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DeFranco JP, Bian J, Kim S, Crowell J, Barrio T, Webster BK, Atkinson ZN, Telling GC. Propagation of distinct CWD prion strains during peripheral and intracerebral challenges of gene-targeted mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2402726121. [PMID: 39083420 PMCID: PMC11317562 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2402726121] [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: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Since prion diseases result from infection and neurodegeneration of the central nervous system (CNS), experimental characterizations of prion strain properties customarily rely on the outcomes of intracerebral challenges. However, natural transmission of certain prions, including those causing chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk and deer, depends on propagation in peripheral host compartments prior to CNS infection. Using gene-targeted GtE and GtQ mice, which accurately control cellular elk or deer PrP expression, we assessed the impact that peripheral or intracerebral exposures play on CWD prion strain propagation and resulting CNS abnormalities. Whereas oral and intraperitoneal transmissions produced identical neuropathological outcomes in GtE and GtQ mice and preserved the naturally convergent conformations of elk and deer CWD prions, intracerebral transmissions generated CNS prion strains with divergent biochemical properties in GtE and GtQ mice that were changed compared to their native counterparts. While CWD replication kinetics remained constant during iterative peripheral transmissions and brain titers reflected those found in native hosts, serial intracerebral transmissions produced 10-fold higher prion titers and accelerated incubation times. Our demonstration that peripherally and intracerebrally challenged Gt mice develop dissimilar CNS diseases which result from the propagation of distinct CWD prion strains points to the involvement of tissue-specific cofactors during strain selection in different host compartments. Since peripheral transmissions preserved the natural features of elk and deer prions, whereas intracerebral propagation produced divergent strains, our findings illustrate the importance of experimental characterizations using hosts that not only abrogate species barriers but also accurately recapitulate natural transmission routes of native strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph P. DeFranco
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Jifeng Bian
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Sehun Kim
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Jenna Crowell
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Tomás Barrio
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Bailey K. Webster
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Zoe N. Atkinson
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Glenn C. Telling
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
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2
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Arshad H, Patel Z, Amano G, Li LY, Al-Azzawi ZAM, Supattapone S, Schmitt-Ulms G, Watts JC. A single protective polymorphism in the prion protein blocks cross-species prion replication in cultured cells. J Neurochem 2023; 165:230-245. [PMID: 36511154 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15739] [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: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The bank vole (BV) prion protein (PrP) can function as a universal acceptor of prions. However, the molecular details of BVPrP's promiscuity for replicating a diverse range of prion strains remain obscure. To develop a cultured cell paradigm capable of interrogating the unique properties of BVPrP, we generated monoclonal lines of CAD5 cells lacking endogenous PrP but stably expressing either hamster (Ha), mouse (Mo), or BVPrP (M109 or I109 polymorphic variants) and then challenged them with various strains of mouse or hamster prions. Cells expressing BVPrP were susceptible to both mouse and hamster prions, whereas cells expressing MoPrP or HaPrP could only be infected with species-matched prions. Propagation of mouse and hamster prions in cells expressing BVPrP resulted in strain adaptation in several instances, as evidenced by alterations in conformational stability, glycosylation, susceptibility to anti-prion small molecules, and the inability of BVPrP-adapted mouse prion strains to infect cells expressing MoPrP. Interestingly, cells expressing BVPrP containing the G127V prion gene variant, identified in individuals resistant to kuru, were unable to become infected with prions. Moreover, the G127V polymorphic variant impeded the spontaneous aggregation of recombinant BVPrP. These results demonstrate that BVPrP can facilitate cross-species prion replication in cultured cells and that a single amino acid change can override the prion-permissive nature of BVPrP. This cellular paradigm will be useful for dissecting the molecular features of BVPrP that allow it to function as a universal prion acceptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamza Arshad
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zeel Patel
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Genki Amano
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Le Yao Li
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zaid A M Al-Azzawi
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Surachai Supattapone
- Department of Biochemistry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
- Department of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Gerold Schmitt-Ulms
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joel C Watts
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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3
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Emergence of CWD strains. Cell Tissue Res 2022; 392:135-148. [PMID: 36201049 PMCID: PMC10113326 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03688-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) strains present a novel challenge to defining and mitigating this contagious prion disease of deer, elk, moose, and reindeer. Similar to strains of other prion diseases (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, sheep scrapie), CWD strains can affect biochemical and neuropathological properties of the infectious agent, and importantly interspecies transmission. To date, ten CWD strains have been characterized. The expanding range of CWD in North America and its presence in South Korea as well as Scandinavian countries will potentially result in millions of cervids infected with CWD; thus, novel strains will continue to emerge. In this review, we will summarize the characteristics of known CWD strains and describe the impact of prion protein gene polymorphisms on the generation of strains. We will also discuss the evidence that individual cervids can harbor more than one CWD strain, complicating strain analysis, and affecting selection and adaptation of strains in new hosts.
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Nikolić L, Ferracin C, Legname G. Recent advances in cellular models for discovering prion disease therapeutics. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2022; 17:985-996. [PMID: 35983689 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2022.2113773] [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: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Prion diseases are a group of rare and lethal rapidly progressive neurodegenerative diseases arising due to conversion of the physiological cellular prion protein into its pathological counterparts, denoted as "prions". These agents are resistant to inactivation by standard decontamination procedures and can be transmitted between individuals, consequently driving the irreversible brain damage typical of the diseases. AREAS COVERED Since its infancy, prion research has mainly depended on animal models for untangling the pathogenesis of the disease as well as for the drug development studies. With the advent of prion-infected cell lines, relevant animal models have been complemented by a variety of cell-based models presenting a much faster, ethically acceptable alternative. EXPERT OPINION To date, there are still either no effective prophylactic regimens or therapies for human prion diseases. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more relevant cellular models that best approximate in vivo models. Each cellular model presented and discussed in detail in this review has its own benefits and limitations. Once embarking in a drug screening campaign for the identification of molecules that could interfere with prion conversion and replication, one should carefully consider the ideal cellular model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Nikolić
- PhD Student in Functional and Structural Genomics, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy,
| | - Chiara Ferracin
- PhD Student in Functional and Structural Genomics, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- D.Phil., Full Professor of Biochemistry, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
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Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are fatal neurological diseases that can be of idiopathic, genetic, or even infectious origin, as in the case of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The etiological factors that lead to neurodegeneration remain unknown but likely involve a combination of aging, genetic risk factors, and environmental stressors. Accumulating evidence hints at an association of viruses with neurodegenerative disorders and suggests that virus-induced neuroinflammation and perturbation of neuronal protein quality control can be involved in the early steps of disease development. In this review, we focus on emerging evidence for a correlation between NDs and viral infection and discuss how viral manipulations of cellular processes can affect the formation and dissemination of disease-associated protein aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Leblanc
- Institut NeuroMyoGène INMG-PGNM, Physiopathologie et Génétique du Neurone et du Muscle, UMR5261, Inserm U1315, Université Claude Bernard UCBL-Lyon1, Faculté de Médecine Rockefeller, Lyon, France
- * E-mail: (PL); (IMV)
| | - Ina Maja Vorberg
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
- Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- * E-mail: (PL); (IMV)
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Arshad H, Watts JC. Genetically engineered cellular models of prion propagation. Cell Tissue Res 2022; 392:63-80. [PMID: 35581386 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03630-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
For over three decades, cultured cells have been a useful tool for dissecting the molecular details of prion replication and the identification of candidate therapeutics for prion disease. A major issue limiting the translatability of these studies has been the inability to reliably propagate disease-relevant, non-mouse strains of prions in cells relevant to prion pathogenesis. In recent years, fueled by advances in gene editing technology, it has become possible to propagate prions from hamsters, cervids, and sheep in immortalized cell lines originating from the central nervous system. In particular, the use of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing to generate versions of prion-permissive cell lines that lack endogenous PrP expression has provided a blank canvas upon which re-expression of PrP leads to species-matched susceptibility to prion infection. When coupled with the ability to propagate prions in cells or organoids derived from stem cells, these next-generation cellular models should provide an ideal paradigm for identifying small molecules and other biological therapeutics capable of interfering with prion replication in animal and human prion disorders. In this review, we summarize recent advances that have widened the spectrum of prion strains that can be propagated in cultured cells and cutting-edge tissue-based models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamza Arshad
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower Rm. 4KD481, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Medical Sciences Building Rm. 5207, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Joel C Watts
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower Rm. 4KD481, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada. .,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Medical Sciences Building Rm. 5207, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada.
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Gene-Edited Cell Models to Study Chronic Wasting Disease. Viruses 2022; 14:v14030609. [PMID: 35337016 PMCID: PMC8950194 DOI: 10.3390/v14030609] [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: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are fatal infectious neurodegenerative disorders affecting both humans and animals. They are caused by the misfolded isoform of the cellular prion protein (PrPC), PrPSc, and currently no options exist to prevent or cure prion diseases. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer, elk and other cervids is considered the most contagious prion disease, with extensive shedding of infectivity into the environment. Cell culture models provide a versatile platform for convenient quantification of prions, for studying the molecular and cellular biology of prions, and for performing high-throughput screening of potential therapeutic compounds. Unfortunately, only a very limited number of cell lines are available that facilitate robust and persistent propagation of CWD prions. Gene-editing using programmable nucleases (e.g., CRISPR-Cas9 (CC9)) has proven to be a valuable tool for high precision site-specific gene modification, including gene deletion, insertion, and replacement. CC9-based gene editing was used recently for replacing the PrP gene in mouse and cell culture models, as efficient prion propagation usually requires matching sequence homology between infecting prions and prion protein in the recipient host. As expected, such gene-editing proved to be useful for developing CWD models. Several transgenic mouse models were available that propagate CWD prions effectively, however, mostly fail to reproduce CWD pathogenesis as found in the cervid host, including CWD prion shedding. This is different for the few currently available knock-in mouse models that seem to do so. In this review, we discuss the available in vitro and in vivo models of CWD, and the impact of gene-editing strategies.
