthropological background, epidemiology, clinical picture, neuropathology, and molecular genetics. We provide descriptions of electron microscopy and confocal microscopy of kuru amyloid plaques retrieved from a paraffin-embedded block of an old kuru case, named Kupenota. The discovery of kuru opened new vistas of human medicine and was pivotal in the subsequent transmission of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, as well as the relevance that bovine spongiform encephalopathy had for transmission to humans. The transmission of kuru was one of the greatest contributions to biomedical sciences of the 20th century.
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17
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Sikorska B, Gajos A, Bogucki A, Zielonka E, Sigurdson C, Liberski PP. Electron microscopic and confocal laser microscopy analysis of amyloid plaques in chronic wasting disease transmitted to transgenic mice. Prion 2019; 11:431-439. [PMID: 29105545 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2017.1384109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We report here on the ultrastructure of amyloid plaques in chronic wasting disease (CWD) transmitted to Tg20 transgenic mice overexpressing prion protein (PrPc). We identified three main types of amyloid deposits in mCWD: large amyloid deposits, unicentric plaques similar to kuru plaques in human prion diseases and multicentric plaques reminiscent of plaques typical of GSS. The most unique type of plaques were large subpial amyloid deposits. They were composed of large areas of amyloid fibrils but did not form "star-like" appearances of unicentric plaques. All types of plaques were totally devoid of dystrophic neuritic elements. However, numerous microglial cells invaded them. The plaques observed by confocal laser microscope were of the same types as those analyzed by electron microscopy. Neuronal processes surrounding the plaques did not show typical features of neuroaxonal dystrophy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beata Sikorska
- a Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology , Medical University of Lodz , Kosciuszki 4 st, Lodz , Poland
| | - Agata Gajos
- b Department of Extrapyramidal Diseases , Medical University of Lodz , Kosciuszki 4 st, Lodz , Poland
| | - Andrzej Bogucki
- b Department of Extrapyramidal Diseases , Medical University of Lodz , Kosciuszki 4 st, Lodz , Poland
| | - Emil Zielonka
- a Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology , Medical University of Lodz , Kosciuszki 4 st, Lodz , Poland
| | - Christina Sigurdson
- c Center for Veterinary Sciences and Comparative Medicine , University of California , San Diego , United States of America
| | - Pawel P Liberski
- a Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology , Medical University of Lodz , Kosciuszki 4 st, Lodz , Poland
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18
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Race B, Phillips K, Kraus A, Chesebro B. Phosphorylated human tau associates with mouse prion protein amyloid in scrapie-infected mice but does not increase progression of clinical disease. Prion 2017; 10:319-30. [PMID: 27463540 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2016.1199313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Tauopathies are a family of neurodegenerative diseases in which fibrils of human hyperphosphorylated tau (P-tau) are believed to cause neuropathology. In Alzheimer disease, P-tau associates with A-beta amyloid and contributes to disease pathogenesis. In familial human prion diseases and variant CJD, P-tau often co-associates with prion protein amyloid, and might also accelerate disease progression. To test this latter possibility, here we compared progression of amyloid prion disease in vivo after scrapie infection of mice with and without expression of human tau. The mice used expressed both anchorless prion protein (PrP) and membrane-anchored PrP, that generate disease associated amyloid and non-amyloid PrP (PrPSc) after scrapie infection. Human P-tau induced by scrapie infection was only rarely associated with non-amyloid PrPSc, but abundant human P-tau was detected at extracellular, perivascular and axonal deposits associated with amyloid PrPSc. This pathology was quite similar to that seen in familial prion diseases. However, association of human and mouse P-tau with amyloid PrPSc did not diminish survival time following prion infection in these mice. By analogy, human P-tau may not affect prion disease progression in humans. Alternatively, these results might be due to other factors, including rapidity of disease, blocking effects by mouse tau, or low toxicity of human P-tau in this model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brent Race
- a Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH , Hamilton , MT , USA
| | - Katie Phillips
- a Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH , Hamilton , MT , USA
| | - Allison Kraus
- a Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH , Hamilton , MT , USA
| | - Bruce Chesebro
- a Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH , Hamilton , MT , USA
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19
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Nizynski B, Dzwolak W, Nieznanski K. Amyloidogenesis of Tau protein. Protein Sci 2017; 26:2126-2150. [PMID: 28833749 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2017] [Revised: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 08/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The role of microtubule-associated protein Tau in neurodegeneration has been extensively investigated since the discovery of Tau amyloid aggregates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The process of formation of amyloid fibrils is known as amyloidogenesis and attracts much attention as a potential target in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative conditions linked to protein aggregation. Cerebral deposition of amyloid aggregates of Tau is observed not only in AD but also in numerous other tauopathies and prion diseases. Amyloidogenesis of intrinsically unstructured monomers of Tau can be triggered by mutations in the Tau gene, post-translational modifications, or interactions with polyanionic molecules and aggregation-prone proteins/peptides. The self-assembly of amyloid fibrils of Tau shares a number of characteristic features with amyloidogenesis of other proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases. For example, in vitro experiments have demonstrated that the nucleation phase, which is the rate-limiting stage of Tau amyloidogenesis, is shortened in the presence of fragmented preformed Tau fibrils acting as aggregation templates ("seeds"). Accordingly, Tau aggregates released by tauopathy-affected neurons can spread the neurodegenerative process in the brain through a prion-like mechanism, originally described for the pathogenic form of prion protein. Moreover, Tau has been shown to form amyloid strains-structurally diverse self-propagating aggregates of potentially various pathological effects, resembling in this respect prion strains. Here, we review the current literature on Tau aggregation and discuss mechanisms of propagation of Tau amyloid in the light of the prion-like paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bartosz Nizynski
