1
|
Cracco L, Cali I, Cohen ML, Aslam R, Notari S, Kong Q, Newell KL, Ghetti B, Appleby BS, Gambetti P. Efficient transmission of human prion diseases to a glycan-free prion protein-expressing host. Brain 2024; 147:1539-1552. [PMID: 38000783 PMCID: PMC10994570 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad399] [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: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
It is increasingly evident that the association of glycans with the prion protein (PrP), a major post-translational modification, significantly impacts the pathogenesis of prion diseases. A recent bioassay study has provided evidence that the presence of PrP glycans decreases spongiform degeneration and disease-related PrP (PrPD) deposition in a murine model. We challenged (PRNPN181Q/197Q) transgenic (Tg) mice expressing glycan-free human PrP (TgGlyc-), with isolates from sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease subtype MM2 (sCJDMM2), sporadic fatal insomnia and familial fatal insomnia, three human prion diseases that are distinct but share histotypic and PrPD features. TgGlyc- mice accurately replicated the basic histotypic features associated with the three diseases but the transmission was characterized by high attack rates, shortened incubation periods and a greatly increased severity of the histopathology, including the presence of up to 40 times higher quantities of PrPD that formed prominent deposits. Although the engineered protease-resistant PrPD shared at least some features of the secondary structure and the presence of the anchorless PrPD variant with the wild-type PrPD, it exhibited different density gradient profiles of the PrPD aggregates and a higher stability index. The severity of the histopathological features including PrP deposition appeared to be related to the incubation period duration. These findings are clearly consistent with the protective role of the PrP glycans but also emphasize the complexity of the conformational changes that impact PrPD following glycan knockout. Future studies will determine whether these features apply broadly to other human prion diseases or are PrPD-type dependent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Cracco
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University, School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Mark L Cohen
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Rabail Aslam
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Silvio Notari
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Qingzhong Kong
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Kathy L Newell
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University, School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Bernardino Ghetti
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University, School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Brian S Appleby
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Block AJ, Bartz JC. Prion strains: shining new light on old concepts. Cell Tissue Res 2023; 392:113-133. [PMID: 35796874 PMCID: PMC11318079 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03665-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of inevitably fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting numerous mammalian species, including humans. The existence of heritable phenotypes of disease in the natural host suggested that prions exist as distinct strains. Transmission of sheep scrapie to rodent models accelerated prion research, resulting in the isolation and characterization of numerous strains with distinct characteristics. These strains are grouped into categories based on the incubation period of disease in different strains of mice and also by how stable the strain properties were upon serial passage. These classical studies defined the host and agent parameters that affected strain properties, and, prior to the advent of the prion hypothesis, strain properties were hypothesized to be the result of mutations in a nucleic acid genome of a conventional pathogen. The development of the prion hypothesis challenged the paradigm of infectious agents, and, initially, the existence of strains was difficult to reconcile with a protein-only agent. In the decades since, much evidence has revealed how a protein-only infectious agent can perform complex biological functions. The prevailing hypothesis is that strain-specific conformations of PrPSc encode prion strain diversity. This hypothesis can provide a mechanism to explain the observed strain-specific differences in incubation period of disease, biochemical properties of PrPSc, tissue tropism, and subcellular patterns of pathology. This hypothesis also explains how prion strains mutate, evolve, and adapt to new species. These concepts are applicable to prion-like diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, where evidence of strain diversity is beginning to emerge.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa J Block
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA
| | - Jason C Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Pirisinu L, Di Bari MA, D’Agostino C, Vanni I, Riccardi G, Marcon S, Vaccari G, Chiappini B, Benestad SL, Agrimi U, Nonno R. A single amino acid residue in bank vole prion protein drives permissiveness to Nor98/atypical scrapie and the emergence of multiple strain variants. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010646. [PMID: 35731839 PMCID: PMC9255773 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are infectious agents that replicate through the autocatalytic misfolding of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into infectious aggregates (PrPSc) causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases in humans and animals. Prions exist as strains, which are encoded by conformational variants of PrPSc. The transmissibility of prions depends on the PrPC sequence of the recipient host and on the incoming prion strain, so that some animal prion strains are more contagious than others or are transmissible to new species, including humans. Nor98/atypical scrapie (AS) is a prion disease of sheep and goats reported in several countries worldwide. At variance with classical scrapie (CS), AS is considered poorly contagious and is supposed to be spontaneous in origin. The zoonotic potential of AS, its strain variability and the relationships with the more contagious CS strains remain largely unknown. We characterized AS isolates from sheep and goats by transmission in ovinised transgenic mice (tg338) and in two genetic lines of bank voles, carrying either methionine (BvM) or isoleucine (BvI) at PrP residue 109. All AS isolates induced the same pathological phenotype in tg338 mice, thus proving that they encoded the same strain, irrespective of their geographical origin or source species. In bank voles, we found that the M109I polymorphism dictates the susceptibility to AS. BvI were susceptible and faithfully reproduced the AS strain, while the transmission in BvM was highly inefficient and was characterized by a conformational change towards a CS-like prion strain. Sub-passaging experiments revealed that the main strain component of AS is accompanied by minor CS-like strain components, which can be positively selected during replication in both AS-resistant or AS-susceptible animals. These findings add new clues for a better comprehension of strain selection dynamics in prion infections and have wider implications for understanding the origin of contagious prion strains, such as CS. Prions are transmissible agents responsible for fatal neurodegenerative diseases in humans and animals. Prions exist as strains, exhibiting distinct disease phenotypes and transmission properties. Some prion diseases occur sporadically with a supposedly spontaneous origin, while others are contagious and give rise to epidemics, mainly in animals. We investigated the strain properties of Nor98/atypical scrapie (AS), a sporadic prion disease of small ruminants. We found that AS was faithfully reproduced not only in a homologous context, i.e. ovinised transgenic mice, but also in an unrelated animal species, the bank vole. A natural polymorphism of the bank vole prion protein, coding for methionine (BvM) or for isoleucine (BvI) at codon 109, dictated the susceptibility of voles to AS, with BvI being highly susceptible to AS and BvM rather resistant. Most importantly, the M109I polymorphism mediated the emergence of AS-derived mutant prion strains resembling classical scrapie (CS), a contagious prion disease. Finally, by sub-passages in bank voles, we found that the main strain component of AS is accompanied by minor CS-like strain components, which can be positively selected during replication in both AS-resistant or AS-susceptible vole lines. These findings allow a better understanding of strain selection dynamics and suggest a link between sporadic and contagious prion diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Angelo Di Bari
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D’Agostino
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Geraldina Riccardi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Marcon
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Gabriele Vaccari
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Chiappini
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Carta M, Aguzzi A. Molecular foundations of prion strain diversity. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 72:22-31. [PMID: 34416480 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Despite being caused by a single protein, prion diseases are strikingly heterogenous. Individual prion variants, known as strains, possess distinct biochemical properties, form aggregates with characteristic morphologies and preferentially seed certain brain regions, causing markedly different disease phenotypes. Strain diversity is determined by protein structure, post-translational modifications and the presence of extracellular matrix components, with single amino acid substitutions or altered protein glycosylation exerting dramatic effects. Here, we review recent advances in the study of prion strains and discuss how a deeper knowledge of the molecular origins of strain heterogeneity is providing a foundation for the development of anti-prion therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manfredi Carta
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zurich, University of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adriano Aguzzi
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zurich, University of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Duque Velásquez C, Kim C, Haldiman T, Kim C, Herbst A, Aiken J, Safar JG, McKenzie D. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) prion strains evolve via adaptive diversification of conformers in hosts expressing prion protein polymorphisms. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:4985-5001. [PMID: 32111742 PMCID: PMC7152757 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.012546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is caused by an unknown spectrum of prions and has become enzootic in populations of cervid species that express cellular prion protein (PrPC) molecules varying in amino acid composition. These PrPC polymorphisms can affect prion transmission, disease progression, neuropathology, and emergence of new prion strains, but the mechanistic steps in prion evolution are not understood. Here, using conformation-dependent immunoassay, conformation stability assay, and protein-misfolding cyclic amplification, we monitored the conformational and phenotypic characteristics of CWD prions passaged through deer and transgenic mice expressing different cervid PrPC polymorphisms. We observed that transmission through hosts with distinct PrPC sequences diversifies the PrPCWD conformations and causes a shift toward oligomers with defined structural organization, replication rate, and host range. When passaged in host environments that restrict prion replication, distinct co-existing PrPCWD conformers underwent competitive selection, stabilizing a new prion strain. Nonadaptive conformers exhibited unstable replication and accumulated only to low levels. These results suggest a continuously evolving diversity of CWD conformers and imply a critical interplay between CWD prion plasticity and PrPC polymorphisms during prion strain evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Camilo Duque Velásquez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
