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Tanaka M, Yamasaki T, Hasebe R, Suzuki A, Horiuchi M. Enhanced phosphorylation of PERK in primary cultured neurons as an autonomous neuronal response to prion infection. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234147. [PMID: 32479530 PMCID: PMC7263615 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [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: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Conversion of cellular prion protein (PrPC) into the pathogenic isoform of prion protein (PrPSc) in neurons is one of the key pathophysiological events in prion diseases. However, the molecular mechanism of neurodegeneration in prion diseases has yet to be fully elucidated because of a lack of suitable experimental models for analyzing neuron-autonomous responses to prion infection. In the present study, we used neuron-enriched primary cultures of cortical and thalamic mouse neurons to analyze autonomous neuronal responses to prion infection. PrPSc levels in neurons increased over the time after prion infection; however, no obvious neuronal losses or neurite alterations were observed. Interestingly, a finer analysis of individual neurons co-stained with PrPSc and phosphorylated protein kinase RNA-activated-like endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase (p-PERK), the early cellular response of the PERK-eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α) pathway, demonstrated a positive correlation between the number of PrPSc granular stains and p-PERK granular stains, in cortical neurons at 21 dpi. Although the phosphorylation of PERK was enhanced in prion-infected cortical neurons, there was no sign of subsequent translational repression of synaptic protein synthesis or activations of downstream unfolded protein response (UPR) in the PERK-eIF2α pathway. These results suggest that PrPSc production in neurons induces ER stress in a neuron-autonomous manner; however, it does not fully activate UPR in prion-infected neurons. Our findings provide insights into the autonomous neuronal responses to prion propagation and the involvement of neuron-non-autonomous factor(s) in the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misaki Tanaka
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Takeshi Yamasaki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Rie Hasebe
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Akio Suzuki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Motohiro Horiuchi
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Global Station for Zoonosis Control, Global Institute for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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Suzuki A, Yamasaki T, Hasebe R, Horiuchi M. Enhancement of binding avidity by bivalent binding enables PrPSc-specific detection by anti-PrP monoclonal antibody 132. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0217944. [PMID: 31170247 PMCID: PMC6553756 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Anti-prion protein (PrP) monoclonal antibody 132, which recognizes mouse PrP amino acids 119–127, enables us to reliably detect abnormal isoform prion protein (PrPSc) in cells or frozen tissue sections by immunofluorescence assay, although treatment with guanidinium salts is a prerequisite. Despite the benefit of this mAb, the mechanism of PrPSc-specific detection remains unclear. Therefore, to address this mechanism, we analyzed the reactivities of mono- and bivalent mAb 132 to recombinant mouse PrP (rMoPrP) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). In ELISA, binding of the monovalent form was significantly weaker than that of the bivalent form, indicating that bivalent binding confers a higher binding stability to mAb 132. Compared with other anti-PrP mAbs tested, the reactivity of bivalent mAb 132 was easily affected by a decrease in antigen concentration. The binding kinetics of mAb 132 assessed by SPR were consistent with the results of ELISA. The dissociation constant of the monovalent form was approximately 260 times higher than that of the bivalent form, suggesting that monovalent binding is less stable than bivalent binding. Furthermore, the amount of mAb 132 that bound to rMoPrP decreased if the antigen density was too low to allow bivalent binding. If two cellular PrP (PrPC) are close enough to allow bivalent binding, mAb 132 binds to PrPC. These results indicate that weak monovalent binding to monomeric PrPC diminishes PrPC signals to background level, whereas after exposure of the epitope, mAb 132 binds stably to oligomeric PrPSc in a bivalent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akio Suzuki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Takeshi Yamasaki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Rie Hasebe
- Biomedical Animal Research Laboratory, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Motohiro Horiuchi
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