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Heumüller SE, Hornberger AC, Hebestreit AS, Hossinger A, Vorberg IM. Propagation and Dissemination Strategies of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Agents in Mammalian Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23062909. [PMID: 35328330 PMCID: PMC8949484 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23062909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion disorders are fatal infectious diseases that cause characteristic spongiform degeneration in the central nervous system. The causative agent, the so-called prion, is an unconventional infectious agent that propagates by converting the host-encoded cellular prion protein PrP into ordered protein aggregates with infectious properties. Prions are devoid of coding nucleic acid and thus rely on the host cell machinery for propagation. While it is now established that, in addition to PrP, other cellular factors or processes determine the susceptibility of cell lines to prion infection, exact factors and cellular processes remain broadly obscure. Still, cellular models have uncovered important aspects of prion propagation and revealed intercellular dissemination strategies shared with other intracellular pathogens. Here, we summarize what we learned about the processes of prion invasion, intracellular replication and subsequent dissemination from ex vivo cell models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie-Elisabeth Heumüller
- Laboratory of Prion Cell Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE e.V.), Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (S.-E.H.); (A.C.H.); (A.S.H.); (A.H.)
| | - Annika C. Hornberger
- Laboratory of Prion Cell Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE e.V.), Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (S.-E.H.); (A.C.H.); (A.S.H.); (A.H.)
| | - Alina S. Hebestreit
- Laboratory of Prion Cell Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE e.V.), Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (S.-E.H.); (A.C.H.); (A.S.H.); (A.H.)
| | - André Hossinger
- Laboratory of Prion Cell Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE e.V.), Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (S.-E.H.); (A.C.H.); (A.S.H.); (A.H.)
| | - Ina M. Vorberg
- Laboratory of Prion Cell Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE e.V.), Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (S.-E.H.); (A.C.H.); (A.S.H.); (A.H.)
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Siegmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53127 Bonn, Germany
- Correspondence:
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9
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Liu S, Hossinger A, Heumüller SE, Hornberger A, Buravlova O, Konstantoulea K, Müller SA, Paulsen L, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Lichtenthaler SF, Neumann M, Denner P, Vorberg IM. Highly efficient intercellular spreading of protein misfolding mediated by viral ligand-receptor interactions. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5739. [PMID: 34667166 PMCID: PMC8526834 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25855-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein aggregates associated with neurodegenerative diseases have the ability to transmit to unaffected cells, thereby templating their own aberrant conformation onto soluble homotypic proteins. Proteopathic seeds can be released into the extracellular space, secreted in association with extracellular vesicles (EV) or exchanged by direct cell-to-cell contact. The extent to which each of these pathways contribute to the prion-like spreading of protein misfolding is unclear. Exchange of cellular cargo by both direct cell contact or via EV depends on receptor-ligand interactions. We hypothesized that enabling these interactions through viral ligands enhances intercellular proteopathic seed transmission. Using different cellular models propagating prions or pathogenic Tau aggregates, we demonstrate that vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein and SARS-CoV-2 spike S increase aggregate induction by cell contact or ligand-decorated EV. Thus, receptor-ligand interactions are important determinants of intercellular aggregate dissemination. Our data raise the possibility that viral infections contribute to proteopathic seed spreading by facilitating intercellular cargo transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Liu
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Venusberg Campus 1/ 99, 53127 Bonn, Germany ,grid.417830.90000 0000 8852 3623Present Address: German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), Max-Dohrn-Straße 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - André Hossinger
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Venusberg Campus 1/ 99, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Stefanie-Elisabeth Heumüller
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Venusberg Campus 1/ 99, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Annika Hornberger
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Venusberg Campus 1/ 99, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Oleksandra Buravlova
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Venusberg Campus 1/ 99, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Katerina Konstantoulea
- grid.511015.1VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium ,grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stephan A. Müller
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Munich, Germany ,grid.6936.a0000000123222966Neuroproteomics, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Lydia Paulsen
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Venusberg Campus 1/ 99, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Frederic Rousseau
- grid.511015.1VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium ,grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joost Schymkowitz
- grid.511015.1VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium ,grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stefan F. Lichtenthaler
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Munich, Germany ,grid.6936.a0000000123222966Neuroproteomics, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany ,grid.452617.3Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
| | - Manuela Neumann
- grid.411544.10000 0001 0196 8249Department of Neuropathology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany ,grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426Molecular Neuropathology of Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Philip Denner
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Venusberg Campus 1/ 99, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Ina M. Vorberg
- grid.424247.30000 0004 0438 0426German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Bonn (DZNE), Venusberg Campus 1/ 99, 53127 Bonn, Germany ,grid.10388.320000 0001 2240 3300Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Venusberg Campus 1, 53127 Bonn, Germany
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Arshad H, Patel Z, Mehrabian M, Bourkas MEC, Al-Azzawi ZAM, Schmitt-Ulms G, Watts JC. The aminoglycoside G418 hinders de novo prion infection in cultured cells. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:101073. [PMID: 34390689 PMCID: PMC8413896 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of prions and the discovery of candidate therapeutics for prion disease have been facilitated by the ability of prions to replicate in cultured cells. Paradigms in which prion proteins from different species are expressed in cells with low or no expression of endogenous prion protein (PrP) have expanded the range of prion strains that can be propagated. In these systems, cells stably expressing a PrP of interest are typically generated via coexpression of a selectable marker and treatment with an antibiotic. Here, we report the unexpected discovery that the aminoglycoside G418 (Geneticin) interferes with the ability of stably transfected cultured cells to become infected with prions. In G418-resistant lines of N2a or CAD5 cells, the presence of G418 reduced levels of protease-resistant PrP following challenge with the RML or 22L strains of mouse prions. G418 also interfered with the infection of cells expressing hamster PrP with the 263K strain of hamster prions. Interestingly, G418 had minimal to no effect on protease-resistant PrP levels in cells with established prion infection, arguing that G418 selectively interferes with de novo prion infection. As G418 treatment had no discernible effect on cellular PrP levels or its localization, this suggests that G418 may specifically target prion assemblies or processes involved in the earliest stages of prion infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamza Arshad
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zeel Patel
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mohadeseh Mehrabian
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matthew E C Bourkas
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zaid A M Al-Azzawi
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gerold Schmitt-Ulms
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joel C Watts
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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11
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Bian J, Kim S, Kane SJ, Crowell J, Sun JL, Christiansen J, Saijo E, Moreno JA, DiLisio J, Burnett E, Pritzkow S, Gorski D, Soto C, Kreeger TJ, Balachandran A, Mitchell G, Miller MW, Nonno R, Vikøren T, Våge J, Madslien K, Tran L, Vuong TT, Benestad SL, Telling GC. Adaptive selection of a prion strain conformer corresponding to established North American CWD during propagation of novel emergent Norwegian strains in mice expressing elk or deer prion protein. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009748. [PMID: 34310663 PMCID: PMC8341702 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are infectious proteins causing fatal, transmissible neurodegenerative diseases of animals and humans. Replication involves template-directed refolding of host encoded prion protein, PrPC, by its infectious conformation, PrPSc. Following its discovery in captive Colorado deer in 1967, uncontrollable contagious transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) led to an expanded geographic range in increasing numbers of free-ranging and captive North American (NA) cervids. Some five decades later, detection of PrPSc in free-ranging Norwegian (NO) reindeer and moose marked the first indication of CWD in Europe. To assess the properties of these emergent NO prions and compare them with NA CWD we used transgenic (Tg) and gene targeted (Gt) mice expressing PrP with glutamine (Q) or glutamate (E) at residue 226, a variation in wild type cervid PrP which influences prion strain selection in NA deer and elk. Transmissions of NO moose and reindeer prions to Tg and Gt mice recapitulated the characteristic features of CWD in natural hosts, revealing novel prion strains with disease kinetics, neuropathological profiles, and capacities to infect lymphoid tissues and cultured cells that were distinct from those causing NA CWD. In support of strain variation, PrPSc conformers comprising emergent NO moose and reindeer CWD were subject to selective effects imposed by variation at residue 226 that were different from those controlling established NA CWD. Transmission of particular NO moose CWD prions in mice expressing E at 226 resulted in selection of a kinetically optimized conformer, subsequent transmission of which revealed properties consistent with NA CWD. These findings illustrate the potential for adaptive selection of strain conformers with improved fitness during propagation of unstable NO prions. Their potential for contagious transmission has implications for risk analyses and management of emergent European CWD. Finally, we found that Gt mice expressing physiologically controlled PrP levels recapitulated the lymphotropic properties of naturally occurring CWD strains resulting in improved susceptibilities to emergent NO reindeer prions compared with over-expressing Tg counterparts. These findings underscore the refined advantages of Gt models for exploring the mechanisms and impacts of strain selection in peripheral compartments during natural prion transmission. Prions cause fatal, transmissible neurodegenerative diseases in animals and humans. They are composed of an infectious, neurotoxic protein (PrP) which replicates by imposing pathogenic conformations on its normal, host-encoded counterpart. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious prion disorder threatening increasing numbers of free-ranging and captive North American deer, elk, and moose. While CWD detection in Norwegian reindeer and moose in 2016 marked the advent of disease in Europe, its origins and relationship to North American CWD were initially unclear. Here we show, using mice engineered to express deer or elk PrP, that Norwegian reindeer and moose CWD are caused by novel prion strains with properties distinct from those of North American CWD. We found that selection and propagation of North American and Norwegian CWD strains was controlled by a key amino acid residue in host PrP. We also found that particular Norwegian isolates adapted during their propagation in mice to produce prions with characteristics of the North American strain. Our findings defining the transmission profiles of novel Norwegian prions and their unstable potential to produce adapted strains with improved fitness for contagious transmission have implications for risk analyses and management of emergent European CWD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jifeng Bian
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Sehun Kim
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Sarah J. Kane
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Jenna Crowell
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Julianna L. Sun
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey Christiansen
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Eri Saijo
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Julie A. Moreno
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - James DiLisio
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Emily Burnett