| | - Chae Kim
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Tracy Haldiman
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Chiye Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
| | - Allen Herbst
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Judd Aiken
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Jiri G Safar
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ziaunys M, Sneideris T, Smirnovas V. Formation of distinct prion protein amyloid fibrils under identical experimental conditions. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4572. [PMID: 32165692 PMCID: PMC7067779 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61663-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein aggregation into amyloid fibrils is linked to multiple neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A better understanding of the way these aggregates form is vital for the development of drugs. A large detriment to amyloid research is the ability of amyloidogenic proteins to spontaneously aggregate into multiple structurally distinct fibrils (strains) with different stability and seeding properties. In this work we show that prion proteins are capable of forming more than one type of fibril under the exact same conditions by assessing their Thioflavin T (ThT) binding ability, morphology, secondary structure, stability and seeding potential.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mantas Ziaunys
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Tomas Sneideris
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Vytautas Smirnovas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Moore J, Tatum T, Hwang S, Vrentas C, West Greenlee MH, Kong Q, Nicholson E, Greenlee J. Novel Strain of the Chronic Wasting Disease Agent Isolated From Experimentally Inoculated Elk With LL132 Prion Protein. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3148. [PMID: 32081886 PMCID: PMC7035384 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59819-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, progressive disease that affects cervid species, including Rocky mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). There are 2 allelic variants in the elk prion protein gene: L132 (leucine) and M132 (methionine). Following experimental oral challenge with the CWD agent incubation periods are longest in LL132 elk, intermediate in ML132 elk, and shortest in MM132 elk. In order to ascertain whether such CWD-infected elk carry distinct prion strains, groups of Tg12 mice that express M132 elk prion protein were inoculated intracranially with brain homogenate from individual CWD-infected elk of various genotypes (LL132, LM132, or MM132). Brain samples were examined for microscopic changes and assessment of the biochemical properties of disease-associated prion protein (PrPSc). On first passage, mice challenged with LL132 elk inoculum had prolonged incubation periods and greater PrPSc fibril stability compared to mice challenged with MM132 or LM132 inoculum. On second passage, relative incubation periods, western blot profiles, and neuropathology were maintained. These results suggest that the CWD prion isolated from LL132 elk is a novel CWD strain and that M132 PrPC is able to propagate some biophysical properties of the L132 PrPSc conformation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jo Moore
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, 50010, USA
| | - Trudy Tatum
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, 50010, USA
| | - Soyoun Hwang
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, 50010, USA
| | - Catherine Vrentas
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, 50010, USA
| | | | - Qingzhong Kong
- Case Western Reserve University, Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Cleveland, 44106, USA
| | - Eric Nicholson
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, 50010, USA
| | - Justin Greenlee
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, 50010, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Rossi M, Baiardi S, Parchi P. Understanding Prion Strains: Evidence from Studies of the Disease Forms Affecting Humans. Viruses 2019; 11:E309. [PMID: 30934971 PMCID: PMC6520670 DOI: 10.3390/v11040309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a unique group of rare neurodegenerative disorders characterized by tissue deposition of heterogeneous aggregates of abnormally folded protease-resistant prion protein (PrPSc), a broad spectrum of disease phenotypes and a variable efficiency of disease propagation in vivo. The dominant clinicopathological phenotypes of human prion disease include Creutzfeldt⁻Jakob disease, fatal insomnia, variably protease-sensitive prionopathy, and Gerstmann⁻Sträussler⁻Scheinker disease. Prion disease propagation into susceptible hosts led to the isolation and characterization of prion strains, initially operatively defined as "isolates" causing diseases with distinctive characteristics, such as the incubation period, the pattern of PrPSc distribution, and the regional severity of neuropathological changes after injection into syngeneic hosts. More recently, the structural basis of prion strains has been linked to amyloid polymorphs (i.e., variant amyloid protein conformations) and the concept extended to all protein amyloids showing polymorphic structures and some evidence of in vivo or in vitro propagation by seeding. Despite the significant advances, however, the link between amyloid structure and disease is not understood in many instances. Here we reviewed the most significant contributions of human prion disease studies to current knowledge of the molecular basis of phenotypic variability and the prion strain phenomenon and underlined the unsolved issues from the human disease perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcello Rossi
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna 40138, Italy.
- IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna 40139, Italy.
| | - Simone Baiardi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna 40123, Italy.
| | - Piero Parchi
- IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna 40139, Italy.
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna 40138, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Baiardi S, Rossi M, Capellari S, Parchi P. Recent advances in the histo-molecular pathology of human prion disease. Brain Pathol 2019; 29:278-300. [PMID: 30588685 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.12695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are progressive neurodegenerative disorders affecting humans and other mammalian species. The term prion, originally put forward to propose the concept that a protein could be infectious, refers to PrPSc , a misfolded isoform of the cellular prion protein (PrPC ) that represents the pathogenetic hallmark of these disorders. The discovery that other proteins characterized by misfolding and seeded aggregation can spread from cell to cell, similarly to PrPSc , has increased interest in prion diseases. Among neurodegenerative disorders, however, prion diseases distinguish themselves for the broader phenotypic spectrum, the fastest disease progression and the existence of infectious forms that can be transmitted through the exposure to diseased tissues via ingestion, injection or transplantation. The main clinicopathological phenotypes of human prion disease include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, by far the most common, fatal insomnia, variably protease-sensitive prionopathy, and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease. However, clinicopathological manifestations extend even beyond those predicted by this classification. Because of their transmissibility, the phenotypic diversity of prion diseases can also be propagated into syngenic hosts as prion strains with distinct characteristics, such as incubation period, pattern of PrPSc distribution and regional severity of histopathological changes in the brain. Increasing evidence indicates that different PrPSc conformers, forming distinct ordered aggregates, encipher the phenotypic variants related to prion strains. In this review, we summarize the most recent advances concerning the histo-molecular pathology of human prion disease focusing on the phenotypic spectrum of the disease including co-pathologies, the characterization of prion strains by experimental transmission and their correlation with the physicochemical properties of PrPSc aggregates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simone Baiardi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marcello Rossi
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sabina Capellari
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Piero Parchi
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Hwang S, Greenlee JJ, Vance NM, Nicholson EM. Source genotype influence on cross species transmission of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies evaluated by RT-QuIC. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209106. [PMID: 30571737 PMCID: PMC6301698 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Scrapie is a naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of sheep and goats. This fatal neurodegenerative disease is caused by misfolding of the cellular prion protein to pathogenic β-rich conformers (PrPSc) that accumulate in higher order structures of the brain and other tissues. This conversion has been used for in vitro assays including serial protein misfolding amplification and real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC). RT-QuIC can be used for the detection of prions and for strain discrimination in a variety of biological tissues from humans and animals. In this study, we evaluated how PrPSc isolated from sheep of different genotypes after inoculation with the scrapie agent influence the fibril formation in vitro using RT-QuIC. We found that reaction mixtures seeded with PrPSc from genotype VRQ/VRQ sheep brains have better conversion efficiency with 132M elk substrate compared to reactions seeded with PrPSc from the brains of sheep with the ARQ/ARQ genotype no matter which strain of scrapie was used to seed the reactions. We also inoculated transgenic mice expressing 132M elk PRNP (Tg12) with the scrapie agent from different genotypes of sheep to compare with our RT-QuIC results. The bioassays support the data showing a significantly shorter incubation period for inoculum from VRQ/VRQ sheep when compared to inoculum from ARQ/ARQ sheep. Thus, we conclude that the genotype of both source and recipient can strongly influence transmission.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Soyoun Hwang
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Justin J. Greenlee
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Natalie M. Vance
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Eric M. Nicholson
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Nemani SK, Notari S, Cali I, Alvarez VE, Kofskey D, Cohen M, Stern RA, Appleby B, Abrams J, Schonberger L, McKee A, Gambetti P. Co-occurrence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and prion disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2018; 6:140. [PMID: 30563563 PMCID: PMC6299534 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-018-0643-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2018] [Accepted: 12/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive traumatic brain injury (TBI). CTE is generally found in athletes participating in contact sports and military personnel exposed to explosive blasts but can also affect civilians. Clinically and pathologically, CTE overlaps with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a term mostly used in a clinical context. The histopathology of CTE is defined by the deposition of hyperphosphorylated tau protein in neurons and astrocytes preferentially with perivascular distribution and at the depths of the cortical sulci. In addition to hyperphosphorylated tau, other pathologic proteins are deposited in CTE, including amyloid β (Aβ), transactive response (TAR) DNA-binding protein 43 kDa (TDP-43) and α-synuclein. However, the coexistence of prion disease in CTE has not been observed. We report three cases of histopathologically validated CTE with co-existing sporadic prion disease. Two were identified in a cohort of 55 pathologically verified cases of CTE submitted to the CTE Center of Boston University. One was identified among brain tissues submitted to the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center of Case Western Reserve University. The histopathological phenotype and properties of the abnormal, disease-related prion protein (PrPD) of the three CTE cases were examined using lesion profile, immunohistochemistry, electrophoresis and conformational tests. Subjects with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) matched for age, PrP genotype and PrPD type were used as controls. The histopathology phenotype and PrPD properties of the three CTE subjects showed no significant differences from their respective sCJD controls suggesting that recurring neurotrauma or coexisting CTE pathology did not detectably impact the prion disease phenotype and PrPD conformational characteristics. Based on the reported incidence of sporadic prion disease, the detection of two cases with sCJD in the CTE Center series of 55 CTE cases by chance alone would be highly unlikely (p = 8.93*10- 6). Nevertheless, examination of a larger cohort of CTE is required to conclusively determine whether the risk of CJD is significantly increased in patients with CTE.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Satish Kumar Nemani