- Global Station for Zoonosis Control. Global Institute for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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Flow Cytometric Detection of PrP Sc in Neurons and Glial Cells from Prion-Infected Mouse Brains. J Virol 2017; 92:JVI.01457-17. [PMID: 29046463 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01457-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In prion diseases, an abnormal isoform of prion protein (PrPSc) accumulates in neurons, astrocytes, and microglia in the brains of animals affected by prions. Detailed analyses of PrPSc-positive neurons and glial cells are required to clarify their pathophysiological roles in the disease. Here, we report a novel method for the detection of PrPSc in neurons and glial cells from the brains of prion-infected mice by flow cytometry using PrPSc-specific staining with monoclonal antibody (MAb) 132. The combination of PrPSc staining and immunolabeling of neural cell markers clearly distinguished neurons, astrocytes, and microglia that were positive for PrPSc from those that were PrPSc negative. The flow cytometric analysis of PrPSc revealed the appearance of PrPSc-positive neurons, astrocytes, and microglia at 60 days after intracerebral prion inoculation, suggesting the presence of PrPSc in the glial cells, as well as in neurons, from an early stage of infection. Moreover, the kinetic analysis of PrPSc revealed a continuous increase in the proportion of PrPSc-positive cells for all cell types with disease progression. Finally, we applied this method to isolate neurons, astrocytes, and microglia positive for PrPSc from a prion-infected mouse brain by florescence-activated cell sorting. The method described here enables comprehensive analyses specific to PrPSc-positive neurons, astrocytes, and microglia that will contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiological roles of neurons and glial cells in PrPSc-associated pathogenesis.IMPORTANCE Although formation of PrPSc in neurons is associated closely with neurodegeneration in prion diseases, the mechanism of neurodegeneration is not understood completely. On the other hand, recent studies proposed the important roles of glial cells in PrPSc-associated pathogenesis, such as the intracerebral spread of PrPSc and clearance of PrPSc from the brain. Despite the great need for detailed analyses of PrPSc-positive neurons and glial cells, methods available for cell type-specific analysis of PrPSc have been limited thus far to microscopic observations. Here, we have established a novel high-throughput method for flow cytometric detection of PrPSc in cells with more accurate quantitative performance. By applying this method, we succeeded in isolating PrPSc-positive cells from the prion-infected mouse brains via fluorescence-activated cell sorting. This allows us to perform further detailed analysis specific to PrPSc-positive neurons and glial cells for the clarification of pathological changes in neurons and pathophysiological roles of glial cells.
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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.
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Tanaka M, Fujiwara A, Suzuki A, Yamasaki T, Hasebe R, Masujin K, Horiuchi M. Comparison of abnormal isoform of prion protein in prion-infected cell lines and primary-cultured neurons by PrPSc-specific immunostaining. J Gen Virol 2016; 97:2030-2042. [PMID: 27267758 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
We established abnormal isoform of prion protein (PrPSc)-specific double immunostaining using mAb 132, which recognizes aa 119-127 of the PrP molecule, and novel PrPSc-specific mAb 8D5, which recognizes the N-terminal region of the PrP molecule. Using the PrPSc-specific double immunostaining, we analysed PrPSc in immortalized neuronal cell lines and primary cerebral-neuronal cultures infected with prions. The PrPSc-specific double immunostaining showed the existence of PrPSc positive for both mAbs 132 and 8D5, as well as those positive only for either mAb 132 or mAb 8D5. This indicated that double immunostaining detects a greater number of PrPSc species than single immunostaining. Double immunostaining revealed cell-type-dependent differences in PrPSc staining patterns. In the 22 L prion strain-infected Neuro2a (N2a)-3 cells, a subclone of N2a neuroblastoma cell line, or GT1-7, a subclone of the GT1 hypothalamic neuronal cell line, granular PrPSc stains were observed at the perinuclear regions and cytoplasm, whereas unique string-like PrPSc stains were predominantly observed on the surface of the 22 L strain-infected primary cerebral neurons. Only 14 % of PrPSc in the 22 L strain-infected N2a-3 cells were positive for mAb 8D5, indicating that most of the PrPSc in N2a-3 lack the N-terminal portion. In contrast, nearly half PrPSc detected in the 22 L strain-infected primary cerebral neurons were positive for mAb 8D5, suggesting the abundance of full-length PrPSc that possesses the N-terminal portion of PrP. Further analysis of prion-infected primary neurons using PrPSc-specific immunostaining will reveal the neuron-specific mechanism for prion propagation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misaki Tanaka
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
| | - Ai Fujiwara
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
| | - Akio Suzuki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
| | - Takeshi Yamasaki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
| | - Rie Hasebe