- College of Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Warsaw, 2C Banacha Str, Warsaw, 02-097, Poland.,Faculty of Chemistry, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteur Str, Warsaw, 02-093, Poland
| | - Wojciech Dzwolak
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteur Str, Warsaw, 02-093, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Nieznanski
- Department of Biochemistry, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Str, Warsaw, 02-093, Poland
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20
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Iaccarino L, Moresco RM, Presotto L, Bugiani O, Iannaccone S, Giaccone G, Tagliavini F, Perani D. An In Vivo 11C-(R)-PK11195 PET and In Vitro Pathology Study of Microglia Activation in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Mol Neurobiol 2017; 55:2856-2868. [PMID: 28455699 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-017-0522-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Microgliosis is part of the immunobiology of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). This is the first report using 11C-(R)-PK11195 PET imaging in vivo to measure 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) expression, indexing microglia activation, in symptomatic CJD patients, followed by a postmortem neuropathology comparison. One genetic CJD (gCJD) patient, two sporadic CJD (sCJD) patients, one variant CJD (vCJD) patient (mean ± SD age, 47.50 ± 15.95 years), and nine healthy controls (mean ± SD age, 44.00 ± 11.10 years) were included in the study. TSPO binding potentials were estimated using clustering and parametric analyses of reference regions. Statistical comparisons were run at the regional and at the voxel-wise levels. Postmortem evaluation measured scrapie prion protein (PrPSc) immunoreactivity, neuronal loss, spongiosis, astrogliosis, and microgliosis. 11C-(R)-PK11195-PET showed a significant TSPO overexpression at the cortical level in the two sCJD patients, as well as thalamic and cerebellar involvement; very limited parieto-occipital activation in the gCJD case; and significant increases at the subcortical level in the thalamus, basal ganglia, and midbrain and in the cerebellum in the vCJD brain. Along with misfolded prion deposits, neuropathology in all patients revealed neuronal loss, spongiosis and astrogliosis, and a diffuse cerebral and cerebellar microgliosis which was particularly dense in thalamic and basal ganglia structures in the vCJD brain. These findings confirm significant microgliosis in CJD, which was variably modulated in vivo and more diffuse at postmortem evaluation. Thus, TSPO overexpression in microglia activation, topography, and extent can vary in CJD subtypes, as shown in vivo, possibly related to the response to fast apoptotic processes, but reaches a large amount at the final disease course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Iaccarino
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 58, 20132, Milan, Italy.,In Vivo Human Molecular and Structural Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Rosa Maria Moresco
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy.,IBFM-CNR, Via F.lli Cervi 93, Segrate, 20090, Milan, Italy.,Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Presotto
- In Vivo Human Molecular and Structural Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, 20132, Milan, Italy.,Nuclear Medicine Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Orso Bugiani
- IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Sandro Iannaccone
- Neurological Rehabilitation Unit, Clinical Neurosciences Department, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Giorgio Giaccone
- IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Tagliavini
- IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniela Perani
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 58, 20132, Milan, Italy. .,In Vivo Human Molecular and Structural Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, 20132, Milan, Italy. .,Nuclear Medicine Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy.
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21
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Prion-specific and surrogate CSF biomarkers in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: diagnostic accuracy in relation to molecular subtypes and analysis of neuropathological correlates of p-tau and Aβ42 levels. Acta Neuropathol 2017; 133:559-578. [PMID: 28205010 PMCID: PMC5348556 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-017-1683-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2016] [Revised: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The differential diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) from other, sometimes treatable, neurological disorders is challenging, owing to the wide phenotypic heterogeneity of the disease. Real-time quaking-induced prion conversion (RT-QuIC) is a novel ultrasensitive in vitro assay, which, at variance with surrogate neurodegenerative biomarker assays, specifically targets the pathological prion protein (PrPSc). In the studies conducted to date in CJD, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) RT-QuIC showed good diagnostic sensitivity (82–96%) and virtually full specificity. In the present study, we investigated the diagnostic value of both prion RT-QuIC and surrogate protein markers in a large patient population with suspected CJD and then evaluated the influence on CSF findings of the CJD type, and the associated amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau neuropathology. RT-QuIC showed an overall diagnostic sensitivity of 82.1% and a specificity of 99.4%. However, sensitivity was lower in CJD types linked to abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) type 2 (VV2, MV2K and MM2C) than in typical CJD (MM1). Among surrogate proteins markers (14-3-3, total (t)-tau, and t-tau/phosphorylated (p)-tau ratio) t-tau performed best in terms of both specificity and sensitivity for all sCJD types. Sporadic CJD VV2 and MV2K types demonstrated higher CSF levels of p-tau when compared to other sCJD types and this positively correlated with the amount of tiny tau deposits in brain areas showing spongiform change. CJD patients showed moderately reduced median Aβ42 CSF levels, with 38% of cases having significantly decreased protein levels in the absence of Aβ brain deposits. Our results: (1) support the use of both RT-QuIC and t-tau assays as first line laboratory investigations for the clinical diagnosis of CJD; (2) demonstrate a secondary tauopathy in CJD subtypes VV2 and MV2K, correlating with increased p-tau levels in the CSF and (3) provide novel insight into the issue of the accuracy of CSF p-tau and Aβ42 as markers of brain tauopathy and β-amyloidosis.