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Silvio Notari
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
| | - Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Victor E Alvarez
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
- Department of Neurology and Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Alzheimer's Disease Center and CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Diane Kofskey
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Mark Cohen
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Robert A Stern
- Alzheimer's Disease Center and CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Brian Appleby
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Joseph Abrams
- Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA
| | - Lawrence Schonberger
- Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA
| | - Ann McKee
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
- Department of Neurology and Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Alzheimer's Disease Center and CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Gielbert A, Thorne JK, Plater JM, Thorne L, Griffiths PC, Simmons MM, Cassar CA. Molecular characterisation of atypical BSE prions by mass spectrometry and changes following transmission to sheep and transgenic mouse models. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206505. [PMID: 30408075 PMCID: PMC6224059 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 10/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The prion hypothesis proposes a causal relationship between the misfolded prion protein (PrPSc) molecular entity and the disease transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Variations in the conformation of PrPSc are associated with different forms of TSE and different risks to animal and human health. Since the discovery of atypical forms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in 2003, scientists have progressed the molecular characterisation of the associated PrPSc in order to better understand these risks, both in cattle as the natural host and following experimental transmission to other species. Here we report the development of a mass spectrometry based assay for molecular characterisation of bovine proteinase K (PK) treated PrPSc (PrPres) by quantitative identification of its N-terminal amino acid profiles (N-TAAPs) and tryptic peptides. We have applied the assay to classical, H-type and L-type BSE prions purified from cattle, transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the bovine (Tg110 and Tg1896) or ovine (TgEM16) prion protein gene, and sheep brain. We determined that, for classical BSE in cattle, the G96 N-terminal cleavage site dominated, while the range of cleavage sites was wider following transmission to Tg mice and sheep. For L-BSE in cattle and Tg bovinised mice, a C-terminal shift was identified in the N-TAAP distribution compared to classical BSE, consistent with observations by Western blot (WB). For L-BSE transmitted to sheep, both N-TAAP and tryptic peptide profiles were found to be changed compared to cattle, but less so following transmission to Tg ovinised mice. Relative abundances of aglycosyl peptides were found to be significantly different between the atypical BSE forms in cattle as well as in other hosts. The enhanced resolution provided by molecular analysis of PrPres using mass spectrometry has improved insight into the molecular changes following transmission of atypical BSE to other species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Gielbert
- Animal and Plant Health Agency-Weybridge, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Jemma K. Thorne
- Animal and Plant Health Agency-Weybridge, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Jane M. Plater
- Animal and Plant Health Agency-Weybridge, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Leigh Thorne
- Animal and Plant Health Agency-Weybridge, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Peter C. Griffiths
- Animal and Plant Health Agency-Weybridge, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Marion M. Simmons
- Animal and Plant Health Agency-Weybridge, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Claire A. Cassar
- Animal and Plant Health Agency-Weybridge, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Abstract
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the most common human prion disease, is generally regarded as a spontaneous neurodegenerative illness, arising either from a spontaneous PRNP somatic mutation or a stochastic PrP structural change. Alternatively, the possibility of an infection from animals or other source remains to be completely ruled out. Sporadic CJD is clinically characterized by rapidly progressive dementia with ataxia, myoclonus, or other neurologic signs and, neuropathologically, by the presence of aggregates of abnormal prion protein, spongiform change, neuronal loss, and gliosis. Despite these common features the disease shows a wide phenotypic variability which was recognized since its early descriptions. In the late 1990s the identification of key molecular determinants of phenotypic expression and the availability of a large series of neuropathologically verified cases led to the characterization of definite clinicopathologic and molecular disease subtypes and to an internationally recognized disease classification. By showing that these disease subtypes correspond to specific agent strain-host genotype combinations, recent transmission studies have confirmed the biologic basis of this classification. The introduction of brain magnetic resonance imaging techniques such as fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and diffusion-weighted imaging sequences and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker assays for the detection of brain-derived proteins as well as real-time quaking-induced conversion assay, allowing the specific detection of prions in accessible biologic fluids and tissues, has significantly contributed to the improved accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of sporadic CJD in recent years.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Georg-August-University, Goettingen, Germany.
| | - Piero Parchi
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna and IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Moore SJ, Vrentas CE, Hwang S, West Greenlee MH, Nicholson EM, Greenlee JJ. Pathologic and biochemical characterization of PrP Sc from elk with PRNP polymorphisms at codon 132 after experimental infection with the chronic wasting disease agent. BMC Vet Res 2018. [PMID: 29523205 PMCID: PMC5845354 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-018-1400-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) prion protein gene (PRNP) is polymorphic at codon 132, with leucine (L132) and methionine (M132) allelic variants present in the population. In elk experimentally inoculated with the chronic wasting disease (CWD) agent, different incubation periods are associated with PRNP genotype: LL132 elk survive the longest, LM132 elk are intermediate, and MM132 elk the shortest. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential mechanisms underlying variations in incubation period in elk of different prion protein genotypes. Elk calves of three PRNP genotypes (n = 2 MM132, n = 2 LM132, n = 4 LL132) were orally inoculated with brain homogenate from elk clinically affected with CWD. RESULTS Elk with longer incubation periods accumulated relatively less PrPSc in the brain than elk with shorter incubation periods. PrPSc accumulation in LM132 and MM132 elk was primarily neuropil-associated while glial-associated immunoreactivity was prominent in LL132 elk. The fibril stability of PrPSc from MM132 and LM132 elk were similar to each other and less stable than that from LL132 elk. Real-time quaking induced conversion assays (RT-QuIC) revealed differences in the ability of PrPSc seed from elk of different genotypes to convert recombinant 132 M or 132 L substrate. CONCLUSIONS This study provides further evidence of the importance of PRNP genotype in the pathogenesis of CWD of elk. The longer incubation periods observed in LL132 elk are associated with PrPSc that is more stable and relatively less abundant at the time of clinical disease. The biochemical properties of PrPSc from MM132 and LM132 elk are similar to each other and different to PrPSc from LL132 elk. The shorter incubation periods in MM132 compared to LM132 elk may be the result of genotype-dependent differences in the efficiency of propagation of PrPSc moieties present in the inoculum. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which the polymorphisms at codon 132 in elk PRNP influence disease pathogenesis will help to improve control of CWD in captive and free-ranging elk populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S Jo Moore
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, USA
| | - Catherine E Vrentas
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, USA
| | - Soyoun Hwang
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, USA
| | - M Heather West Greenlee
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, USA
| | - Eric M Nicholson
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, USA
| | - Justin J Greenlee
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Hnasko R, Lin A, McGarvey J, Stanker L. Enhanced detection of infectious prions by direct ELISA from the brains of asymptomatic animals using DRM2-118 monoclonal antibody and Gdn-HCl. J Immunol Methods 2018; 456:38-43. [PMID: 29462604 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2018.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Revised: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In this report we describe the use of a novel anti-prion monoclonal antibody (DRM2-118) for the direct detection of infectious prions by ELISA. Epitope mapping using overlapping hamster (SHa) prion peptides indicates DRM2-118 binding occurs between residues 93-100 and at the 310-helix (residues 163-170) between alpha helix-A and -B. This antibody shows broad species binding to endogenous prions from brain homogenates and corresponding recombinant prion proteins. To evaluate the performance of this MAb for the detection of prion proteins we performed an animal time course and evaluated prion detection from both crude brain homogenates and lipid raft fractions (DRM) by direct ELISA. Prion detection was significantly enhanced by the addition of the chaotropic guanidine-HCl (Gdn-HCl) during protein immobilization with detection of PK-resistant prion from asymptomatic animal brains at (45-DPI) and from lipid rafts at (24-DPI). Our data demonstrates enhanced prion detection from brain lipid rafts of asymptomatic animals by a simple direct ELISA using the DRM2-118 MAb combined with Gdn-HCl.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert Hnasko
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Research Service (ARS), Pacific West Area (PWA), Western Regional Research Center (WRRC), Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit (PSM), 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, United States.