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Sandra Pritzkow
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Damian Gorski
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Claudio Soto
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Terry J. Kreeger
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wheatland, Wyoming, United States of America
| | - Aru Balachandran
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Gordon Mitchell
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Michael W. Miller
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Veterinary Public Health, Nutrition and Food Safety, Rome, Italy
| | - Turid Vikøren
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jørn Våge
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Knut Madslien
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Linh Tran
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Tram Thu Vuong
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sylvie L. Benestad
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, OIE Reference laboratory for CWD, Oslo, Norway
| | - Glenn C. Telling
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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12
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Pineau H, Sim VL. From Cell Culture to Organoids-Model Systems for Investigating Prion Strain Characteristics. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11010106. [PMID: 33466947 PMCID: PMC7830147 DOI: 10.3390/biom11010106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are the hallmark protein folding neurodegenerative disease. Their transmissible nature has allowed for the development of many different cellular models of disease where prion propagation and sometimes pathology can be induced. This review examines the range of simple cell cultures to more complex neurospheres, organoid, and organotypic slice cultures that have been used to study prion disease pathogenesis and to test therapeutics. We highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each system, giving special consideration to the importance of strains when choosing a model and when interpreting results, as not all systems propagate all strains, and in some cases, the technique used, or treatment applied, can alter the very strain properties being studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailey Pineau
- Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada;
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Valerie L. Sim
- Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada;
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
- Correspondence:
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13
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Denkers ND, Hoover CE, Davenport KA, Henderson DM, McNulty EE, Nalls AV, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA. Very low oral exposure to prions of brain or saliva origin can transmit chronic wasting disease. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0237410. [PMID: 32817706 PMCID: PMC7446902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [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: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The minimum infectious dose required to induce CWD infection in cervids remains unknown, as does whether peripherally shed prions and/or multiple low dose exposures are important factors in CWD transmission. With the goal of better understand CWD infection in nature, we studied oral exposures of deer to very low doses of CWD prions and also examined whether the frequency of exposure or prion source may influence infection and pathogenesis. We orally inoculated white-tailed deer with either single or multiple divided doses of prions of brain or saliva origin and monitored infection by serial longitudinal tissue biopsies spanning over two years. We report that oral exposure to as little as 300 nanograms (ng) of CWD-positive brain or to saliva containing seeding activity equivalent to 300 ng of CWD-positive brain, were sufficient to transmit CWD disease. This was true whether the inoculum was administered as a single bolus or divided as three weekly 100 ng exposures. However, when the 300 ng total dose was apportioned as 10, 30 ng doses delivered over 12 weeks, no infection occurred. While low-dose exposures to prions of brain or saliva origin prolonged the time from inoculation to first detection of infection, once infection was established, we observed no differences in disease pathogenesis. These studies suggest that the CWD minimum infectious dose approximates 100 to 300 ng CWD-positive brain (or saliva equivalent), and that CWD infection appears to conform more with a threshold than a cumulative dose dynamic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel D. Denkers
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Clare E. Hoover
- AstraZeneca Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Kristen A. Davenport
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Davin M. Henderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Erin E. McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Amy V. Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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14
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Kang HE, Bian J, Kane SJ, Kim S, Selwyn V, Crowell J, Bartz JC, Telling GC. Incomplete glycosylation during prion infection unmasks a prion protein epitope that facilitates prion detection and strain discrimination. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:10420-10433. [PMID: 32513872 PMCID: PMC7383396 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.012796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Revised: 05/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The causative factors underlying conformational conversion of cellular prion protein (PrPC) into its infectious counterpart (PrPSc) during prion infection remain undetermined, in part because of a lack of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that can distinguish these conformational isoforms. Here we show that the anti-PrP mAb PRC7 recognizes an epitope that is shielded from detection when glycans are attached to Asn-196. We observed that whereas PrPC is predisposed to full glycosylation and is therefore refractory to PRC7 detection, prion infection leads to diminished PrPSc glycosylation at Asn-196, resulting in an unshielded PRC7 epitope that is amenable to mAb recognition upon renaturation. Detection of PRC7-reactive PrPSc in experimental and natural infections with various mouse-adapted scrapie strains and with prions causing deer and elk chronic wasting disease and transmissible mink encephalopathy uncovered that incomplete PrPSc glycosylation is a consistent feature of prion pathogenesis. We also show that interrogating the conformational properties of the PRC7 epitope affords a direct means of distinguishing different prion strains. Because the specificity of our approach for prion detection and strain discrimination relies on the extent to which N-linked glycosylation shields or unshields PrP epitopes from antibody recognition, it dispenses with the requirement for additional standard manipulations to distinguish PrPSc from PrPC, including evaluation of protease resistance. Our findings not only highlight an innovative and facile strategy for prion detection and strain differentiation, but are also consistent with a mechanism of prion replication in which structural instability of incompletely glycosylated PrP contributes to the conformational conversion of PrPC to PrPSc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hae-Eun Kang
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Jifeng Bian
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Sarah J. Kane
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Sehun Kim
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Vanessa Selwyn
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado,Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Jenna Crowell
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Jason C. Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Glenn C. Telling
- Prion Research Center (PRC), the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado,Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado,For correspondence: Glenn C. Telling,
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15
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Krance SH, Luke R, Shenouda M, Israwi AR, Colpitts SJ, Darwish L, Strauss M, Watts JC. Cellular models for discovering prion disease therapeutics: Progress and challenges. J Neurochem 2020; 153:150-172. [PMID: 31943194 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.14956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Prions, which cause fatal neurodegenerative disorders such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, are misfolded and infectious protein aggregates. Currently, there are no treatments available to halt or even delay the progression of prion disease in the brain. The infectious nature of prions has resulted in animal paradigms that accurately recapitulate all aspects of prion disease, and these have proven to be instrumental for testing the efficacy of candidate therapeutics. Nonetheless, infection of cultured cells with prions provides a much more powerful system for identifying molecules capable of interfering with prion propagation. Certain lines of cultured cells can be chronically infected with various types of mouse prions, and these models have been used to unearth candidate anti-prion drugs that are at least partially efficacious when administered to prion-infected rodents. However, these studies have also revealed that not all types of prions are equal, and that drugs active against mouse prions are not necessarily effective against prions from other species. Despite some recent progress, the number of cellular models available for studying non-mouse prions remains limited. In particular, human prions have proven to be particularly challenging to propagate in cultured cells, which has severely hindered the discovery of drugs for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In this review, we summarize the cellular models that are presently available for discovering and testing drugs capable of blocking the propagation of prions and highlight challenges that remain on the path towards developing therapies for prion disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saffire H Krance
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Russell Luke
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Marc Shenouda
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ahmad R Israwi
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah J Colpitts
- Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lina Darwish
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Maximilian Strauss
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Joel C Watts
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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16
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Trone‐Launer EK, Wang J, Lu G, Mateus‐Pinilla NE, Zick PR, Lamer JT, Shelton PA, Jacques CN. Differential gene expression in chronic wasting disease-positive white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus). Ecol Evol 2019; 9:12600-12612. [PMID: 31788200 PMCID: PMC6875659 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects cervid species throughout North America. We evaluated gene expression in white-tailed deer collected by Illinois Department of Natural Resource wildlife managers during annual population reduction (e.g., sharpshooting) and disease monitoring efforts throughout the CWD-endemic area of northcentral Illinois. We conducted comparative transcriptomic analysis of liver and retropharyngeal lymph node tissue samples between CWD-positive (n = 5) and CWD-not detected (n = 5) deer. A total of 74,479 transcripts were assembled, and 51,661 (69.36%) transcripts were found to have matched proteins in NCBI-NR and UniProt. Our analysis of functional categories showed 40,308 transcripts were assigned to at least one Gene Ontology term and 37,853 transcripts were involved in at least one pathway. We identified a total of 59 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in CWD-positive deer, of which 36 and 23 were associated with liver and retropharyngeal lymph node tissues, respectively. Functions of DEGs lend support to previous relationships between misfolded PrP and cellular membranes (e.g., STXBP5), and internal cellular components. We identified several genes that suggest a link between CWD and retroviruses and identified the gene ADIPOQ that acts as a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist. This gene may lead to reduced production of TNF and impact disease progression and clinical symptoms associated with CWD (i.e., wasting syndrome). Use of candidate genes identified in this study suggests the activation of endogenous processes in CWD-positive deer, which in turn may enable earlier detection of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma K. Trone‐Launer
- Department of Biological SciencesWestern Illinois UniversityMacombILUSA
- Present address:
Illinois Department of Natural ResourcesCoffeenILUSA
| | - Jun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries Germplasm ResourcesMinistry of AgricultureShanghai Ocean UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Guoqing Lu
- Department of Biology and School of Interdisciplinary InformaticsUniversity of Nebraska OmahaOmahaNEUSA
| | - Nohra E. Mateus‐Pinilla
- Illinois Natural History Survey—Prairie Research InstituteUniversity of Illinois Urbana‐ChampaignChampaignILUSA
| | - Paige R. Zick
- Department of Biological SciencesWestern Illinois UniversityMacombILUSA
| | - James T. Lamer
- Illinois River Biological StationIllinois Natural History SurveyHavanaILUSA
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17