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Villa V, Thellung S, Bajetto A, Gatta E, Robello M, Novelli F, Tasso B, Tonelli M, Florio T. Novel celecoxib analogues inhibit glial production of prostaglandin E2, nitric oxide, and oxygen radicals reverting the neuroinflammatory responses induced by misfolded prion protein fragment 90-231 or lipopolysaccharide. Pharmacol Res 2016; 113:500-514. [PMID: 27667770 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2016.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Revised: 09/05/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We tested the efficacy of novel cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors in counteracting glia-driven neuroinflammation induced by the amyloidogenic prion protein fragment PrP90-231 or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In search for molecules with higher efficacy than celecoxib, we focused our study on its 2,3-diaryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-one analogues. As experimental models, we used the immortalized microglial cell line N9, rat purified microglial primary cultures, and mixed cultures of astrocytes and microglia. Microglia activation in response to PrP90-231 or LPS was characterized by growth arrest, morphology changes and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, PrP90-231 treatment caused the overexpression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and COX-2, with the consequent nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) accumulation. These effects were challenged by different celecoxib analogues, among which Q22 (3-[4-(sulfamoyl)phenyl]-2-(4-tolyl)thiazolidin-4-one) inhibited microglia activation more efficiently than celecoxib, lowering both iNOS and COX-2 activity and reducing ROS release. During neurodegenerative diseases, neuroinflammation induced by amyloidogenic peptides causes the activation of both astrocytes and microglia with these cell populations mutually regulating each other. Thus the effects of PrP90-231 and LPS were also studied on mixed glial cultures containing astrocytes and microglia. PrP90-231 treatment elicited different responses in the co-cultures induced astrocyte proliferation and microglia growth arrest, resulting in a differential ability to release proinflammatory molecules with the production of NO and ROS mainly attributable on microglia, while COX-2 expression was induced also in astrocytes. Q22 effects on both NO and PGE2 secretion were more significant in the mixed glial cultures than in purified microglia, demonstrating Q22 ability to revert the functional interaction between astrocytes and microglia. These results demonstrate that Q22 is a powerful drug able to revert glial neuroinflammatory responses and might represent a lead to explore the chemical space around celecoxib frameworks to design even more effective agents, paving the way to novel approaches to contrast the neuroinflammation-dependent toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Villa
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine, and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR), University of Genova, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Stefano Thellung
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine, and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR), University of Genova, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Adriana Bajetto
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine, and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR), University of Genova, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Elena Gatta
- Department of Physics, University of Genova, Genoa, Italy
| | - Mauro Robello
- Department of Physics, University of Genova, Genoa, Italy
| | - Federica Novelli
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Bruno Tasso
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Michele Tonelli
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Tullio Florio
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine, and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR), University of Genova, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
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Kovacs GG, Rahimi J, Ströbel T, Lutz MI, Regelsberger G, Streichenberger N, Perret-Liaudet A, Höftberger R, Liberski PP, Budka H, Sikorska B. Tau pathology in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease revisited. Brain Pathol 2016; 27:332-344. [PMID: 27377321 PMCID: PMC8028936 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.12411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 06/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a human prion disease with different etiologies. To determine the spectrum of tau pathologies in CJD, we assessed phospho-Tau (pTau) immunoreactivities in 75 sporadic CJD cases including an evaluation of the entorhinal cortex and six hippocampal subregions. Twelve cases (16%) showed only small tau-immunoreactive neuritic profiles. Fifty-two (69.3%) showed additional tau pathology in the medial temporal lobe compatible with primary age related tauopathy (PART). In 22/52 cases the lower pTau immunoreactivity load in the entorhinal cortex as compared to subiculum, dentate gyrus or CA4 region of the hippocampus was significantly different from the typical distribution of the Braak staging. A further 11 cases (14.7%) showed widespread tau pathologies compatible with features of primary tauopathies or the gray matter type of ageing-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG). Prominent gray matter ARTAG was also observed in two out of three additionally examined V203I genetic CJD cases. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid revealed prominent increase of total tau protein in cases with widespread tau pathology, while pTau (T181) level was increased only in four. This correlated with immunohistochemical observations showing less pathology with anti-pTau T181 antibody when compared to anti-pTau S202/T205, T212/S214 and T231. The frequency of tau pathologies is not unusually high in sporadic CJD and does not precisely relate to PrP deposition. However, the pattern of hippocampal tau pathology often deviates from the stages of Braak. Currently applied examination of cerebrospinal fluid pTau (T181) level does not reliably reflect primary tauopathies, PART and ARTAG seen in CJD brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabor G Kovacs