| | - Alice Lin
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Research Service (ARS), Pacific West Area (PWA), Western Regional Research Center (WRRC), Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit (PSM), 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, United States
| | - Jeffery McGarvey
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Research Service (ARS), Pacific West Area (PWA), Western Regional Research Center (WRRC), Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention (FTDP), 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, United States
| | - Larry Stanker
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Research Service (ARS), Pacific West Area (PWA), Western Regional Research Center (WRRC), Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention (FTDP), 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, United States
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Abstract
Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and sporadic fatal insomnia (sFI), or thalamic form of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease MM2 (sCJDMM2T), are prion diseases originally named and characterized in 1992 and 1999, respectively. FFI is genetically determined and linked to a D178N mutation coupled with the M129 genotype in the prion protein gene (PRNP) at chromosome 20. sFI is a phenocopy of FFI and likely its sporadic form. Both diseases are primarily characterized by progressive sleep impairment, disturbances of autonomic nervous system, and motor signs associated with severe loss of nerve cells in medial thalamic nuclei. Both diseases harbor an abnormal disease-associated prion protein isoform, resistant to proteases with relative mass of 19 kDa identified as resPrPTSE type 2. To date at least 70 kindreds affected by FFI with 198 members and 18 unrelated carriers along with 25 typical cases of sFI have been published. The D178N-129M mutation is thought to cause FFI by destabilizing the mutated prion protein and facilitating its conversion to PrPTSE. The thalamus is the brain region first affected. A similar mechanism triggered spontaneously may underlie sFI.
Collapse
|
17
|
Self-propagating, protease-resistant, recombinant prion protein conformers with or without in vivo pathogenicity. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006491. [PMID: 28704563 PMCID: PMC5524416 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions, characterized by self-propagating protease-resistant prion protein (PrP) conformations, are agents causing prion disease. Recent studies generated several such self-propagating protease-resistant recombinant PrP (rPrP-res) conformers. While some cause prion disease, others fail to induce any pathology. Here we showed that although distinctly different, the pathogenic and non-pathogenic rPrP-res conformers were similarly recognized by a group of conformational antibodies against prions and shared a similar guanidine hydrochloride denaturation profile, suggesting a similar overall architecture. Interestingly, two independently generated non-pathogenic rPrP-res were almost identical, indicating that the particular rPrP-res resulted from cofactor-guided PrP misfolding, rather than stochastic PrP aggregation. Consistent with the notion that cofactors influence rPrP-res conformation, the propagation of all rPrP-res formed with phosphatidylglycerol/RNA was cofactor-dependent, which is different from rPrP-res generated with a single cofactor, phosphatidylethanolamine. Unexpectedly, despite the dramatic difference in disease-causing capability, RT-QuIC assays detected large increases in seeding activity in both pathogenic and non-pathogenic rPrP-res inoculated mice, indicating that the non-pathogenic rPrP-res is not completely inert in vivo. Together, our study supported a role of cofactors in guiding PrP misfolding, indicated that relatively small structural features determine rPrP-res’ pathogenicity, and revealed that the in vivo seeding ability of rPrP-res does not necessarily result in pathogenicity. Many neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Prion disease, are caused by misfolded proteins that can self-propagate in vivo and in vitro. Misfolded self-replicating recombinant prion protein (PrP) conformers have been generated in vitro with defined cofactors, some of which are highly infectious and cause bona fide prion diseases, while others completely fail to induce any pathology. Here we compare these misfolded recombinant PrP conformers and show that the non-pathogenic misfolded recombinant PrP is not completely inert in vivo. We also found that the pathogenic and non-pathogenic recombinant PrP conformers share a similar overall architecture. Importantly, our study clearly shows that in vivo seeded spread of misfolded conformation does not necessarily lead to pathogenic change or cause disease. These findings not only are important for understanding the molecular basis for prion infectivity, but also may have important implications for the “prion-like” spread of misfolded proteins in other neurodegenerative diseases.
Collapse
|
18
|
Prion Strain Characterization of a Novel Subtype of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. J Virol 2017; 91:JVI.02390-16. [PMID: 28298604 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02390-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2007, we reported a patient with an atypical form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) heterozygous for methionine-valine (MV) at codon 129 who showed a novel pathological prion protein (PrPTSE) conformation with an atypical glycoform (AG) profile and intraneuronal PrP deposition. In the present study, we further characterize the conformational properties of this pathological prion protein (PrPTSE MVAG), showing that PrPTSE MVAG is composed of multiple conformers with biochemical properties distinct from those of PrPTSE type 1 and type 2 of MV sporadic CJD (sCJD). Experimental transmission of CJD-MVAG to bank voles and gene-targeted transgenic mice carrying the human prion protein gene (TgHu mice) showed unique transmission rates, survival times, neuropathological changes, PrPTSE deposition patterns, and PrPTSE glycotypes that are distinct from those of sCJD-MV1 and sCJD-MV2. These biochemical and experimental data suggest the presence of a novel prion strain in CJD-MVAGIMPORTANCE Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is caused by the misfolding of the cellular prion protein, which assumes two different major conformations (type 1 and type 2) and, together with the methionine/valine polymorphic codon 129 of the prion protein gene, contribute to the occurrence of distinct clinical-pathological phenotypes. Inoculation in laboratory rodents of brain tissues from the six possible combinations of pathological prion protein types with codon 129 genotypes results in the identification of 3 or 4 strains of prions. We report on the identification of a novel strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease isolated from a patient who carried an abnormally glycosylated pathological prion protein. This novel strain has unique biochemical characteristics, does not transmit to humanized transgenic mice, and shows exclusive transmission properties in bank voles. The identification of a novel human prion strain improves our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and of possible mechanisms of prion transmission.