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Walia R, Ho CC, Lee C, Gilch S, Schatzl HM. Gene-edited murine cell lines for propagation of chronic wasting disease prions. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11151. [PMID: 31371793 PMCID: PMC6673760 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47629-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions cause fatal infectious neurodegenerative diseases in humans and animals. Cell culture models are essential for studying the molecular biology of prion propagation. Defining such culture models is mostly a random process, includes extensive subcloning, and for many prion diseases few or no models exist. One example is chronic wasting disease (CWD), a highly contagious prion disease of cervids. To extend the range of cell models propagating CWD prions, we gene-edited mouse cell lines known to efficiently propagate murine prions. Endogenous prion protein (PrP) was ablated in CAD5 and MEF cells, using CRISPR-Cas9 editing. PrP knock-out cells were reconstituted with mouse, bank vole and cervid PrP genes by lentiviral transduction. Reconstituted cells expressing mouse PrP provided proof-of-concept for re-established prion infection. Bank voles are considered universal receptors for prions from a variety of species. Bank vole PrP reconstituted cells propagated mouse prions and cervid prions, even without subcloning for highly susceptible cells. Cells reconstituted with cervid PrP and infected with CWD prions tested positive in prion conversion assay, whereas non-reconstituted cells were negative. This novel cell culture platform which is easily adjustable and allows testing of polymorphic alleles will provide important new insights into the biology of CWD prions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rupali Walia
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.,Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Cheng Ching Ho
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.,Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Chi Lee
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.,Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.,Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Hermann M Schatzl
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada. .,Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
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18
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Mays CE, Armijo E, Morales R, Kramm C, Flores A, Tiwari A, Bian J, Telling GC, Pandita TK, Hunt CR, Soto C. Prion disease is accelerated in mice lacking stress-induced heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). J Biol Chem 2019; 294:13619-13628. [PMID: 31320473 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.006186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Revised: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of incurable neurodegenerative disorders that affect humans and animals via infection with proteinaceous particles called prions. Prions are composed of PrPSc, a misfolded version of the cellular prion protein (PrPC). During disease progression, PrPSc replicates by interacting with PrPC and inducing its conversion to PrPSc As PrPSc accumulates, cellular stress mechanisms are activated to maintain cellular proteostasis, including increased protein chaperone levels. However, the exact roles of several of these chaperones remain unclear. Here, using various methodologies to monitor prion replication (i.e. protein misfolding cyclic amplification and cellular and animal infectivity bioassays), we studied the potential role of the molecular chaperone heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in prion replication in vitro and in vivo Our results indicated that pharmacological induction of the heat shock response in cells chronically infected with prions significantly decreased PrPSc accumulation. We also found that HSP70 alters prion replication in vitro More importantly, prion infection of mice lacking the genes encoding stress-induced HSP70 exhibited accelerated prion disease progression compared with WT mice. In parallel with HSP70 being known to respond to endogenous and exogenous stressors such as heat, infection, toxicants, and ischemia, our results indicate that HSP70 may also play an important role in suppressing or delaying prion disease progression, opening opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles E Mays
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Enrique Armijo
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030.,Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de los Andes, Av. San Carlos de Apoquindo, 2200 Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Morales
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Carlos Kramm
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030.,Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de los Andes, Av. San Carlos de Apoquindo, 2200 Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Andrea Flores
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Anjana Tiwari
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Jifeng Bian
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
| | - Glenn C Telling
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
| | - Tej K Pandita
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Clayton R Hunt
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Claudio Soto
- Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030 .,Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de los Andes, Av. San Carlos de Apoquindo, 2200 Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
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19
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Vorberg IM. All the Same? The Secret Life of Prion Strains within Their Target Cells. Viruses 2019; 11:v11040334. [PMID: 30970585 DOI: 10.3390/v11040334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Revised: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions are infectious β-sheet-rich protein aggregates composed of misfolded prion protein (PrPSc) that do not possess coding nucleic acid. Prions replicate by recruiting and converting normal cellular PrPC into infectious isoforms. In the same host species, prion strains target distinct brain regions and cause different disease phenotypes. Prion strains are associated with biophysically distinct PrPSc conformers, suggesting that strain properties are enciphered within alternative PrPSc quaternary structures. So far it is unknown how prion strains target specific cells and initiate productive infections. Deeper mechanistic insight into the prion life cycle came from cell lines permissive to a range of different prion strains. Still, it is unknown why certain cell lines are refractory to infection by one strain but permissive to another. While pharmacologic and genetic manipulations revealed subcellular compartments involved in prion replication, little is known about strain-specific requirements for endocytic trafficking pathways. This review summarizes our knowledge on how prions replicate within their target cells and on strain-specific differences in prion cell biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ina M Vorberg
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE e.V.), Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127 Bonn, Germany.
- Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany.
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Bourkas MEC, Arshad H, Al-Azzawi ZAM, Halgas O, Shikiya RA, Mehrabian M, Schmitt-Ulms G, Bartz JC, Watts JC. Engineering a murine cell line for the stable propagation of hamster prions. J Biol Chem 2019; 294:4911-4923. [PMID: 30705093 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.007135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions are infectious protein aggregates that cause several fatal neurodegenerative diseases. Prion research has been hindered by a lack of cellular paradigms for studying the replication of prions from different species. Although hamster prions have been widely used to study prion replication in animals and within in vitro amplification systems, they have proved challenging to propagate in cultured cells. Because the murine catecholaminergic cell line CAD5 is susceptible to a diverse range of mouse prion strains, we hypothesized that it might also be capable of propagating nonmouse prions. Here, using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering, we demonstrate that CAD5 cells lacking endogenous mouse PrP expression (CAD5-PrP-/- cells) can be chronically infected with hamster prions following stable expression of hamster PrP. When exposed to the 263K, HY, or 139H hamster prion strains, these cells stably propagated high levels of protease-resistant PrP. Hamster prion replication required absence of mouse PrP, and hamster PrP inhibited the propagation of mouse prions. Cellular homogenates from 263K-infected cells exhibited prion seeding activity in the RT-QuIC assay and were infectious to naïve cells expressing hamster PrP. Interestingly, murine N2a neuroblastoma cells ablated for endogenous PrP expression were susceptible to mouse prions, but not hamster prions upon expression of cognate PrP, suggesting that CAD5 cells either possess cellular factors that enhance or lack factors that restrict the diversity of prion strains that can be propagated. We conclude that transfected CAD5-PrP-/- cells may be a useful tool for assessing the biology of prion strains and dissecting the mechanism of prion replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E C Bourkas
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
| | - Hamza Arshad
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
| | - Zaid A M Al-Azzawi
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
| | - Ondrej Halgas
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
| | - Ronald A Shikiya
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, 68178
| | - Mohadeseh Mehrabian
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8, and
| | - Gerold Schmitt-Ulms
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8, and
| | - Jason C Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, 68178
| | - Joel C Watts
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8, .,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
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Abstract
The development of multiple cell culture models of prion infection over the last two decades has led to a significant increase in our understanding of how prions infect cells. In particular, new techniques to distinguish exogenous from endogenous prions have allowed us for the first time to look in depth at the earliest stages of prion infection through to the establishment of persistent infection. These studies have shown that prions can infect multiple cell types, both neuronal and nonneuronal. Once in contact with the cell, they are rapidly taken up via multiple endocytic pathways. After uptake, the initial replication of prions occurs almost immediately on the plasma membrane and within multiple endocytic compartments. Following this acute stage of prion replication, persistent prion infection may or may not be established. Establishment of a persistent prion infection in cells appears to depend upon the achievement of a delicate balance between the rate of prion replication and degradation, the rate of cell division, and the efficiency of prion spread from cell to cell. Overall, cell culture models have shown that prion infection of the cell is a complex and variable process which can involve multiple cellular pathways and compartments even within a single cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzette A Priola
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, MT, United States.
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22
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Moreno JA, Telling GC. Molecular Mechanisms of Chronic Wasting Disease Prion Propagation. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2018; 8:cshperspect.a024448. [PMID: 28193766 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a024448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Prion disease epidemics, which have been unpredictable recurrences, are of significant concern for animal and human health. Examples include kuru, once the leading cause of death among the Fore people in Papua New Guinea and caused by mortuary feasting; bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its subsequent transmission to humans in the form of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), and repeated examples of large-scale prion disease epidemics in animals caused by contaminated vaccines. The etiology of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a relatively new and burgeoning prion epidemic in deer, elk, and moose (members of the cervid family), is more enigmatic. The disease was first described in captive and later in wild mule deer and subsequently in free-ranging as well as captive Rocky Mountain elk, white-tailed deer, and most recently moose. It is therefore the only recognized prion disorder of both wild and captive animals. In addition to its expanding range of hosts, CWD continues to spread to new geographical areas, including recent cases in Norway. The unparalleled efficiency of the contagious transmission of the disease combined with high densities of deer in certain areas of North America complicates strategies for controlling CWD and raises concerns about its potential spread to new species. Because there is a high prevalence of CWD in deer and elk, which are commonly hunted and consumed by humans, the possibility of zoonotic transmission is particularly concerning. Here, we review the current status of naturally occurring CWD and describe advances in our understanding of its molecular pathogenesis, as shown by studies of CWD prions in novel in vivo and in vitro systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie A Moreno
- Prion Research Center (PRC) and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80525
| | - Glenn C Telling
- Prion Research Center (PRC) and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80525
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23
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Abstract
During the course of prion infection, the normally soluble and protease-sensitive mammalian prion protein (PrPC) is refolded into an insoluble, partially protease-resistant, and infectious form called PrPSc. The conformational conversion of PrPC to PrPSc is a critical event during prion infection and is essential for the production of prion infectivity. This chapter briefly summarizes the ways in which cell biological approaches have enhanced our understanding of how PrP contributes to different aspects of prion pathogenesis.