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jasmin Rahimi
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Ströbel
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mirjam I Lutz
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, Vienna, Austria
| | - Günther Regelsberger
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nathalie Streichenberger
- Prion Disease Laboratory, Pathology and Biochemistry, Groupement Hospitalier Est, Hospices Civils de Lyon/Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France.,Institut NeuroMyogène CNRS UMR 5310 - INSERM U1217, Lyon, France
| | - Armand Perret-Liaudet
- Prion Disease Laboratory, Pathology and Biochemistry, Groupement Hospitalier Est, Hospices Civils de Lyon/Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France.,Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (Laboratoire BioRaN), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - CNRS UMR5292 - INSERM U1028, Lyon, France
| | - Romana Höftberger
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, Vienna, Austria
| | - Pawel P Liberski
- Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Herbert Budka
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, Vienna, Austria.,Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Beata Sikorska
- Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
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Soomro S, Mohan C. Biomarkers for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2016; 3:465-72. [PMID: 27547775 PMCID: PMC4892001 DOI: 10.1002/acn3.304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Revised: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 02/26/2016] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare but fatal type of spongiform encephalopathy with unknown cause. Unfortunately, definitive diagnosis of this disease can only be done by examination of postmortem brain tissue. Presumptive diagnosis is done through a combination of clinical manifestations, radiology results, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) testing for CSF 14-3-3. Even with these guidelines, premortem diagnosis of sCJD can be unreliable with high rates of misdiagnosis. This calls for more reliable biomarkers of the disease, allowing for better diagnosis as well as understanding the pathogenesis of sCJD. This review compiles potential genetic, protein, biomolecular, and imaging biomarker studies for sCJD since 2010, highlighting the promise of proteins, cytokines, and composite biomarkers for improving the diagnosis as well as understanding the pathogenesis of this mysterious ailment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanam Soomro
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of HoustonHoustonTexas77204
| | - Chandra Mohan
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of HoustonHoustonTexas77204
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25
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Abstract
Mammalian prions are composed of misfolded aggregated prion protein (PrP) with amyloid-like features. Prions are zoonotic disease agents that infect a wide variety of mammalian species including humans. Mammals and by-products thereof which are frequently encountered in daily life are most important for human health. It is established that bovine prions (BSE) can infect humans while there is no such evidence for any other prion susceptible species in the human food chain (sheep, goat, elk, deer) and largely prion resistant species (pig) or susceptible and resistant pets (cat and dogs, respectively). PrPs from these species have been characterized using biochemistry, biophysics and neurobiology. Recently we studied PrPs from several mammals in vitro and found evidence for generic amyloidogenicity as well as cross-seeding fibril formation activity of all PrPs on the human PrP sequence regardless if the original species was resistant or susceptible to prion disease. Porcine PrP amyloidogenicity was among the studied. Experimentally inoculated pigs as well as transgenic mouse lines overexpressing porcine PrP have, in the past, been used to investigate the possibility of prion transmission in pigs. The pig is a species with extraordinarily wide use within human daily life with over a billion pigs harvested for human consumption each year. Here we discuss the possibility that the largely prion disease resistant pig can be a clinically silent carrier of replicating prions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Per Hammarström
- a IFM-Department of Chemistry ; Linköping University ; Linköping , Sweden
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Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are fatal neurodegenerative disorders characterised by long incubation period, short clinical duration, and transmissibility to susceptible species. Neuronal loss, spongiform changes, gliosis and the accumulation in the brain of the misfolded version of a membrane-bound cellular prion protein (PrP(C)), termed PrP(TSE), are diagnostic markers of these diseases. Compelling evidence links protein misfolding and its accumulation with neurodegenerative changes. Accordingly, several mechanisms of prion-mediated neurotoxicity have been proposed. In this paper, we provide an overview of the recent knowledge on the mechanisms of neuropathogenesis, the neurotoxic PrP species and the possible therapeutic approaches to treat these devastating disorders.