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
| | - Kentaro Masujin
- National Agriculture Food Research Organization (NARO), 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0856, Japan.,Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, USA
| | - Motohiro Horiuchi
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
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Saijo E, Hughson AG, Raymond GJ, Suzuki A, Horiuchi M, Caughey B. PrPSc-Specific Antibody Reveals C-Terminal Conformational Differences between Prion Strains. J Virol 2016; 90:4905-4913. [PMID: 26937029 PMCID: PMC4859706 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00088-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 02/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Understanding the structure of PrP(Sc) and its strain variation has been one of the major challenges in prion disease biology. To study the strain-dependent conformations of PrP(Sc), we purified proteinase-resistant PrP(Sc) (PrP(RES)) from mouse brains with three different murine-adapted scrapie strains (Chandler, 22L, and Me7) and systematically tested the accessibility of epitopes of a wide range of anti-PrP and anti-PrP(Sc) specific antibodies by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We found that epitopes of most anti-PrP antibodies were hidden in the folded structure of PrP(RES), even though these epitopes are revealed with guanidine denaturation. However, reactivities to a PrP(Sc)-specific conformational C-terminal antibody showed significant differences among the three different prion strains. Our results provide evidence for strain-dependent conformational variation near the C termini of molecules within PrP(Sc) multimers. IMPORTANCE It has long been apparent that prion strains can have different conformations near the N terminus of the PrP(Sc) protease-resistant core. Here, we show that a C-terminal conformational PrP(Sc)-specific antibody reacts differently to three murine-adapted scrapie strains. These results suggest, in turn, that conformational differences in the C terminus of PrP(Sc) also contribute to the phenotypic distinction between prion strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eri Saijo
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Andrew G Hughson
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Gregory J Raymond
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Akio Suzuki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Motohiro Horiuchi
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA
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Didonna A, Venturini AC, Hartman K, Vranac T, Čurin Šerbec V, Legname G. Characterization of four new monoclonal antibodies against the distal N-terminal region of PrP(c). PeerJ 2015; 3:e811. [PMID: 25802800 PMCID: PMC4369333 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2014] [Accepted: 02/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders that affect humans and animals. They are characterized by the accumulation in the central nervous system of a pathological form of the host-encoded prion protein (PrPC). The prion protein is a membrane glycoprotein that consists of two domains: a globular, structured C-terminus and an unstructured N-terminus. The N-terminal part of the protein is involved in different functions in both health and disease. In the present work we discuss the production and biochemical characterization of a panel of four monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the distal N-terminus of PrPC using a well-established methodology based on the immunization of Prnp0/0 mice. Additionally, we show their ability to block prion (PrPSc) replication at nanomolar concentrations in a cell culture model of prion infection. These mAbs represent a promising tool for prion diagnostics and for studying the physiological role of the N-terminal domain of PrPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Didonna
- Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Anja Colja Venturini
- Department for Production of Diagnostic Reagents and Research, Blood Transfusion Centre of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Katrina Hartman
- Department for Production of Diagnostic Reagents and Research, Blood Transfusion Centre of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tanja Vranac
- Department for Production of Diagnostic Reagents and Research, Blood Transfusion Centre of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Vladka Čurin Šerbec
- Department for Production of Diagnostic Reagents and Research, Blood Transfusion Centre of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy.,ELETTRA-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A, Trieste, Italy