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Davenport KA, Christiansen JR, Bian J, Young M, Gallegos J, Kim S, Balachandran A, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA, Telling GC. Comparative analysis of prions in nervous and lymphoid tissues of chronic wasting disease-infected cervids. J Gen Virol 2018; 99:753-758. [PMID: 29580373 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence, host range and geographical bounds of chronic wasting disease (CWD), the prion disease of cervids, are expanding. Horizontal transmission likely contributes the majority of new CWD cases, but the mechanism by which prions are transmitted among CWD-affected cervids remains unclear. To address the extent to which prion amplification in peripheral tissues contributes to contagious transmission, we assessed the prion levels in central nervous and lymphoreticular system tissues in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) and elk (Cervus canadensis). Using real-time quaking-induced conversion, cervid prion cell assay and transgenic mouse bioassay, we found that the retropharyngeal lymph nodes of red deer, white-tailed deer and elk contained similar prion titres to brain from the same individuals. We propose that marked lymphotropism is essential for the horizontal transmission of prion diseases and postulate that shed CWD prions are produced in the periphery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen A Davenport
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jeffrey R Christiansen
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jifeng Bian
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Michael Young
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Joseph Gallegos
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Sehun Kim
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Candace K Mathiason
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Edward A Hoover
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Glenn C Telling
- Prion Research Center (PRC), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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25
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Dassanayake RP, Zhuang D, Truscott TC, Madsen-Bouterse SA, O'Rourke KI, Schneider DA. A transfectant RK13 cell line permissive to classical caprine scrapie prion propagation. Prion 2017; 10:153-64. [PMID: 27216989 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2016.1166324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
To assess scrapie infectivity associated with caprine-origin tissues, bioassay can be performed using kids, lambs or transgenic mice expressing caprine or ovine prion (PRNP) alleles, but the incubation periods are fairly long. Although several classical ovine scrapie prion permissive cell lines with the ability to detect brain-derived scrapie prion have been available, no classical caprine scrapie permissive cell line is currently available. Therefore, the aims of this study were to generate a rabbit kidney epithelial cell line (RK13) stably expressing caprine wild-type PRNP (cpRK13) and then to assess permissiveness of cpRK13 cells to classical caprine scrapie prion propagation. The cpRK13 and plasmid control RK13 (pcRK13) cells were incubated with brain-derived classical caprine scrapie inocula prepared from goats or ovinized transgenic mice (Tg338, express ovine VRQ allele) infected with caprine scrapie. Significant PrP(Sc) accumulation, which is indicative of scrapie prion propagation, was detected by TSE ELISA and immunohistochemistry in cpRK13 cells inoculated with classical caprine scrapie inocula. Western blot analysis revealed the typical proteinase K-resistant 3 PrP(res) isoforms in the caprine scrapie prion inoculated cpRK13 cell lysate. Importantly, PrP(Sc) accumulation was not detected in similarly inoculated pcRK13 cells, whether by TSE ELISA, immunohistochemistry, or western blot. These findings suggest that caprine scrapie prions can be propagated in cpRK13 cells, thus this cell line may be a useful tool for the assessment of classical caprine prions in the brain tissues of goats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohana P Dassanayake
- a Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology , College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University , Pullman , WA , USA
| | - Dongyue Zhuang
- b Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service , U.S. Department of Agriculture , Pullman , WA , USA
| | - Thomas C Truscott
- b Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service , U.S. Department of Agriculture , Pullman , WA , USA
| | - Sally A Madsen-Bouterse
- a Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology , College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University , Pullman , WA , USA
| | - Katherine I O'Rourke
- a Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology , College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University , Pullman , WA , USA
| | - David A Schneider
- a Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology , College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University , Pullman , WA , USA ;,b Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service , U.S. Department of Agriculture , Pullman , WA , USA
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26
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Immunization of cervidized transgenic mice with multimeric deer prion protein induces self-antibodies that antagonize chronic wasting disease infectivity in vitro. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10538. [PMID: 28874781 PMCID: PMC5585258 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-11235-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the most contagious prion disease. It is expanding rapidly in North America, was found recently in Europe, and the potential for transmission to humans cannot be excluded yet. We hypothesized that it is possible to prevent peripheral CWD infection and CWD prion shedding by inducing auto-antibodies against the cellular prion protein (PrPC) by active vaccination. Our objective is to overcome self-tolerance against PrP by using a multimeric recombinant PrP (recPrP) as an immunogen. We expressed in E. coli, purified and refolded four immunogens: cervid and murine recPrP in monomeric and dimeric form. Testing immunogenicity in sera of the vaccinated transgenic mice expressing cervid PrP revealed that all four immunogens effectively overcame self-tolerance against the prion protein as shown by high antibody titers. Confocal microscopy analysis revealed effective binding of post-immune sera to surface-located PrPC in both murine and cervid PrP expressing cultured cells. Remarkably, the post-immune auto-antibodies effectively inhibited CWD-induced prion conversion in RT-QuIC assay when incubated with either PrP substrate or CWD seed. Furthermore, they mitigated prion propagation in CWD-infected cervid-PrP expressing RK13 cells. Together, multimeric recombinant cervid PrP effectively overcomes self-tolerance to PrP and induces auto-antibodies that interfere with CWD conversion in vitro.
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27
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Haley NJ, Richt JA. Evolution of Diagnostic Tests for Chronic Wasting Disease, a Naturally Occurring Prion Disease of Cervids. Pathogens 2017; 6:pathogens6030035. [PMID: 28783058 PMCID: PMC5617992 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens6030035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Revised: 07/29/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Since chronic wasting disease (CWD) was first identified nearly 50 years ago in a captive mule deer herd in the Rocky Mountains of the United States, it has slowly spread across North America through the natural and anthropogenic movement of cervids and their carcasses. As the endemic areas have expanded, so has the need for rapid, sensitive, and cost effective diagnostic tests—especially those which take advantage of samples collected antemortem. Over the past two decades, strategies have evolved from the recognition of microscopic spongiform pathology and associated immunohistochemical staining of the misfolded prion protein to enzyme-linked immunoassays capable of detecting the abnormal prion conformer in postmortem samples. In a history that parallels the diagnosis of more conventional infectious agents, both qualitative and real-time amplification assays have recently been developed to detect minute quantities of misfolded prions in a range of biological and environmental samples. With these more sensitive and semi-quantitative approaches has come a greater understanding of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of this disease in the native host. Because the molecular pathogenesis of prion protein misfolding is broadly analogous to the misfolding of other pathogenic proteins, including Aβ and α-synuclein, efforts are currently underway to apply these in vitro amplification techniques towards the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other proteinopathies. Chronic wasting disease—once a rare disease of Colorado mule deer—now represents one of the most prevalent prion diseases, and should serve as a model for the continued development and implementation of novel diagnostic strategies for protein misfolding disorders in the natural host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Haley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ 85308, USA.
| | - Jürgen A Richt
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University (KSU), Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
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28
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Iwamaru Y, Mathiason CK, Telling GC, Hoover EA. Chronic wasting disease prion infection of differentiated neurospheres. Prion 2017; 11:277-283. [PMID: 28762865 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2017.1336273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A possible strategy to develop more diverse cell culture systems permissive to infection with naturally occurring prions is to exploit culture of neurospheres from transgenic mice expressing the normal prion protein (PrP) of the native host species. Accordingly, we developed differentiated neurosphere cultures from the cervid PrP-expressing mice to investigate whether this in vitro system would support replication of non-adapted cervid-origin chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions. Here we report the successful amplification of disease-associated PrP in differentiated neurosphere cultures within 3 weeks after exposure to CWD prions from both white-tailed deer or elk. This neurosphere culture system provides a new in vitro tool that can be used to assess non-adapted CWD prion propagation and transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshifumi Iwamaru
- a Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology , College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University , Fort Collins , CO , USA.,b Prion Disease Research Unit , National Institute of Animal Health , Tsukuba , Ibaraki , Japan
| | - Candace K Mathiason
- a Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology , College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University , Fort Collins , CO , USA
| | - Glenn C Telling
- a Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology , College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University , Fort Collins , CO , USA
| | - Edward A Hoover
- a Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology , College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University , Fort Collins , CO , USA
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29
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Fehlinger A, Wolf H, Hossinger A, Duernberger Y, Pleschka C, Riemschoss K, Liu S, Bester R, Paulsen L, Priola SA, Groschup MH, Schätzl HM, Vorberg IM. Prion strains depend on different endocytic routes for productive infection. Sci Rep 2017; 7:6923. [PMID: 28761068 PMCID: PMC5537368 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07260-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions are unconventional agents composed of misfolded prion protein that cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases in mammals. Prion strains induce specific neuropathological changes in selected brain areas. The mechanism of strain-specific cell tropism is unknown. We hypothesised that prion strains rely on different endocytic routes to invade and replicate within their target cells. Using prion permissive cells, we determined how impairment of endocytosis affects productive infection by prion strains 22L and RML. We demonstrate that early and late stages of prion infection are differentially sensitive to perturbation of clathrin- and caveolin-mediated endocytosis. Manipulation of canonical endocytic pathways only slightly influenced prion uptake. However, blocking the same routes had drastic strain-specific consequences on the establishment of infection. Our data argue that prion strains use different endocytic pathways for infection and suggest that cell type-dependent differences in prion uptake could contribute to host cell tropism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Fehlinger
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Hanna Wolf
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - André Hossinger
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Yvonne Duernberger
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Catharina Pleschka
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Katrin Riemschoss
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Shu Liu
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Romina Bester
- Institut für Virologie, Technische Universität München, Trogerstr. 30, 81675, München, Germany
| | - Lydia Paulsen
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Suzette A Priola
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, MT, 59840, USA
| | - Martin H Groschup
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Hermann M Schätzl
- Dept. of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Ina M Vorberg
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V., Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 27, 53127, Bonn, Germany. .,Department of Neurology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, 53127, Bonn, Germany.
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30
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Prion Diagnosis: Application of Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2017; 2017:5413936. [PMID: 28596963 PMCID: PMC5449729 DOI: 10.1155/2017/5413936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Revised: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Prions composed of pathogenic scrapie prion protein (PrPSc) are infectious pathogens that cause progressive neurological conditions known as prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Although these diseases pose considerable risk to public health, procedures for early diagnosis have not been established. One of the most recent attempts at sensitive and specific detection of prions is the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) method, which measures the activity of PrPSc aggregates or amyloid formation triggered by PrPSc seeds in the presence of recombinant PrP. In this review, we summarize prions, prion diseases, and current approaches to diagnosis, including the principle, conditions for assay performance, and current diagnostic applications of RT-QuIC.
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31
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Prion replication without host adaptation during interspecies transmissions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:1141-1146. [PMID: 28096357 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1611891114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptation of prions to new species is thought to reflect the capacity of the host-encoded cellular form of the prion protein (PrPC) to selectively propagate optimized prion conformations from larger ensembles generated in the species of origin. Here we describe an alternate replicative process, termed nonadaptive prion amplification (NAPA), in which dominant conformers bypass this requirement during particular interspecies transmissions. To model susceptibility of horses to prions, we produced transgenic (Tg) mice expressing cognate PrPC Although disease transmission to only a subset of infected TgEq indicated a significant barrier to EqPrPC conversion, the resulting horse prions unexpectedly failed to cause disease upon further passage to TgEq. TgD expressing deer PrPC was similarly refractory to deer prions from diseased TgD infected with mink prions. In both cases, the resulting prions transmitted to mice expressing PrPC from the species of prion origin, demonstrating that transmission barrier eradication of the originating prions was ephemeral and adaptation superficial in TgEq and TgD. Horse prions produced in vitro by protein misfolding cyclic amplification of mouse prions using horse PrPC also failed to infect TgEq but retained tropism for wild-type mice. Concordant patterns of neuropathology and prion deposition in susceptible mice infected with NAPA prions and the corresponding prion of origin confirmed preservation of strain properties. The comparable responses of both prion types to guanidine hydrochloride denaturation indicated this occurs because NAPA precludes selection of novel prion conformations. Our findings provide insights into mechanisms regulating interspecies prion transmission and a framework to reconcile puzzling epidemiological features of certain prion disorders.