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Stabilization of microtubular cytoskeleton protects neurons from toxicity of N-terminal fragment of cytosolic prion protein. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR CELL RESEARCH 2015; 1853:2228-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2015.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2015] [Revised: 06/12/2015] [Accepted: 07/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Reis R, Hennessy E, Murray C, Griffin ÉW, Cunningham C. At the centre of neuronal, synaptic and axonal pathology in murine prion disease: degeneration of neuroanatomically linked thalamic and brainstem nuclei. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2015; 41:780-97. [PMID: 25727649 PMCID: PMC4744702 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Accepted: 02/25/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Aims The processes by which neurons degenerate in chronic neurodegenerative diseases remain unclear. Synaptic loss and axonal pathology frequently precede neuronal loss and protein aggregation demonstrably spreads along neuroanatomical pathways in many neurodegenerative diseases. The spread of neuronal pathology is less studied. Methods We previously demonstrated severe neurodegeneration in the posterior thalamus of multiple prion disease strains. Here we used the ME7 model of prion disease to examine the nature of this degeneration in the posterior thalamus and the major brainstem projections into this region. Results We objectively quantified neurological decline between 16 and 18 weeks post‐inoculation and observed thalamic subregion‐selective neuronal, synaptic and axonal pathology while demonstrating relatively uniform protease‐resistant prion protein (PrP) aggregation and microgliosis across the posterior thalamus. Novel amyloid precursor protein (APP) pathology was particularly prominent in the thalamic posterior (PO) and ventroposterior lateral (VPL) nuclei. The brainstem nuclei forming the major projections to these thalamic nuclei were examined. Massive neuronal loss in the PO was not matched by significant neuronal loss in the interpolaris (Sp5I), while massive synaptic loss in the ventral posteromedial nucleus (VPM) did correspond with significant neuronal loss in the principal trigeminal nucleus. Likewise, significant VPL synaptic loss was matched by significant neuronal loss in the gracile and cuneate nuclei. Conclusion These findings demonstrate significant spread of neuronal pathology from the thalamus to the brainstem in prion disease. The divergent neuropathological features in adjacent neuronal populations demonstrates that there are discrete pathways to neurodegeneration in different neuronal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata Reis
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Edel Hennessy
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Caoimhe Murray
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Éadaoin W Griffin
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Colm Cunningham
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Jeffrey M, McGovern G, Makarava N, González L, Kim YS, Rohwer RG, Baskakov IV. Pathology of SSLOW, a transmissible and fatal synthetic prion protein disorder, and comparison with naturally occurring classical transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2014; 40:296-310. [PMID: 23578208 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2012] [Accepted: 03/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) accumulate disease-specific forms of prion protein on cell membranes in association with pathognomonic lesions. We wished to determine whether synthetic prion protein disorders recapitulated these and other subcellular TSE-specific changes. METHODS SSLOW is a TSE initiated with refolded synthetic prion protein. Five terminally sick hamsters previously intracerebrally inoculated with third passage SSLOW were examined using light and immunogold electron microscopy. RESULTS SSLOW-affected hamsters showed widespread abnormal prion protein (PrP(SSLOW) ) and amyloid plaques. PrP(SSLOW) accumulated on plasma lemmas of neurites and glia without pathological changes. PrP(SSLOW) also colocalized with increased coated vesicles and pits, coated spiral membrane invaginations and membrane microfolding. PrP(SSLOW) was additionally observed in lysosomes of microglial cells but not of neurones or astrocytes. CONCLUSIONS PrP(SSLOW) is propagated by cell membrane conversion of normal PrP and lethal disease may be linked to the progressive growth of amyloid plaques. Cell membrane changes present in SSLOW are indistinguishable from those of naturally occurring TSEs. However, some lesions found in SSLOW are absent in natural animal TSEs and vice versa. SSLOW may not entirely recapitulate neuropathological features previously described for natural disease. End-stage neuropathology in SSLOW, particularly the nature and distribution of amyloid plaques may be significantly influenced by the early redistribution of seeds within the inoculum and its recirculation following interstitial, perivascular and other drainage pathways. The way in which seeds are distributed and aggregate into plaques in SSLOW has significant overlap with murine APP overexpressing mice challenged with Aβ.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jeffrey
- Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Lasswade Laboratory, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK
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Liberski PP. Kuru: a journey back in time from papua new Guinea to the neanderthals' extinction. Pathogens 2013; 2:472-505. [PMID: 25437203 PMCID: PMC4235695 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens2030472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2013] [Revised: 07/04/2013] [Accepted: 07/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Kuru, the first human transmissible spongiform encephalopathy was transmitted to chimpanzees by D. Carleton Gajdusek (1923-2008). In this review, I briefly summarize the history of this seminal discovery along its epidemiology, clinical picture, neuropathology and molecular genetics. The discovery of kuru opened new windows into the realms of human medicine and was instrumental in the later transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease as well as the relevance that bovine spongiform encephalopathy had for transmission to humans. The transmission of kuru was one of the greatest contributions to biomedical sciences of the 20th century.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawel P Liberski
- Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology, Medical University of Lodz, Kosciuszki st. 4, Lodz 90-419, Poland.