Collapse
|
19
|
Cracco L, Notari S, Cali I, Sy MS, Chen SG, Cohen ML, Ghetti B, Appleby BS, Zou WQ, Caughey B, Safar JG, Gambetti P. Novel strain properties distinguishing sporadic prion diseases sharing prion protein genotype and prion type. Sci Rep 2017; 7:38280. [PMID: 28091514 PMCID: PMC5238384 DOI: 10.1038/srep38280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2016] [Accepted: 11/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In most human sporadic prion diseases the phenotype is consistently associated with specific pairings of the genotype at codon 129 of the prion protein gene and conformational properties of the scrapie PrP (PrPSc) grossly identified types 1 and 2. This association suggests that the 129 genotype favours the selection of a distinct strain that in turn determines the phenotype. However, this mechanism cannot play a role in the phenotype determination of sporadic fatal insomnia (sFI) and a subtype of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) identified as sCJDMM2, which share 129 MM genotype and PrPSc type 2 but are associated with quite distinct phenotypes. Our detailed comparative study of the PrPSc conformers has revealed major differences between the two diseases, which preferentially involve the PrPSc component that is sensitive to digestion with proteases (senPrPSc) and to a lesser extent the resistant component (resPrPSc). We conclude that these variations are consistent with two distinct strains in sFI and sCJDMM2, and that the rarer sFI is the result of a variant strain selection pathway that might be favoured by a different brain site of initial PrPSc formation in the two diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Cracco
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Silvio Notari
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Man-Sun Sy
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Shu G Chen
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Mark L Cohen
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.,National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Bernardino Ghetti
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Division of Neuropathology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Brian S Appleby
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.,National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.,Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.,Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Wen-Quan Zou
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.,National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.,Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, NIH/NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Jiri G Safar
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.,National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.,Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Cohen M, Appleby B, Safar JG. Distinct prion-like strains of amyloid beta implicated in phenotypic diversity of Alzheimer's disease. Prion 2017; 10:9-17. [PMID: 26809345 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2015.1123371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Vast evidence on human prions demonstrates that variable disease phenotypes, rates of propagation, and targeting of distinct brain structures are determined by unique conformers (strains) of pathogenic prion protein (PrP(Sc)). Recent progress in the development of advanced biophysical tools that inventory structural characteristics of amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brain cortex of phenotypically diverse Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, revealed unique spectrum of oligomeric particles in the cortex of rapidly progressive cases, implicating these structures in variable rates of propagation in the brain, and in distict disease manifestation. Since only ∼30% of phenotypic diversity of AD can be explained by polymorphisms in risk genes, these and transgenic bioassay data argue that structurally distinct Aβ particles play a major role in the diverse pathogenesis of AD, and may behave as distinct prion-like strains encoding diverse phenotypes. From these observations and our growing understanding of prions, there is a critical need for new strain-specific diagnostic strategies for misfolded proteins causing these elusive disorders. Since targeted drug therapy can induce mutation and evolution of prions into new strains, effective treatments of AD will require drugs that enhance clearance of pathogenic conformers, reduce the precursor protein, or inhibit the conversion of precursors into prion-like states.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark Cohen
- a National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland , OH , USA.,b Department of Pathology , Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland , OH , USA
| | - Brian Appleby
- a National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland , OH , USA.,c Department of Neurology , Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland , OH , USA.,d Department of Psychiatry , Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland , OH , USA
| | - Jiri G Safar
- a National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland , OH , USA.,b Department of Pathology , Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland , OH , USA.,c Department of Neurology , Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland , OH , USA
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Vanni I, Migliore S, Cosseddu GM, Di Bari MA, Pirisinu L, D’Agostino C, Riccardi G, Agrimi U, Nonno R. Isolation of a Defective Prion Mutant from Natural Scrapie. PLoS Pathog 2016; 12:e1006016. [PMID: 27880822 PMCID: PMC5120856 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 10/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely known that prion strains can mutate in response to modification of the replication environment and we have recently reported that prion mutations can occur in vitro during amplification of vole-adapted prions by Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification on bank vole substrate (bvPMCA). Here we exploited the high efficiency of prion replication by bvPMCA to study the in vitro propagation of natural scrapie isolates. Although in vitro vole-adapted PrPSc conformers were usually similar to the sheep counterpart, we repeatedly isolated a PrPSc mutant exclusively when starting from extremely diluted seeds of a single sheep isolate. The mutant and faithful PrPSc conformers showed to be efficiently autocatalytic in vitro and were characterized by different PrP protease resistant cores, spanning aa ∼155–231 and ∼80–231 respectively, and by different conformational stabilities. The two conformers could thus be seen as different bona fide PrPSc types, putatively accounting for prion populations with different biological properties. Indeed, once inoculated in bank vole the faithful conformer was competent for in vivo replication while the mutant was unable to infect voles, de facto behaving like a defective prion mutant. Overall, our findings confirm that prions can adapt and evolve in the new replication environments and that the starting population size can affect their evolutionary landscape, at least in vitro. Furthermore, we report the first example of “authentic” defective prion mutant, composed of brain-derived PrPC and originating from a natural scrapie isolate. Our results clearly indicate that the defective mutant lacks of some structural characteristics, that presumably involve the central region ∼90–155, critical for infectivity but not for in vitro replication. Finally, we propose a molecular mechanism able to account for the discordant in vitro and in vivo behavior, suggesting possible new paths for investigating the molecular bases of prion infectivity. Prions are unique infectious agents, consisting of PrPSc, a self-propagating aggregated conformer of the host-encoded prion protein PrPC. Despite the absence of any nucleic acid information, prions exist as distinct strains that share the same amino acid sequence but differ in their conformation. Moreover, prions can mutate and are thus heterogeneous populations able to evolve and adapt to new replication environments. During in vitro amplification of sheep scrapie, we found that a prion mutant could be obtained from one natural isolate. The prion mutant identified was characterized in vivo and in vitro, showing unusual biochemical and biological features: a smaller than usual C-terminal proteinase resistant core of PrPSc, which spans aa ∼155–231, and the inability to propagate in vivo despite an efficient autocatalytic replication in vitro. With such a signature, we denoted the mutant as a “defective” prion mutant. We thus postulate a new hypothesis for the discrepancy between the in vitro and in vivo behavior of the defective mutant and suggest that the central PrPSc domain ∼90–160 might have a key role in prion replication. This work provides important new insights into the mechanism underpinning prion replication and has numerous implications for understanding the molecular requirements indispensable for prion infectivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Sergio Migliore
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Sicily "A. Mirri", Palermo, Italy
| | - Gian Mario Cosseddu
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy
| | - Michele Angelo Di Bari
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D’Agostino
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Geraldina Riccardi
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
PrPC Governs Susceptibility to Prion Strains in Bank Vole, While Other Host Factors Modulate Strain Features. J Virol 2016; 90:10660-10669. [PMID: 27654300 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01592-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2016] [Accepted: 09/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bank vole is a rodent species that shows differential susceptibility to the experimental transmission of different prion strains. In this work, the transmission features of a panel of diverse prions with distinct origins were assayed both in bank vole expressing methionine at codon 109 (Bv109M) and in transgenic mice expressing physiological levels of bank vole PrPC (the BvPrP-Tg407 mouse line). This work is the first systematic comparison of the transmission features of a collection of prion isolates, representing a panel of diverse prion strains, in a transgenic-mouse model and in its natural counterpart. The results showed very similar transmission properties in both the natural species and the transgenic-mouse model, demonstrating the key role of the PrP amino acid sequence in prion transmission susceptibility. However, differences in the PrPSc types propagated by Bv109M and BvPrP-Tg407 suggest that host factors other than PrPC modulate prion strain features. IMPORTANCE The differential susceptibility of bank voles to prion strains can be modeled in transgenic mice, suggesting that this selective susceptibility is controlled by the vole PrP sequence alone rather than by other species-specific factors. Differences in the phenotypes observed after prion transmissions in bank voles and in the transgenic mice suggest that host factors other than the PrPC sequence may affect the selection of the substrain replicating in the animal model.