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32
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Waqas M, Lee HM, Kim J, Telling G, Kim JK, Kim DH, Ryou C. Effect of poly-L-arginine in inhibiting scrapie prion protein of cultured cells. Mol Cell Biochem 2017; 428:57-66. [PMID: 28063003 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-016-2916-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Biological effect of poly-L-arginine (PLR), the linear homopolymer comprised of L-arginine, was investigated to determine the activity of suppressing prions. PLR decreased the level of scrapie prion protein (PrPSc) in cultured cells permanently infected with prions in a concentration-dependent manner. The PrPSc inhibition efficacy of PLR was greater than that of another prion-suppressant poly-L-lysine (PLK) in a molecular mass-dependent fashion. The effective concentration of PLR to inhibit prions was achieved safely below the cytotoxic concentrations, and overall cytotoxicity of PLR was similar to that of PLK. PLR did not alter the cellular prion protein (PrPC) level and was unable to change the states of preformed recombinant PrP aggregates and PrPSc from prion-infected cells. These data eliminate the possibility that the action mechanism of PLR is through removal of PrPC and pre-existing PrPSc. However, PLR formed complexes with plasminogen that stimulates prion propagation via conversion of PrPC to the misfolded isoform, PrPSc. The plasminogen-PLR complex demonstrated the greater positive surface charge values than the similar complex with PLK, raising the possibility that PLR interferes with the role of cofactor for PrPSc generation better than PLK.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Waqas
- Department of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye-Mi Lee
- Department of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeeyoung Kim
- Department of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Republic of Korea
| | - Glenn Telling
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jin-Ki Kim
- Department of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Republic of Korea
| | - Dae-Hwan Kim
- Department of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Republic of Korea
| | - Chongsuk Ryou
- Department of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Republic of Korea.
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Arellano-Anaya ZE, Huor A, Leblanc P, Andréoletti O, Vilette D. Expression of Heterologous PrP and Prion Propagation in RK13 Cells. Methods Mol Biol 2017; 1658:95-104. [PMID: 28861785 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7244-9_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Cultured cells are valuable models to study prion infections at the cellular level. Unfortunately, the vast majority of cell lines are resistant to the propagation of prion agents. The rabbit epithelial RK13 cell line is among the few cell lines permissive to prion infection. When genetically engineered to express heterologous PrP proteins, RK13 cells become permissive to several strains of prions from various animal species. Here, we describe the generation of stable RK13 cell clones expressing a heterologous PrP protein in an inducible manner, the establishment and maintenance of chronically infected cultures, and the selection of cell clones suitable for cell-based titration of prions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaira E Arellano-Anaya
- INRA, UMR 1225, IHAP, 31076, Toulouse, France
- Université de Toulouse, INP, ENVT, UMR1225, IHAP, 31076, Toulouse, France
| | - Alvina Huor
- INRA, UMR 1225, IHAP, 31076, Toulouse, France
- Université de Toulouse, INP, ENVT, UMR1225, IHAP, 31076, Toulouse, France
| | - Pascal Leblanc
- CNRS, UMR5239, Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire de la Cellule (LBMC), Equipe Différenciation Neuromusculaire, Ecole Normale Supérieure-Lyon, 46 allée d'Italie, 69364, Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- INRA, UMR 1225, IHAP, 31076, Toulouse, France
- Université de Toulouse, INP, ENVT, UMR1225, IHAP, 31076, Toulouse, France
| | - Didier Vilette
- INRA, UMR 1225, IHAP, 31076, Toulouse, France.
- Université de Toulouse, INP, ENVT, UMR1225, IHAP, 31076, Toulouse, France.
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Detection and Quantification of CWD Prions in Fixed Paraffin Embedded Tissues by Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion. Sci Rep 2016; 6:25098. [PMID: 27157060 PMCID: PMC4860571 DOI: 10.1038/srep25098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2015] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditional diagnostic detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) relies on immunodetection of misfolded CWD prion protein (PrPCWD) by western blotting, ELISA, or immunohistochemistry (IHC). These techniques require separate sample collections (frozen and fixed) which may result in discrepancies due to variation in prion tissue distribution and assay sensitivities that limit detection especially in early and subclinical infections. Here, we harness the power of real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC) to amplify, detect, and quantify prion amyloid seeding activity in fixed paraffin-embedded (FPE) tissue sections. We show that FPE RT-QuIC has greater detection sensitivity than IHC in tissues with low PrPCWD burdens, including those that are IHC-negative. We also employ amyloid formation kinetics to yield a semi-quantitative estimate of prion concentration in a given FPE tissue. We report that FPE RT-QuIC has the ability to enhance diagnostic and investigative detection of disease-associated PrPRES in prion, and potentially other, protein misfolding disease states.
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Defining and Assessing Analytical Performance Criteria for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy-Detecting Amyloid Seeding Assays. J Mol Diagn 2016; 18:454-467. [PMID: 27068712 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2016.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2015] [Revised: 01/11/2016] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are infectious, fatal neurodegenerative diseases that affect production animal health, and thus human food safety. Enhanced TSE detection methods mimic the conjectured basis for prion replication, in vitro; biological matrices can be tested for prion activity via their ability to convert recombinant cellular prion protein (PrP) into amyloid fibrils; fluorescent spectra changes of amyloid-binding fluorophores in the reaction vessel detect fibril formation. In vitro PrP conversion techniques have high analytical sensitivity for prions, comparable with that of bioassays, yet no such protocol has gained regulatory approval for use in animal TSE surveillance programs. This study describes a timed in vitro PrP conversion protocol with accurate, well-defined analytical criteria based on probability density and mass functions of TSE(+) and TSE(-) associated thioflavin T signal times, a new approach within this field. The prion detection model used is elk chronic wasting disease (CWD) in brain tissues. The protocol and analytical criteria proved as sensitive for elk CWD as two bioassay models, and upward of approximately 1.2 log10 more sensitive than the most sensitive TSE rapid test we assessed. Furthermore, we substantiate that timing in vitro PrP conversion may be used to titrate TSE infectivity, and, as a result, provide a comprehensive extrapolation of analytical sensitivity differences between bioassay, TSE rapid tests, and in vitro PrP conversion for elk CWD.
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Berry D, Giles K, Oehler A, Bhardwaj S, DeArmond SJ, Prusiner SB. Use of a 2-aminothiazole to Treat Chronic Wasting Disease in Transgenic Mice. J Infect Dis 2015; 212 Suppl 1:S17-25. [PMID: 26116725 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiu656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Treatment with the 2-aminothiazole IND24 extended the survival of mice infected with mouse-adapted scrapie but also resulted in the emergence of a drug-resistant prion strain. Here, we determined whether IND24 extended the survival of transgenic mice infected with prions that caused scrapie in sheep or prions that caused chronic wasting disease (CWD; hereafter "CWD prions") in deer, using 2 isolates for each disease. IND24 doubled the incubation times for mice infected with CWD prions but had no effect on the survival of those infected with scrapie prions. Biochemical, neuropathologic, and cell culture analyses were used to characterize prion strain properties following treatment, and results indicated that the CWD prions were not altered by IND24, regardless of survival extension. These results suggest that IND24 may be a viable candidate for treating CWD in infected captive cervid populations and raise questions about why some prion strains develop drug resistance whereas others do not.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kurt Giles
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco
| | | | | | | | - Stanley B Prusiner
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco
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Giles K, Berry DB, Condello C, Hawley RC, Gallardo-Godoy A, Bryant C, Oehler A, Elepano M, Bhardwaj S, Patel S, Silber BM, Guan S, DeArmond SJ, Renslo AR, Prusiner SB. Different 2-Aminothiazole Therapeutics Produce Distinct Patterns of Scrapie Prion Neuropathology in Mouse Brains. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2015. [PMID: 26224882 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.115.224659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Because no drug exists that halts or even slows any neurodegenerative disease, developing effective therapeutics for any prion disorder is urgent. We recently reported two compounds (IND24 and IND81) with the 2-aminothiazole (2-AMT) chemical scaffold that almost doubled the incubation times in scrapie prion-infected, wild-type (wt) FVB mice when given in a liquid diet. Remarkably, oral prophylactic treatment with IND24 beginning 14 days prior to intracerebral prion inoculation extended survival from ∼120 days to over 450 days. In addition to IND24, we evaluated the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of five additional 2-AMTs; one was not followed further because its brain penetration was poor. Of the remaining four new 2-AMTs, IND114338 doubled and IND125 tripled the incubation times of RML-inoculated wt and Tg4053 mice overexpressing wt mouse prion protein (PrP), respectively. Neuropathological examination of the brains from untreated controls showed a widespread deposition of self-propagating, β-sheet-rich "scrapie" isoform (PrP(Sc)) prions accompanied by a profound astrocytic gliosis. In contrast, mice treated with 2-AMTs had lower levels of PrP(Sc) and associated astrocytic gliosis, with each compound resulting in a distinct pattern of deposition. Notably, IND125 prevented both PrP(Sc) accumulation and astrocytic gliosis in the cerebrum. Progressive central nervous system dysfunction in the IND125-treated mice was presumably due to the PrP(Sc) that accumulated in their brainstems. Disappointingly, none of the four new 2-AMTs prolonged the lives of mice expressing a chimeric human/mouse PrP transgene inoculated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease prions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt Giles
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - David B Berry
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Carlo Condello
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Ronald C Hawley
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Alejandra Gallardo-Godoy
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Clifford Bryant
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Abby Oehler
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Manuel Elepano
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Sumita Bhardwaj
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Smita Patel
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - B Michael Silber
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Shenheng Guan
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Stephen J DeArmond
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Adam R Renslo
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
| | - Stanley B Prusiner
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (K.G., D.B.B., C.C., R.C.H., M.E., S.B., S.P., B.M.S., S.G., S.J.D., S.B.P); Small Molecule Discovery Center (A.G.-G., C.B., A.R.R.); and Departments of Neurology (K.G., C.C., R.C.H., B.M.S., S.B.P), Pharmaceutical Chemistry (A.G.-G., C.B., S.G., A.R.R.), Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Biochemistry and Biophysics (S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