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Shi Q, Xie WL, Zhang B, Chen LN, Xu Y, Wang K, Ren K, Zhang XM, Chen C, Zhang J, Dong XP. Brain microglia were activated in sporadic CJD but almost unchanged in fatal familial insomnia and G114V genetic CJD. Virol J 2013; 10:216. [PMID: 23816234 PMCID: PMC3716817 DOI: 10.1186/1743-422x-10-216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2013] [Accepted: 06/20/2013] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Microglial activations have been described in different subtypes of human prion diseases such as sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), variant CJD, Kuru and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS). However, the situation of microglia in other genetic prion diseases such as fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and familial CJD remains less understood. The brain microglia was evaluated comparatively between the FFI, G114V and sCJD cases in the study. Methods Specific Western blots, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent assays were used to detect the changes of microglia and ELISA tests were used for levels of inflammatory cytokines. Results Western blots, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent assays illustrated almost unchanged microglia in the temporal lobes of FFI and G114V gCJD, but obviously increased in those of sCJD. The Iba1-levels maintained comparable in six different brain regions of FFI and G114V cases, including thalamus, cingulate gyrus, frontal cortex, parietal cortex, occipital cortex and temporal cortex. ELISA tests for inflammatory cytokines revealed significantly up-regulated IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the brain homogenates from sCJD, but not in those from FFI and G114V gCJD. Conclusion Data here demonstrates silent brain microglia in FFI and G114V gCJD but obviously increased in sCJD, which reflects various pathogenesis of different human prion diseases subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Shi
- State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases (Hangzhou), National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chang-Bai Rd 155, Beijing 102206, People's Republic of China
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Jeffrey M. Review: Membrane-associated misfolded protein propagation in natural transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), synthetic prion diseases and Alzheimer's disease. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2013; 39:196-216. [DOI: 10.1111/nan.12004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2012] [Accepted: 11/06/2012] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Jeffrey
- Lasswade Laboratory; Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency; Penicuik; UK
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Abstract
Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent cause of dementia among older adults, yet more than a century of research has not determined why this disease develops. One prevailing hypothesis is that late-onset AD is caused by infectious pathogens, an idea widely studied in both humans and experimental animal models. This review examines the infectious AD etiology hypothesis and summarizes existing evidence associating infectious agents with AD in humans. The various mechanisms through which different clinical and subclinical infections could cause or promote the progression of AD are considered, as is the concordance between putative infectious agents and the epidemiology of AD. We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCO databases for research articles pertaining to infections and AD and systematically reviewed the evidence linking specific infectious pathogens to AD. The evidence compiled from the literature linking AD to an infectious cause is inconclusive, but the amount of evidence suggestive of an association is too substantial to ignore. Epidemiologic, clinical, and basic science studies that could improve on current understanding of the associations between AD and infections and possibly uncover ways to control this highly prevalent and debilitating disease are suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert Wallace
- Correspondence to Dr. Robert Wallace, Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, 105 River St. Iowa City, IA 52242 (e-mail: )
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Piccardo P, Cervenak J, Yakovleva O, Gregori L, Pomeroy K, Cook A, Muhammad FS, Seuberlich T, Cervenakova L, Asher DM. Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) infected with the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy develop tau pathology. J Comp Pathol 2012; 147:84-93. [PMID: 22018806 PMCID: PMC3288625 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2011.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2011] [Revised: 09/02/2011] [Accepted: 09/08/2011] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) were infected experimentally with the agent of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Two to four years later, six of the monkeys developed alterations in interactive behaviour and cognition and other neurological signs typical of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). At necropsy examination, the brains from all of the monkeys showed pathological changes similar to those described in variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) of man, except that the squirrel monkey brains contained no PrP-amyloid plaques typical of that disease. Constant neuropathological features included spongiform degeneration, gliosis, deposition of abnormal prion protein (PrP(TSE)) and many deposits of abnormally phosphorylated tau protein (p-Tau) in several areas of the cerebrum and cerebellum. Western blots showed large amounts of proteinase K-resistant prion protein in the central nervous system. The striking absence of PrP plaques (prominent in brains of cynomolgus macaques [Macaca fascicularis] with experimentally-induced BSE and vCJD and in human patients with vCJD) reinforces the conclusion that the host plays a major role in determining the neuropathology of TSEs. Results of this study suggest that p-Tau, found in the brains of all BSE-infected monkeys, might play a role in the pathogenesis of TSEs. Whether p-Tau contributes to development of disease or appears as a secondary change late in the course of illness remains to be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Piccardo
- Laboratory of Bacterial and TSE Agents, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, United States Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD, USA.
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Abstract
Kuru was the first human transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) or prion disease identified, occurring in the Fore linguistic group of Papua New Guinea. Kuru was a uniformly fatal cerebellar ataxic syndrome, usually followed by choreiform and athetoid movements. Kuru imposed a strong balancing selection on the Fore population, with individuals homozygous for the 129 Met allele of the gene (PRNP) encoding for prion protein (PrP) being the most susceptible. The decline in the incidence of kuru in the Fore has been attributed to the exhaustion of the susceptible genotype and ultimately by discontinuation of exposure via cannibalism. Neuropathologically, kuru-affected brains were characterized by widespread degeneration of neurons, astroglial and microglial proliferation, and the presence of amyloid plaques. These early findings have been confirmed and extended by recent immunohistochemical studies for the detection of the TSE-specific PrP (PrP). Confocal laser microscopy also showed the concentration of glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytic processes at the plaque periphery. The fine structure of plaques corresponds to that described earlier by light microscopy. The successful experimental transmission of kuru led to the awareness of its similarity to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease and formed a background against which the recent epidemics of iatrogenic and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease could be studied.