Collapse
|
23
|
Analysis of Conformational Stability of Abnormal Prion Protein Aggregates across the Spectrum of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Prions. J Virol 2016; 90:6244-6254. [PMID: 27122583 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00144-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED The wide phenotypic variability of prion diseases is thought to depend on the interaction of a host genotype with prion strains that have self-perpetuating biological properties enciphered in distinct conformations of the misfolded prion protein PrP(Sc) This concept is largely based on indirect approaches studying the effect of proteases or denaturing agents on the physicochemical properties of PrP(Sc) aggregates. Furthermore, most data come from studies on rodent-adapted prion strains, making current understanding of the molecular basis of strains and phenotypic variability in naturally occurring diseases, especially in humans, more limited. To fill this gap, we studied the effects of guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) and heating on PrP(Sc) aggregates extracted from 60 sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and 6 variant CJD brains. While denaturation curves obtained after exposure of PrP(Sc) to increasing GdnHCl concentrations showed similar profiles among the 7 CJD types analyzed, PrP(Sc) exposure to increasing temperature revealed significantly different and type-specific responses. In particular, MM1 and VV2, the most prevalent and fast-replicating CJD types, showed stable and highly resistant PrP(Sc) aggregates, whereas VV1, a rare and slowly propagating type, revealed unstable aggregates that easily dissolved at low temperature. Taken together, our results indicate that the molecular interactions mediating the aggregation state of PrP(Sc), possibly enciphering strain diversity, are differently targeted by GdnHCl, temperature, and proteases. Furthermore, the detected positive correlation between the thermostability of PrP(Sc) aggregates and disease transmission efficiency makes inconsistent the proposed hypothesis that a decrease in conformational stability of prions results in an increase in their replication efficiency. IMPORTANCE Prion strains are defined as infectious isolates propagating distinctive phenotypic traits after transmission to syngeneic hosts. Although the molecular basis of prion strains is not fully understood, it is largely accepted that variations in prion protein conformation drive the molecular changes leading to the different phenotypes. In this study, we exposed abnormal prion protein aggregates encompassing the spectrum of human prion strains to both guanidine hydrochloride and thermal unfolding. Remarkably, while exposure to increasing temperature revealed significant strain-specific differences in the denaturation profile of the protein, treatment with guanidine hydrochloride did not. The findings suggest that thermal and chemical denaturation perturb the structure of prion protein aggregates differently. Moreover, since the most thermostable prion protein types were those associated with the most prevalent phenotypes and most rapidly and efficiently transmitting strains, the results suggest a direct correlation between strain replication efficiency and the thermostability of prion protein aggregates.
Collapse
|
24
|
Methods for Differentiating Prion Types in Food-Producing Animals. BIOLOGY 2015; 4:785-813. [PMID: 26580664 PMCID: PMC4690018 DOI: 10.3390/biology4040785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2015] [Revised: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Prions are an enigma amongst infectious disease agents as they lack a genome yet confer specific pathologies thought to be dictated mainly, if not solely, by the conformation of the disease form of the prion protein (PrPSc). Prion diseases affect humans and animals, the latter including the food-producing ruminant species cattle, sheep, goats and deer. Importantly, it has been shown that the disease agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is zoonotic, causing variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. Current diagnostic tests can distinguish different prion types and in food-producing animals these focus on the differentiation of BSE from the non-zoonotic agents. Whilst BSE cases are now rare, atypical forms of both scrapie and BSE have been reported, as well as two types of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids. Typing of animal prion isolates remains an important aspect of prion diagnosis and is now becoming more focused on identifying the range of prion types that are present in food-producing animals and also developing tests that can screen for emerging, novel prion diseases. Here, we review prion typing methodologies in light of current and emerging prion types in food-producing animals.
Collapse
|
25
|
Host Determinants of Prion Strain Diversity Independent of Prion Protein Genotype. J Virol 2015; 89:10427-41. [PMID: 26246570 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01586-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2015] [Accepted: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Phenotypic diversity in prion diseases can be specified by prion strains in which biological traits are propagated through an epigenetic mechanism mediated by distinct PrP(Sc) conformations. We investigated the role of host-dependent factors on phenotypic diversity of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in different host species that express the same prion protein gene (Prnp). Two CWD strains that have distinct biological, biochemical, and pathological features were identified in transgenic mice that express the Syrian golden hamster (SGH) Prnp. The CKY strain of CWD had a shorter incubation period than the WST strain of CWD, but after transmission to SGH, the incubation period of CKY CWD was ∼150 days longer than WST CWD. Limited proteinase K digestion revealed strain-specific PrP(Sc) polypeptide patterns that were maintained in both hosts, but the solubility and conformational stability of PrP(Sc) differed for the CWD strains in a host-dependent manner. WST CWD produced PrP(Sc) amyloid plaques in the brain of the SGH that were partially insoluble and stable at a high concentration of protein denaturant. However, in transgenic mice, PrP(Sc) from WST CWD did not assemble into plaques, was highly soluble, and had low conformational stability. Similar studies using the HY and DY strains of transmissible mink encephalopathy resulted in minor differences in prion biological and PrP(Sc) properties between transgenic mice and SGH. These findings indicate that host-specific pathways that are independent of Prnp can alter the PrP(Sc) conformation of certain prion strains, leading to changes in the biophysical properties of PrP(Sc), neuropathology, and clinical prion disease. IMPORTANCE Prions are misfolded pathogenic proteins that cause neurodegeneration in humans and animals. Transmissible prion diseases exhibit a spectrum of disease phenotypes and the basis of this diversity is encoded in the structure of the pathogenic prion protein and propagated by an epigenetic mechanism. In the present study, we investigated prion diversity in two hosts species that express the same prion protein gene. While prior reports have demonstrated that prion strain properties are stable upon infection of the same host species and prion protein genotype, our findings indicate that certain prion strains can undergo dramatic changes in biological properties that are not dependent on the prion protein. Therefore, host factors independent of the prion protein can affect prion diversity. Understanding how host pathways can modify prion disease phenotypes may provide clues on how to alter prion formation and lead to treatments for prion, and other, human neurodegenerative diseases of protein misfolding.
Collapse
|
26
|
Scientific Opinion on a request for a review of a scientific publication concerning the zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions. EFSA J 2015. [DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
|
27
|
Cohen ML, Kim C, Haldiman T, ElHag M, Mehndiratta P, Pichet T, Lissemore F, Shea M, Cohen Y, Chen W, Blevins J, Appleby BS, Surewicz K, Surewicz WK, Sajatovic M, Tatsuoka C, Zhang S, Mayo P, Butkiewicz M, Haines JL, Lerner AJ, Safar JG. Rapidly progressive Alzheimer's disease features distinct structures of amyloid-β. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 138:1009-22. [PMID: 25688081 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awv006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Genetic and environmental factors that increase the risk of late-onset Alzheimer disease are now well recognized but the cause of variable progression rates and phenotypes of sporadic Alzheimer's disease is largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the relationship between diverse structural assemblies of amyloid-β and rates of clinical decline in Alzheimer's disease. Using novel biophysical methods, we analysed levels, particle size, and conformational characteristics of amyloid-β in the posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of 48 cases of Alzheimer's disease with distinctly different disease durations, and correlated the data with APOE gene polymorphism. In both hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex we identified an extensive array of distinct amyloid-β42 particles that differ in size, display of N-terminal and C-terminal domains, and conformational stability. In contrast, amyloid-β40 present at low levels did not form a major particle with discernible size, and both N-terminal and C- terminal domains were largely exposed. Rapidly progressive Alzheimer's disease that is associated with a low frequency of APOE e4 allele demonstrates considerably expanded conformational heterogeneity of amyloid-β42, with higher levels of distinctly structured amyloid-β42 particles composed of 30-100 monomers, and fewer particles composed of < 30 monomers. The link between rapid clinical decline and levels of amyloid-β42 with distinct structural characteristics suggests that different conformers may play an important role in the pathogenesis of distinct Alzheimer's disease phenotypes. These findings indicate that Alzheimer's disease exhibits a wide spectrum of amyloid-β42 structural states and imply the existence of prion-like conformational strains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark L Cohen
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 2 National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Centre, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Chae Kim
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Tracy Haldiman
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Mohamed ElHag
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Prachi Mehndiratta
- 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Termsarasab Pichet
- 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Frances Lissemore
- 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Michelle Shea
- 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Yvonne Cohen
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 2 National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Centre, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Wei Chen
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 2 National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Centre, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Janis Blevins
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 2 National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Centre, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Brian S Appleby
- 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 4 Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Krystyna Surewicz
- 5 Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Witold K Surewicz
- 5 Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Martha Sajatovic
- 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 4 Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Curtis Tatsuoka
- 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Shulin Zhang
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Ping Mayo
- 6 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Mariusz Butkiewicz
- 6 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Jonathan L Haines
- 6 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Alan J Lerner
- 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Jiri G Safar
- 1 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 2 National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Centre, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 3 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Vanni I, Di Bari MA, Pirisinu L, D'Agostino C, Agrimi U, Nonno R. In vitro replication highlights the mutability of prions. Prion 2014; 8:154-60. [PMID: 24618479 PMCID: PMC7030905 DOI: 10.4161/pri.28468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions exist as strains, which are thought to reflect PrPSc conformational variants. Prion strains can mutate and it has been proposed that prion mutability depends on an intrinsic heterogeneity of prion populations that would behave as quasispecies. We investigated in vitro prion mutability of 2 strains, by following PrPSc variations of populations serially propagated in PMCA under constant environmental pressure. Each strain was propagated either at low dilution of the seed, i.e., by large population passages, or at limiting dilution, mimicking bottleneck events. In both strains, PrPSc conformational variants were identified only after large population passages, while repeated bottleneck events caused a rapid decline in amplification rates. These findings support the view that mutability is an intrinsic property of prions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety; Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Angelo Di Bari
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety; Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety; Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D'Agostino
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety; Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome, Italy
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety; Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome, Italy
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety; Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Prion protein misfolding, strains, and neurotoxicity: an update from studies on Mammalian prions. Int J Cell Biol 2013; 2013:910314. [PMID: 24454379 PMCID: PMC3884631 DOI: 10.1155/2013/910314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2013] [Revised: 11/10/2013] [Accepted: 11/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting humans and other mammalian species. The central event in TSE pathogenesis is the conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein, PrPC, into the aggregate, β-sheet rich, amyloidogenic form, PrPSc. Increasing evidence indicates that distinct PrPSc conformers, forming distinct ordered aggregates, can encipher the phenotypic TSE variants related to prion strains. Prion strains are TSE isolates that, after inoculation into syngenic hosts, cause disease with distinct characteristics, such as incubation period, pattern of PrPSc distribution, and regional severity of histopathological changes in the brain. In analogy with other amyloid forming proteins, PrPSc toxicity is thought to derive from the existence of various intermediate structures prior to the amyloid fiber formation and/or their specific interaction with membranes. The latter appears particularly relevant for the pathogenesis of TSEs associated with GPI-anchored PrPSc, which involves major cellular membrane distortions in neurons. In this review, we update the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying three fundamental aspects of the basic biology of prions such as the putative mechanism of prion protein conversion to the pathogenic form PrPSc and its propagation, the molecular basis of prion strains, and the mechanism of induced neurotoxicity by PrPSc aggregates.