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Tark D, Kim H, Neale MH, Kim M, Sohn H, Lee Y, Cho I, Joo Y, Windl O. Generation of a persistently infected MDBK cell line with natural bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0115939. [PMID: 25647616 PMCID: PMC4315440 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2014] [Accepted: 11/28/2014] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a zoonotic transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) thought to be caused by the same prion strain as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Unlike scrapie and chronic wasting disease there is no cell culture model allowing the replication of proteinase K resistant BSE (PrPBSE) and the further in vitro study of this disease. We have generated a cell line based on the Madin-Darby Bovine Kidney (MDBK) cell line over-expressing the bovine prion protein. After exposure to naturally BSE-infected bovine brain homogenate this cell line has shown to replicate and accumulate PrPBSE and maintain infection up to passage 83 after initial challenge. Collectively, we demonstrate, for the first time, that the BSE agent can infect cell lines over-expressing the bovine prion protein similar to other prion diseases. These BSE infected cells will provide a useful tool to facilitate the study of potential therapeutic agents and the diagnosis of BSE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongseob Tark
- Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 175 Anyang-ro, Manan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyojin Kim
- Department of Animal Disease Control and Quarantine, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 175 Anyang-ro, Manan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Michael H Neale
- Pathology and Host Susceptibility Department, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, KT15 3NB, United Kingdom
| | - Minjeong Kim
- Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 175 Anyang-ro, Manan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyunjoo Sohn
- Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 175 Anyang-ro, Manan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoonhee Lee
- Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 175 Anyang-ro, Manan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Insoo Cho
- Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 175 Anyang-ro, Manan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Yiseok Joo
- Department of Animal Disease Control and Quarantine, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 175 Anyang-ro, Manan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Otto Windl
- Pathology and Host Susceptibility Department, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, KT15 3NB, United Kingdom
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The standard scrapie cell assay: development, utility and prospects. Viruses 2015; 7:180-98. [PMID: 25602372 PMCID: PMC4306833 DOI: 10.3390/v7010180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 01/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a family of fatal neurodegenerative diseases that involve the misfolding of a host protein, PrPC. Measuring prion infectivity is necessary for determining efficacy of a treatment or infectivity of a prion purification procedure; animal bioassays are, however, very expensive and time consuming. The Standard Scrapie Cell Assay (SSCA) provides an alternative approach. The SSCA facilitates quantitative in vitro analysis of prion strains, titres and biological properties. Given its robust nature and potential for high throughput, the SSCA has substantial utility for in vitro characterization of prions and can be deployed in a number of settings. Here we provide an overview on establishing the SSCA, its use in studies of disease dissemination and pathogenesis, potential pitfalls and a number of remaining challenges.
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hTERT-immortalized ovine microglia propagate natural scrapie isolates. Virus Res 2015; 198:35-43. [PMID: 25592246 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2014.10.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2014] [Revised: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Ex vivo propagation of natural prion isolates (i.e., propagated solely in the natural host) is crucial for the characterization and study of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Several well-established, prion-permissive cell culture systems are available; however, only a few cell lines are permissive to natural prion isolates and these cells are not pathophysiologically relevant (e.g., renal epithelium and fibroblast-like cells). Therefore, a pathophysiologically relevant cell line derived from a natural TSE host could be used for propagation of natural prion isolates. In this study, ovine brain macrophages (microglia) were immortalized by transfection with the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene to identify cell lines (hTERT-microglia) permissive to natural scrapie prion isolates. Following transfection, hTERT-microglia were passaged up to 100 times and their lifespan was significantly longer compared to parental cells (Fisher's exact test, P<0.001). Multiple sublines were permissive to cell culture-adapted prions; two sublines were also permissive to natural scrapie isolates (i.e., derived from brain homogenates of sheep infected with scrapie). Prion infectivity and partial protease resistance of the prion protein were maintained in hTERT-microglia. Comparisons between scrapie-permissive and non-permissive hTERT-microglia sublines revealed that overall quantity of the normal cellular prion protein was not associated with prion permissiveness. The use of hTERT-microglia in future TSE studies may be more germane to the characterization of the cellular and subcellular pathophysiology of natural scrapie prion isolates and to investigate host-specific factors involved in prion replication.
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Oelschlegel AM, Geissen M, Lenk M, Riebe R, Angermann M, Schaetzl H, Groschup MH. A bovine cell line that can be infected by natural sheep scrapie prions. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0117154. [PMID: 25565633 PMCID: PMC4286239 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2014] [Accepted: 12/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell culture systems represent a crucial part in basic prion research; yet, cell lines that are susceptible to prions, especially to field isolated prions that were not adapted to rodents, are very rare. The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize a cell line that was susceptible to ruminant-derived prions and to establish a stable prion infection within it. Based on species and tissue of origin as well as PrP expression rate, we pre-selected a total of 33 cell lines that were then challenged with natural and with mouse propagated BSE or scrapie inocula. Here, we report the successful infection of a non-transgenic bovine cell line, a sub-line of the bovine kidney cell line MDBK, with natural sheep scrapie prions. This cell line retained the scrapie infection for more than 200 passages. Selective cloning resulted in cell populations with increased accumulation of PrPres, although this treatment was not mandatory for retaining the infection. The infection remained stable, even under suboptimal culture conditions. The resulting infectivity of the cells was confirmed by mouse bioassay (Tgbov mice, Tgshp mice). We believe that PES cells used together with other prion permissive cell lines will prove a valuable tool for ongoing efforts to understand and defeat prions and prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja M. Oelschlegel
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald—Isle of Riems, Germany
- Project Group Neuropharmacology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Markus Geissen
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald—Isle of Riems, Germany
- Department of Vascular Medicine, University Heart Centre Hamburg, UKE, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Lenk
- Department of Experimental Animal Facilities and Biorisk Management at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald—Isle of Riems, Germany
| | - Roland Riebe
- Department of Experimental Animal Facilities and Biorisk Management at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald—Isle of Riems, Germany
| | - Marlies Angermann
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald—Isle of Riems, Germany
- Administrative District Office Goerlitz, Goerlitz, Germany
| | - Hermann Schaetzl
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Martin H. Groschup
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald—Isle of Riems, Germany
- * E-mail:
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42
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Xu S, Reuter T, Gilroyed BH, Mitchell GB, Price LM, Dudas S, Braithwaite SL, Graham C, Czub S, Leonard JJ, Balachandran A, Neumann NF, Belosevic M, McAllister TA. Biodegradation of prions in compost. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2014; 48:6909-6918. [PMID: 24819143 DOI: 10.1021/es500916v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Composting may serve as a practical and economical means of disposing of specified risk materials (SRM) or animal mortalities potentially infected with prion diseases (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, TSE). Our study investigated the degradation of prions associated with scrapie (PrP(263K)), chronic waste disease (PrP(CWD)), and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (PrP(BSE)) in lab-scale composters and PrP(263K) in field-scale compost piles. Western blotting (WB) indicated that PrP(263K), PrP(CWD), and PrP(BSE) were reduced by at least 2 log10, 1-2 log10, and 1 log10 after 28 days of lab-scale composting, respectively. Further analysis using protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) confirmed a reduction of 2 log10 in PrP(263K) and 3 log10 in PrP(CWD). Enrichment for proteolytic microorganisms through the addition of feather keratin to compost enhanced degradation of PrP(263K) and PrP(CWD). For field-scale composting, stainless steel beads coated with PrP(263K) were exposed to compost conditions and removed periodically for bioassays in Syrian hamsters. After 230 days of composting, only one in five hamsters succumbed to TSE disease, suggesting at least a 4.8 log10 reduction in PrP(263K) infectivity. Our findings show that composting reduces PrP(TSE), resulting in one 50% infectious dose (ID50) remaining in every 5600 kg of final compost for land application. With these considerations, composting may be a viable method for SRM disposal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanwei Xu
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre , Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 4B1, Canada
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43
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Quinacrine promotes replication and conformational mutation of chronic wasting disease prions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:6028-33. [PMID: 24711410 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1322377111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Quinacrine's ability to reduce levels of pathogenic prion protein (PrP(Sc)) in mouse cells infected with experimentally adapted prions led to several unsuccessful clinical studies in patients with prion diseases, a 10-y investment to understand its mechanism of action, and the production of related compounds with expectations of greater efficacy. We show here, in stark contrast to this reported inhibitory effect, that quinacrine enhances deer and elk PrP(Sc) accumulation and promotes propagation of prions causing chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal, transmissible, neurodegenerative disorder of cervids of uncertain zoonotic potential. Surprisingly, despite increased prion titers in quinacrine-treated cells, transmission of the resulting prions produced prolonged incubation times and altered PrP(Sc) deposition patterns in the brains of diseased transgenic mice. This unexpected outcome is consistent with quinacrine affecting the intrinsic properties of the CWD prion. Accordingly, quinacrine-treated CWD prions were comprised of an altered PrP(Sc) conformation. Our findings provide convincing evidence for drug-induced conformational mutation of prions without the prerequisite of generating drug-resistant variants of the original strain. More specifically, they show that a drug capable of restraining prions in one species/strain setting, and consequently used to treat human prion diseases, improves replicative ability in another and therefore force reconsideration of current strategies to screen antiprion compounds.