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Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases are the names given to the group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders that includes kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), fatal and sporadic familial insomnia and the novel prion disease variable protease-sensitive prionopathy (PSPr) in humans. Kuru was restricted to natives of the Foré linguistic group in Papua New Guinea and spread by ritualistic endocannibalism. CJD appears as sporadic, familial (genetic or hereditary) and infectious (iatrogenic) forms. Variant CJD is a zoonotic CJD type and of major public health importance, which resulted from transmission from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) through ingestion of contaminated meat products. GSS is a slowly progressive hereditary autosomal dominant disease and the first human TSE in which a mutation in a gene encoding for prion protein (PrP) was discovered. The rarest human prion disease is fatal insomnia, which may occur, in genetic and sporadic form. More recently a novel prion disease variable protease-sensitive prionopathy (PSPr) was described in humans.TSEs are caused by a still incompletely defined infectious agent known as a "prion" which is widely regarded to be an aggregate of a misfolded isoform (PrP(Sc)) of a normal cellular glycoprotein (PrP(c)). The conversion mechanism of PrP(c) into PrP(Sc) is still not certain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beata Sikorska
- Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology, Chair of Oncology, Medical University of Lodz, Czechoslowacka st. 8/10, 92-216, Lodz, Poland,
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Abstract
In this chapter we provided the overall background to the subject of protein aggregation and fibrillogenesis in amyloidogenesis, with introduction and brief discussion of the various topics that are included with the coming chapters. The division of the book into basic science and clinical science sections enables correlation of the topics to be made. The many proteins and peptides that have currently been found to undergo fibrillogenesis are tabulated. A broad technical survey is made, to indicate the vast array of techniques currently available to study aspects of protein oligomerization, aggregation and fibrillogenesis. These are split into three groups and tabulated, as the microscopical techniques, the analytical and biophysical methods, and the biochemical and cellular techniques. A few techniques are discussed, but in most cases only a link to relevant recent literature is provided.
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Is neurodegenerative disease a long-latency response to early-life genotoxin exposure? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2011; 8:3889-921. [PMID: 22073019 PMCID: PMC3210588 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph8103889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2011] [Revised: 09/09/2011] [Accepted: 09/15/2011] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Western Pacific amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism-dementia complex, a disappearing neurodegenerative disease linked to use of the neurotoxic cycad plant for food and/or medicine, is intensively studied because the neuropathology (tauopathy) is similar to that of Alzheimer's disease. Cycads contain neurotoxic and genotoxic principles, notably cycasin and methylazoxymethanol, the latter sharing chemical relations with nitrosamines, which are derived from nitrates and nitrites in preserved meats and fertilizers, and also used in the rubber and leather industries. This review includes new data that influence understanding of the neurobiological actions of cycad and related genotoxins and the putative mechanisms by which they might trigger neurodegenerative disease.
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Osiecka KM, Nieznanska H, Skowronek KJ, Jozwiak J, Nieznanski K. Tau inhibits tubulin oligomerization induced by prion protein. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR CELL RESEARCH 2011; 1813:1845-53. [PMID: 21763357 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2011.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2011] [Revised: 06/24/2011] [Accepted: 06/28/2011] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
In previous studies we have demonstrated that prion protein (PrP) interacts with tubulin and disrupts microtubular cytoskeleton by inducing tubulin oligomerization. These observations may explain the molecular mechanism of toxicity of cytoplasmic PrP in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Here, we check whether microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) that regulate microtubule stability, influence the PrP-induced oligomerization of tubulin. We show that tubulin preparations depleted of MAPs are more prone to oligomerization by PrP than those containing traces of MAPs. Tau protein, a major neuronal member of the MAPs family, reduces the effect of PrP. Importantly, phosphorylation of Tau abolishes its ability to affect the PrP-induced oligomerization of tubulin. We propose that the binding of Tau stabilizes tubulin in a conformation less susceptible to oligomerization by PrP. Since elevated phosphorylation of Tau leading to a loss of its function is observed in Alzheimer disease and related tauopathies, our results point at a possible molecular link between these neurodegenerative disorders and TSEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna M Osiecka
- Department of Biochemistry, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland
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Liberski PP, Sikorska B, Gibson P, Brown P. Autophagy contributes to widespread neuronal degeneration in hamsters infected with the Echigo-1 strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and mice infected with the Fujisaki strain of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) syndrome. Ultrastruct Pathol 2011; 35:31-6. [PMID: 21214405 DOI: 10.3109/01913123.2010.527038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The authors report here robust autophagy observed by electron microscopy in both the Echigo-1 strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in hamsters and the Fujisaki strain of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease in mice. In both models, autophagic vacuoles were observed in several cellular compartments. In neuronal cell bodies, autophagic vacuoles of different size were seen. The cytoplasm of some neurons also contained semicircular cisterns equivalent to an early autophasophore. The major target of autophagy was dystrophic neurites, i.e., enlarged neuritic processes--mostly dendrites but also axonal terminals and preterminals. They contained numerous double- or multiple-membrane-bound autophagosomes or autophagolysosomes and large multivesicular bodies. Multivesicular bodies were also observed within autophagic vacuoles, and large multivesicular bodies were seen within synaptic terminals. Some dystrophic neurites was filled almost completely with multivesicular bodies; the latter were occasionally confluent. The authors conclude that autophagy is an important part of neuropathology in prion disease. They also suggest that spongiform vacuoles, a hallmark for the whole group of prion diseases, may in reality originate from autophagic vacuoles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł P Liberski
- Laboratory of Electron Microscopy and Neuropathology, Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology, Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
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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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Reiniger L, Lukic A, Linehan J, Rudge P, Collinge J, Mead S, Brandner S. Tau, prions and Aβ: the triad of neurodegeneration. Acta Neuropathol 2011; 121:5-20. [PMID: 20473510 PMCID: PMC3015202 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-010-0691-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2010] [Revised: 04/25/2010] [Accepted: 04/26/2010] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
This article highlights the features that connect prion diseases with other cerebral amyloidoses and how these relate to neurodegeneration, with focus on tau phosphorylation. It also discusses similarities between prion disease and Alzheimer's disease: mechanisms of amyloid formation, neurotoxicity, pathways involved in triggering tau phosphorylation, links to cell cycle pathways and neuronal apoptosis. We review previous evidence of prion diseases triggering hyperphosphorylation of tau, and complement these findings with cases from our collection of genetic, sporadic and transmitted forms of prion diseases. This includes the novel finding that tau phosphorylation consistently occurs in sporadic CJD, in the absence of amyloid plaques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilla Reiniger
- Division of Neuropathology, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG London, UK
| | - Ana Lukic
- National Prion Clinic, UCL Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
| | - Jacqueline Linehan
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Peter Rudge
- National Prion Clinic, UCL Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
| | - John Collinge
- National Prion Clinic, UCL Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Simon Mead
- National Prion Clinic, UCL Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
- MRC Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Sebastian Brandner
- Division of Neuropathology, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG London, UK
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Liberski PP, Sikorska B, Hauw JJ, Kopp N, Streichenberger N, Giraud P, Boellaard J, Budka H, Kovacs GG, Ironside J, Brown P. Ultrastructural Characteristics (or Evaluation) of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Other Human Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies or Prion Diseases. Ultrastruct Pathol 2010; 34:351-61. [DOI: 10.3109/01913123.2010.491175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe a dementia case clinically diagnosed as Alzheimer disease with a PRNP genotype usually associated with familial fatal insomnia. METHODS Polymerase chain reaction amplification and subsequent direct sequencing of PGRN, MAPT, PSEN1, PSEN2, APP, and PRNP genes. RESULTS A point mutation (D178N) was found in the PRNP gene. CONCLUSIONS The mutation D178N in the PRNP gene associated with the M129 genotype is usually associated with familial fatal insomnia. However, a few cases have been reported with different clinical phenotypes. Here, we describe one of these cases and stress the importance of genetic screening of PRNP in early onset dementia cases.
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Kovacs GG, Budka H. Molecular pathology of human prion diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2009; 10:976-99. [PMID: 19399233 PMCID: PMC2672014 DOI: 10.3390/ijms10030976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2009] [Revised: 02/27/2009] [Accepted: 03/04/2009] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative conditions in humans and animals. In this review, we summarize the molecular background of phenotypic variability, relation of prion protein (PrP) to other proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases, and pathogenesis of neuronal vulnerability. PrP exists in different forms that may be present in both diseased and non-diseased brain, however, abundant disease-associated PrP together with tissue pathology characterizes prion diseases and associates with transmissibility. Prion diseases have different etiological background with distinct pathogenesis and phenotype. Mutations of the prion protein gene are associated with genetic forms. The codon 129 polymorphism in combination with the Western blot pattern of PrP after proteinase K digestion serves as a basis for molecular subtyping of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Tissue damage may result from several parallel, interacting or subsequent pathways that involve cellular systems associated with synapses, protein processing, oxidative stress, autophagy, and apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Herbert Budka
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
; Tel. +43-1-40400-5500; Fax: +43-1-40400-5511
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Affiliation(s)
- SangYun Kim
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Korea.
| | - Hae-Kwan Cheong
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University College of Medicine, Korea.
| | - Seong Soo An
- Department of Bionanotechnology, KyungWon University, Gachon Bionanotechnology Research Institute, Korea.
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