Collapse
|
30
|
Vrentas CE, Greenlee JJ, Baron T, Caramelli M, Czub S, Nicholson EM. Stability properties of PrP(Sc) from cattle with experimental transmissible spongiform encephalopathies: use of a rapid whole homogenate, protease-free assay. BMC Vet Res 2013; 9:167. [PMID: 23945217 PMCID: PMC3751458 DOI: 10.1186/1746-6148-9-167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2013] [Accepted: 08/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), including scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids, transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME), and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), are fatal diseases of the nervous system associated with accumulation of misfolded prion protein (PrPSc). Different strains of TSEs exist, associated with different PrPSc conformations that can be probed by the stability assay, in which PrPSc is treated with increasing concentrations of the denaturant guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl). Results Here, we provide the first comprehensive application of a rapid, protease-free version of the GdnHCl stability assay to brain tissue from cattle experimentally infected with various TSE isolates. Consistent with previous findings from a single Japanese isolate, the L-type isolates of BSE are not distinguishable from classical BSE in this assay. In contrast, H-type isolates of BSE, including our unique isolate of E211K BSE, exhibit higher stability than classical BSE, suggesting that its increased protection against protease digestion at the BSE N-terminus is associated with a higher stability in GdnHCl. While the difference in stability in our version of the assay is likely not large enough for effective use in a diagnostic laboratory setting, the use of alternative experimental conditions may enhance this effect. TSEs from other natural host species that have been passaged in cattle, including CWD and TME, were not distinguishable from classical BSE, while isolates of cattle passaged scrapie exhibited a slight increase in stability as compared to classical BSE. Conclusions These results suggest that the core of PrPSc, as probed in this assay, has similar stability properties among cattle-passaged TSE isolates and that the conformational differences that lead to changes in the proteinase K cleavage site do not cause large changes in the stability of PrPSc from TSE-affected cattle. However, the stability differences observed here will provide a basis of comparison for new isolates of atypical BSE observed in the future and in other geographic locations, especially in the case of H-type BSE.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E Vrentas
- Virus and Prion Disease Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA 50010, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
31
|
Biochemical characterization of prion strains in bank voles. Pathogens 2013; 2:446-56. [PMID: 25437201 PMCID: PMC4235696 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens2030446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2013] [Revised: 06/25/2013] [Accepted: 06/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions exist as different strains exhibiting distinct disease phenotypes. Currently, the identification of prion strains is still based on biological strain typing in rodents. However, it has been shown that prion strains may be associated with distinct PrPSc biochemical types. Taking advantage of the availability of several prion strains adapted to a novel rodent model, the bank vole, we investigated if any prion strain was actually associated with distinctive PrPSc biochemical characteristics and if it was possible to univocally identify strains through PrPSc biochemical phenotypes. We selected six different vole-adapted strains (three human-derived and three animal-derived) and analyzed PrPSc from individual voles by epitope mapping of protease resistant core of PrPSc (PrPres) and by conformational stability and solubility assay. Overall, we discriminated five out of six prion strains, while two different scrapie strains showed identical PrPSc types. Our results suggest that the biochemical strain typing approach here proposed was highly discriminative, although by itself it did not allow us to identify all prion strains analyzed.
Collapse
|
32
|
Pirisinu L, Nonno R, Esposito E, Benestad SL, Gambetti P, Agrimi U, Zou WQ. Small ruminant nor98 prions share biochemical features with human gerstmann-sträussler-scheinker disease and variably protease-sensitive prionopathy. PLoS One 2013; 8:e66405. [PMID: 23826096 PMCID: PMC3691246 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2013] [Accepted: 05/06/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are classically characterized by the accumulation of pathological prion protein (PrPSc) with the protease resistant C-terminal fragment (PrPres) of 27–30 kDa. However, in both humans and animals, prion diseases with atypical biochemical features, characterized by PK-resistant PrP internal fragments (PrPres) cleaved at both the N and C termini, have been described. In this study we performed a detailed comparison of the biochemical features of PrPSc from atypical prion diseases including human Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS) and variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) and in small ruminant Nor98 or atypical scrapie. The kinetics of PrPres production and its cleavage sites after PK digestion were analyzed, along with the PrPSc conformational stability, using a new method able to characterize both protease-resistant and protease-sensitive PrPSc components. All these PrPSc types shared common and distinctive biochemical features compared to PrPSc from classical prion diseases such as sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and scrapie. Notwithstanding, distinct biochemical signatures based on PrPres cleavage sites and PrPSc conformational stability were identified in GSS A117V, GSS F198S, GSS P102L and VPSPr, which allowed their specific identification. Importantly, the biochemical properties of PrPSc from Nor98 and GSS P102L largely overlapped, but were distinct from the other human prions investigated. Finally, our study paves the way towards more refined comparative approaches to the characterization of prions at the animal–human interface.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail: (LP); (WQZ)
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Elena Esposito
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Department of Pathology, National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Wen-Quan Zou
- Department of Pathology, National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- * E-mail: (LP); (WQZ)
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Heterogeneity of the Abnormal Prion Protein (PrPSc) of the Chandler Scrapie Strain. Pathogens 2013; 2:92-104. [PMID: 25436883 PMCID: PMC4235706 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens2010092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2013] [Revised: 02/07/2013] [Accepted: 02/09/2013] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The pathological prion protein, PrPSc, displays various sizes of aggregates. In this study, we investigated the conformation, aggregation stability and proteinase K (PK)-sensitivity of small and large PrPSc aggregates of mouse-adapted prion strains. We showed that small PrPSc aggregates, previously thought to be PK-sensitive, are resistant to PK digestion. Furthermore, we showed that small PrPSc aggregates of the Chandler scrapie strain have greater resistance to PK digestion and aggregation-denaturation than large PrPSc aggregates of this strain. We conclude that this strain consists of heterogeneous PrPSc.