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44
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Beekes
- Applied Infection Control and Hospital Hygiene, Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany
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45
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Mays CE, Kim C, Haldiman T, van der Merwe J, Lau A, Yang J, Grams J, Di Bari MA, Nonno R, Telling GC, Kong Q, Langeveld J, McKenzie D, Westaway D, Safar JG. Prion disease tempo determined by host-dependent substrate reduction. J Clin Invest 2014; 124:847-58. [PMID: 24430187 DOI: 10.1172/jci72241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2013] [Accepted: 11/07/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The symptoms of prion infection can take years or decades to manifest following the initial exposure. Molecular markers of prion disease include accumulation of the misfolded prion protein (PrPSc), which is derived from its cellular precursor (PrPC), as well as downregulation of the PrP-like Shadoo (Sho) glycoprotein. Given the overlapping cellular environments for PrPC and Sho, we inferred that PrPC levels might also be altered as part of a host response during prion infection. Using rodent models, we found that, in addition to changes in PrPC glycosylation and proteolytic processing, net reductions in PrPC occur in a wide range of prion diseases, including sheep scrapie, human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and cervid chronic wasting disease. The reduction in PrPC results in decreased prion replication, as measured by the protein misfolding cyclic amplification technique for generating PrPSc in vitro. While PrPC downregulation is not discernible in animals with unusually short incubation periods and high PrPC expression, slowly evolving prion infections exhibit downregulation of the PrPC substrate required for new PrPSc synthesis and as a receptor for pathogenic signaling. Our data reveal PrPC downregulation as a previously unappreciated element of disease pathogenesis that defines the extensive, presymptomatic period for many prion strains.
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46
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Infectious prions accumulate to high levels in non proliferative C2C12 myotubes. PLoS Pathog 2013; 9:e1003755. [PMID: 24244171 PMCID: PMC3820720 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2013] [Accepted: 09/25/2013] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are driven by the strain-specific, template-dependent transconformation of the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a disease specific isoform PrPSc. Cell culture models of prion infection generally use replicating cells resulting in lower levels of prion accumulation compared to animals. Using non-replicating cells allows the accumulation of higher levels of PrPSc and, thus, greater amounts of infectivity. Here, we infect non-proliferating muscle fiber myotube cultures prepared from differentiated myoblasts. We demonstrate that prion-infected myotubes generate substantial amounts of PrPSc and that the level of infectivity produced in these post-mitotic cells, 105.5 L.D.50/mg of total protein, approaches that observed in vivo. Exposure of the myotubes to different mouse-adapted agents demonstrates strain-specific replication of infectious agents. Mouse-derived myotubes could not be infected with hamster prions suggesting that the species barrier effect is intact. We suggest that non-proliferating myotubes will be a valuable model system for generating infectious prions and for screening compounds for anti-prion activity. This manuscript describes the generation of a new cell culture system to study the replication of infectious prions. While numerous cell lines exist that can replicate prions, these systems are usually based upon proliferating cells. As mammalian cell cultures double approximately every day, prions established in the culture must also, at least, double to be maintained. This is problematic, however, as prions replicate relatively slowly and cell replication may outpace prion replication. In fact, many cell culture systems do not replicate prions and those that do often do not replicate all strains of prions. Here we describe the use of differentiated non-proliferative muscle cells to replicate prions without the interfering effect of cell division. We observed that prions accumulate to very high levels in this muscle cell culture with infectivity approaching that observed in animals.
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Nichols TA, Spraker TR, Rigg TD, Meyerett-Reid C, Hoover C, Michel B, Bian J, Hoover E, Gidlewski T, Balachandran A, O'Rourke K, Telling GC, Bowen R, Zabel MD, VerCauteren KC. Intranasal inoculation of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with lyophilized chronic wasting disease prion particulate complexed to montmorillonite clay. PLoS One 2013; 8:e62455. [PMID: 23671598 PMCID: PMC3650006 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2012] [Accepted: 03/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), the only known prion disease endemic in wildlife, is a persistent problem in both wild and captive North American cervid populations. This disease continues to spread and cases are found in new areas each year. Indirect transmission can occur via the environment and is thought to occur by the oral and/or intranasal route. Oral transmission has been experimentally demonstrated and although intranasal transmission has been postulated, it has not been tested in a natural host until recently. Prions have been shown to adsorb strongly to clay particles and upon oral inoculation the prion/clay combination exhibits increased infectivity in rodent models. Deer and elk undoubtedly and chronically inhale dust particles routinely while living in the landscape while foraging and rutting. We therefore hypothesized that dust represents a viable vehicle for intranasal CWD prion exposure. To test this hypothesis, CWD-positive brain homogenate was mixed with montmorillonite clay (Mte), lyophilized, pulverized and inoculated intranasally into white-tailed deer once a week for 6 weeks. Deer were euthanized at 95, 105, 120 and 175 days post final inoculation and tissues examined for CWD-associated prion proteins by immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrate that CWD can be efficiently transmitted utilizing Mte particles as a prion carrier and intranasal exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy A Nichols
- National Wildlife Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
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48
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Boerner S, Wagenführ K, Daus ML, Thomzig A, Beekes M. Towards further reduction and replacement of animal bioassays in prion research by cell and protein misfolding cyclic amplification assays. Lab Anim 2013; 47:106-15. [PMID: 23479773 DOI: 10.1177/0023677213476856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Laboratory animals have long since been used extensively in bioassays for prions in order to quantify, usually in terms of median infective doses [ID50], how infectious these pathogens are in vivo. The identification of aberrant prion protein as the main component and self-replicating principle of prions has given rise to alternative approaches for prion titration. Such approaches often use protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) for the cell-free biochemical measurement of prion-associated seeding activity, or cell assays for the titration of in vitro infectivity. However, median seeding and cell culture infective doses (SD50 and CCID50, respectively) of prions are neither formally congruent nor definitely representative for ID50 titres in animals and can be therefore only tentatively translated into the latter. This may potentially impede the acceptance and use of alternative methods to animal bioassays in prion research. Thus, we suggest performing PMCA and cell assays jointly, and to check whether these profoundly different test principles deliver consistent results in order to strengthen the reliability and credibility of prion ID50 assessments by in vitro methods. With regard to this rationale, we describe three pairs of PMCA and glial cell assays for different hamster-adapted prion agents (the frequently used 263K scrapie strain, and 22A-H scrapie and BSE-H). In addition, we report on the adaptation of quantitative PMCA to human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) prions on steel wires for prion disinfection studies. Our rationale and methodology can be systematically extended to other types of prions and used to further reduce or replace prion bioassays in rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susann Boerner
- Work Group Unconventional Pathogens and Their Inactivation, Division of Applied Infection Control and Hospital Hygiene, Department of Infectious Diseases, Robert Koch-Institut, 13353 Berlin, Germany
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49
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Cellular aspects of prion replication in vitro. Viruses 2013; 5:374-405. [PMID: 23340381 PMCID: PMC3564126 DOI: 10.3390/v5010374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2012] [Revised: 01/07/2013] [Accepted: 01/16/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are fatal neurodegenerative disorders in mammals that are caused by unconventional agents predominantly composed of aggregated misfolded prion protein (PrP). Prions self-propagate by recruitment of host-encoded PrP into highly ordered β-sheet rich aggregates. Prion strains differ in their clinical, pathological and biochemical characteristics and are likely to be the consequence of distinct abnormal prion protein conformers that stably replicate their alternate states in the host cell. Understanding prion cell biology is fundamental for identifying potential drug targets for disease intervention. The development of permissive cell culture models has greatly enhanced our knowledge on entry, propagation and dissemination of TSE agents. However, despite extensive research, the precise mechanism of prion infection and potential strain effects remain enigmatic. This review summarizes our current knowledge of the cell biology and propagation of prions derived from cell culture experiments. We discuss recent findings on the trafficking of cellular and pathologic PrP, the potential sites of abnormal prion protein synthesis and potential co-factors involved in prion entry and propagation.
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50
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Kang HE, Weng CC, Saijo E, Saylor V, Bian J, Kim S, Ramos L, Angers R, Langenfeld K, Khaychuk V, Calvi C, Bartz J, Hunter N, Telling GC. Characterization of conformation-dependent prion protein epitopes. J Biol Chem 2012; 287:37219-32. [PMID: 22948149 PMCID: PMC3481321 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.395921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Whereas prion replication involves structural rearrangement of cellular prion protein (PrP(C)), the existence of conformational epitopes remains speculative and controversial, and PrP transformation is monitored by immunoblot detection of PrP(27-30), a protease-resistant counterpart of the pathogenic scrapie form (PrP(Sc)) of PrP. We now describe the involvement of specific amino acids in conformational determinants of novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) raised against randomly chimeric PrP. Epitope recognition of two mAbs depended on polymorphisms controlling disease susceptibility. Detection by one, referred to as PRC5, required alanine and asparagine at discontinuous mouse PrP residues 132 and 158, which acquire proximity when residues 126-218 form a structured globular domain. The discontinuous epitope of glycosylation-dependent mAb PRC7 also mapped within this domain at residues 154 and 185. In accordance with their conformational dependence, tertiary structure perturbations compromised recognition by PRC5, PRC7, as well as previously characterized mAbs whose epitopes also reside in the globular domain, whereas conformation-independent epitopes proximal or distal to this region were refractory to such destabilizing treatments. Our studies also address the paradox of how conformational epitopes remain functional following denaturing treatments and indicate that cellular PrP and PrP(27-30) both renature to a common structure that reconstitutes the globular domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hae-Eun Kang
- From the Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
| | - Chu Chun Weng
- the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, Department of Neurology, and Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
| | - Eri Saijo
- From the Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, ,the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, Department of Neurology, and Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
| | - Vicki Saylor
- the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, Department of Neurology, and Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
| | - Jifeng Bian
- From the Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
| | - Sehun Kim
- From the Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
| | - Laylaa Ramos
- From the Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
| | - Rachel Angers
- the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, Department of Neurology, and Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
| | - Katie Langenfeld
- the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178, and
| | - Vadim Khaychuk
- From the Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
| | - Carla Calvi
- From the Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
| | - Jason Bartz
- the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68178, and
| | - Nora Hunter
- the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Glenn C. Telling
- From the Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, ,the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, Department of Neurology, and Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, , To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 970-491-2968; E-mail:
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