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Rouget R, Sharma G, LeBlanc AC. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 phosphorylation of familial prion protein mutants exacerbates conversion into amyloid structure. J Biol Chem 2015; 290:5759-71. [PMID: 25572400 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m114.630699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Familial prion protein (PrP) mutants undergo conversion from soluble and protease-sensitive to insoluble and partially protease-resistant proteins. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) phosphorylation of wild type PrP (pPrP) at serine 43 induces a conversion of PrP into aggregates and fibrils. Here, we investigated whether familial PrP mutants are predisposed to Cdk5 phosphorylation and whether phosphorylation of familial PrP mutants increases conversion. PrP mutants representing three major familial PrP diseases and different PrP structural domains were studied. We developed a novel in vitro kinase reaction coupled with Thioflavin T binding to amyloid structure assay to monitor phosphorylation-dependent amyloid conversion. Although non-phosphorylated full-length wild type or PrP mutants did not convert into amyloid, Cdk5 phosphorylation rapidly converted these into Thioflavin T-positive structures following first order kinetics. Dephosphorylation partially reversed conversion. Phosphorylation-dependent conversion of PrP from α-helical structures into β-sheet structures was confirmed by circular dichroism. Relative to wild type pPrP, most PrP mutants showed increased rate constants of conversion. In contrast, non-phosphorylated truncated PrP Y145X (where X represents a stop codon) and Q160X mutants converted spontaneously into Thioflavin T-positive fibrils after a lag phase of over 20 h, indicating nucleation-dependent polymerization. Phosphorylation reduced the lag phase by over 50% and thus accelerated the formation of the nucleating event. Consistently, phosphorylated Y145X and phosphorylated Q160X exacerbated conversion in a homologous seeding reaction, whereas WT pPrP could not seed WT PrP. These results demonstrate an influence of both the N terminus and the C terminus of PrP on conversion. We conclude that post-translational modifications of the flexible N terminus of PrP can cause or exacerbate PrP mutant conversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphaël Rouget
- From the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3T 1E2, Canada and
| | - Gyanesh Sharma
- From the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3T 1E2, Canada and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3775 University Street, Montréal, Québec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Andréa C LeBlanc
- From the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3T 1E2, Canada and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3775 University Street, Montréal, Québec H3A 2B4, Canada
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Ushiki-Kaku Y, Iwamaru Y, Masujin K, Imamura M, Itohara S, Ogawa-Goto K, Hattori S, Yokoyama T. Different antigenicities of the N-terminal region of cellular and scrapie prion proteins. Microbiol Immunol 2014; 57:792-6. [PMID: 24117858 DOI: 10.1111/1348-0421.12105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2013] [Revised: 09/18/2013] [Accepted: 09/21/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Limited information is available about conformational differences between the abnormal isoform of prion protein (PrP(Sc) ) and cellular prion protein (PrP(C) ) under native conditions. To clarify conformational differences between these two isoforms, PrP-deficient mice were immunized with brain homogenates of normal and scrapie-infected animals. All mice generated anti-PrP antibodies. Peptide array analysis of these serum samples revealed a distinctive epitope of PrP(Sc) consisting of QGSPGGN (PrP41-47) at the N-terminus. This study demonstrated a conformational dissimilarity at the N-terminus between PrP(Sc) and PrP(C) , a finding that may provide novel information about conformational features of PrP(Sc) .
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Ushiki-Kaku
- Nippi Research Institute of Biomatrix, Kuwabara 520-11, Toride, Ibaraki, 302-0017
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Ushiki-Kaku Y, Shimizu Y, Tabeta N, Iwamaru Y, Ogawa-Goto K, Hattori S, Yokoyama T. Heterogeneity of abnormal prion protein (PrP(Sc)) in murine scrapie prions determined by PrP(Sc)-specific monoclonal antibodies. J Vet Med Sci 2013; 76:285-8. [PMID: 24132297 PMCID: PMC3982826 DOI: 10.1292/jvms.13-0409] [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] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In prion diseases, abnormal prion protein (PrP(Sc)) is considered as the main component of the infectious agent. Delineation of PrP(Sc) conformation is expected to be a critical factor in understanding properties of prions. However, practical methods to differentiate between conformers of PrP(Sc) are inadequate. Here, we used two PrP(Sc)-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), 3B7 and 3H6, and found that mAb 3H6 detected a limited portion of PrP(Sc) in five mice-adapted prion strains. The quantity of mAb 3H6-precipitated PrP(Sc) was significantly lesser in 22L compared to other strains. This result provides a direct evidence of the conformational heterogeneity of PrP(Sc) within the prion strains. Conformation-specific probes, like these mAbs, have the potential to be powerful tools for investigating conformational variations in PrP(Sc).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Ushiki-Kaku
- Nippi Research Institute of Biomatrix, 520-11 Kuwabara, Toride, Ibaraki 302-0017, Japan
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