Collapse
|
34
|
Vrentas CE, Greenlee JJ, Tatum TL, Nicholson EM. Relationships between PrPSc stability and incubation time for United States scrapie isolates in a natural host system. PLoS One 2012; 7:e43060. [PMID: 22916207 PMCID: PMC3419241 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2012] [Accepted: 07/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), including scrapie in sheep (Ovis aries), are fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by the misfolding of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a â-rich conformer (PrPSc) that accumulates into higher-order structures in the brain and other tissues. Distinct strains of TSEs exist, characterized by different pathologic profiles upon passage into rodents and representing distinct conformations of PrPSc. One biochemical method of distinguishing strains is the stability of PrPSc as determined by unfolding in guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl), which is tightly and positively correlated with the incubation time of disease upon passage into mice. Here, we utilize a rapid, protease-free version of the stability assay to characterize naturally occurring scrapie samples, including a fast-acting scrapie inoculum for which incubation time is highly dependent on the amino acid at codon 136 of the prion protein. We utilize the stability methodology to identify the presence of two distinct isolates in the inoculum, and compare isolate properties to those of a host-stabilized reference scrapie isolate (NADC 13-7) in order to assess the stability/incubation time correlation in a natural host system. We demonstrate the utility of the stability methodology in characterizing TSE isolates throughout serial passage in livestock, which is applicable to a range of natural host systems, including strains of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and chronic wasting disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E. Vrentas
- National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Justin J. Greenlee
- National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Trudy L. Tatum
- National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Eric M. Nicholson
- National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Abstract
The yeast, fungal and mammalian prions determine heritable and infectious traits that are encoded in alternative conformations of proteins. They cause lethal sporadic, familial and infectious neurodegenerative conditions in man, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS), kuru, sporadic fatal insomnia (SFI) and likely variable protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr). The most prevalent of human prion diseases is sporadic (s)CJD. Recent advances in amplification and detection of prions led to considerable optimism that early and possibly preclinical diagnosis and therapy might become a reality. Although several drugs have already been tested in small numbers of sCJD patients, there is no clear evidence of any agent’s efficacy. Therefore, it remains crucial to determine the full spectrum of sCJD prion strains and the conformational features in the pathogenic human prion protein governing replication of sCJD prions. Research in this direction is essential for the rational development of diagnostic as well as therapeutic strategies. Moreover, there is growing recognition that fundamental processes involved in human prion propagation – intercellular induction of protein misfolding and seeded aggregation of misfolded host proteins – are of far wider significance. This insight leads to new avenues of research in the ever-widening spectrum of age-related human neurodegenerative diseases that are caused by protein misfolding and that pose a major challenge for healthcare.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiri G Safar
- Department of Pathology, National Prion Disease Surveillance Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Head MW, Ironside JW. The contribution of different prion protein types and host polymorphisms to clinicopathological variations in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Rev Med Virol 2012; 22:214-29. [DOI: 10.1002/rmv.725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2011] [Revised: 10/21/2011] [Accepted: 10/21/2011] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark W. Head
- The National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, School of Molecular & Clinical Medicine; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
| | - James W. Ironside
- The National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, School of Molecular & Clinical Medicine; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Kim C, Haldiman T, Cohen Y, Chen W, Blevins J, Sy MS, Cohen M, Safar JG. Protease-sensitive conformers in broad spectrum of distinct PrPSc structures in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are indicator of progression rate. PLoS Pathog 2011; 7:e1002242. [PMID: 21931554 PMCID: PMC3169556 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2011] [Accepted: 07/12/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin, range, and structure of prions causing the most common human prion disease, sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), are largely unknown. To investigate the molecular mechanism responsible for the broad phenotypic variability of sCJD, we analyzed the conformational characteristics of protease-sensitive and protease-resistant fractions of the pathogenic prion protein (PrPSc) using novel conformational methods derived from a conformation-dependent immunoassay (CDI). In 46 brains of patients homozygous for polymorphisms in the PRNP gene and exhibiting either Type 1 or Type 2 western blot pattern of the PrPSc, we identified an extensive array of PrPSc structures that differ in protease sensitivity, display of critical domains, and conformational stability. Surprisingly, in sCJD cases homozygous for methionine or valine at codon 129 of the PRNP gene, the concentration and stability of protease-sensitive conformers of PrPSc correlated with progression rate of the disease. These data indicate that sCJD brains exhibit a wide spectrum of PrPSc structural states, and accordingly argue for a broad spectrum of prion strains coding for different phenotypes. The link between disease duration, levels, and stability of protease-sensitive conformers of PrPSc suggests that these conformers play an important role in the pathogenesis of sCJD. Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is the most common human prion disease worldwide. This neurodegenerative disease, which is transmissible and invariably fatal, is characterized by the accumulation of an abnormally folded isoform (PrPSc) of a host-encoded protein (PrPC), predominantly in the brain. Most researchers believe that PrPSc is the infectious agent and five or six subtypes of sCJD have been identified. Whether or not these subtypes represent distinct strains of sCJD prions is debated in the context of the extraordinary variability of sCJD phenotypes, frequent co-occurrence of different PrPSc fragments in the same brain, and the fact that up to 90% of protease-sensitive PrPSc eludes the conventional analysis because it is destroyed by protease treatment. Using novel conformational methods, we identified within each clinical and pathological category an array of PrPSc structures that differ in protease-sensitivity, display of critical domains, and conformational stability. Each of these features offers evidence of a distinct conformation. The link between the rate at which the disease progresses, on the one hand, and the concentration and stability of protease-sensitive conformers of PrPSc on the other, suggests that these conformers play an important role in how the disease originates and progresses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chae Kim
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Tracy Haldiman
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Yvonne Cohen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Janis Blevins
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Man-Sun Sy
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Mark Cohen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jiri G. Safar
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Pirisinu L, Migliore S, Di Bari MA, Esposito E, Baron T, D'Agostino C, De Grossi L, Vaccari G, Agrimi U, Nonno R. Molecular discrimination of sheep bovine spongiform encephalopathy from scrapie. Emerg Infect Dis 2011; 17:695-8. [PMID: 21470463 PMCID: PMC3377410 DOI: 10.3201/eid1704.101215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sheep CH1641-like transmissible spongiform encephalopathy isolates have shown molecular similarities to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) isolates. We report that the prion protein PrPSc from sheep BSE is extremely resistant to denaturation. This feature, combined with the N-terminal PrPSc cleavage, allowed differentiation of classical scrapie, including CH1641-like, from natural goat BSE and experimental sheep BSE.
Collapse
|
39
|
A simple, versatile and sensitive cell-based assay for prions from various species. PLoS One 2011; 6:e20563. [PMID: 21655184 PMCID: PMC3105100 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2011] [Accepted: 05/03/2011] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Detection and quantification of prion infectivity is a crucial step for various fundamental and applied aspects of prion research. Identification of cell lines highly sensitive to prion infection led to the development of cell-based titration procedures aiming at replacing animal bioassays, usually performed in mice or hamsters. However, most of these cell lines are only permissive to mouse-adapted prions strains and do not allow titration of prions from other species. In this study, we show that epithelial RK13, a cell line permissive to mouse and bank vole prion strains and to natural prion agents from sheep and cervids, enables a robust and sensitive detection of mouse and ovine-derived prions. Importantly, the cell culture work is strongly reduced as the RK13 cell assay procedure designed here does not require subcultivation of the inoculated cultures. We also show that prions effectively bind to culture plastic vessel and are quantitatively detected by the cell assay. The possibility to easily quantify a wider range of prions, including rodent experimental strains but also natural agents from sheep and cervids, should prompt the spread of cell assays for routine prion titration and lead to valuable information in fundamental and applied studies.
Collapse
|
40
|
Savistchenko J, Arellano-Anaya ZE, Andréoletti O, Vilette D. Mammalian prions: tracking the infectious entities. Prion 2011; 5:84-7. [PMID: 21597318 DOI: 10.4161/pri.5.2.16096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein misfolding is central to the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders. Among these disorders, prion diseases are unique because they are transmissible. The conversion of the host-encoded GPI-anchored PrP protein into a structurally altered form is crucially associated with the infectious and neurotoxic properties of the resulting abnormal PrP. Many lines of evidence indicate that distinct aggregated forms with different size and protease resistance are produced during prion multiplication. The recent isolation of various subsets of abnormal PrP, along with the improved biochemical tools and infectivity detection assays have shed light on the diversity of abnormal PrP protein and may give insights into the features of the more infectious subsets of abnormal PrP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jimmy Savistchenko
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|