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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.
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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:
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Silva CJ. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Cervids and the Consequences of a Mutable Protein Conformation. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:12474-12492. [PMID: 35465121 PMCID: PMC9022204 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c00155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of cervids (deer, elk, moose, etc.). It spreads readily from CWD-contaminated environments and among wild cervids. As of 2022, North American CWD has been found in 29 states, four Canadian provinces and South Korea. The Scandinavian form of CWD originated independently. Prions propagate their pathology by inducing a natively expressed prion protein (PrPC) to adopt the prion conformation (PrPSc). PrPC and PrPSc differ solely in their conformation. Like other prion diseases, transmissible CWD prions can arise spontaneously. The CWD prions can respond to selection pressures resulting in the emergence of new strain phenotypes. Annually, 11.5 million Americans hunt and harvest nearly 6 million deer, indicating that CWD is a potential threat to an important American food source. No tested CWD strain has been shown to be zoonotic. However, this may not be true for emerging strains. Should a zoonotic CWD strain emerge, it could adversely impact the hunting economy and game meat consumers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J. Silva
- Produce Safety & Microbiology
Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research
Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Albany, California 94710, United States of America
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Piel RB, McElliott VR, Stanton JB, Zhuang D, Madsen-Bouterse SA, Hamburg LK, Harrington RD, Schneider DA. PrPres in placental tissue following experimental transmission of atypical scrapie in ARR/ARR sheep is not infectious by Tg338 mouse bioassay. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262766. [PMID: 35061802 PMCID: PMC8782414 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Nor98-like atypical scrapie is a sporadic disease that affects the central nervous system of sheep and goats that, in contrast to classical scrapie, is not generally regarded as naturally transmissible. However, infectivity has been demonstrated via bioassay not only of brain tissue but also of certain peripheral nerves, lymphoid tissues, and muscle. This study examines placental tissue, a well characterized route of natural transmission for classical scrapie. Further, this study was conducted in sheep homozygous for the classical scrapie resistant ARR genotype and is the first to characterize the transmission of Nor98-like scrapie between homozygous-ARR sheep. Nor98-like scrapie isolated from a United States ARR/ARR sheep was transmitted to four ARR/ARR ewes via intracerebral inoculation of brain homogenate. These ewes were followed and observed to 8 years of age, remained non-clinical but exhibited progression of infection that was consistent with Nor98-like scrapie, including characteristic patterns of PrPSc accumulation in the brain and a lack of accumulation in peripheral lymphoid tissues as detected by conventional methods. Immunoblots of placental tissues from the infected ewes revealed accumulation of a distinct conformation of PrPres, particularly as the animals aged; however, the placenta showed no infectivity when analyzed via ovinized mouse bioassay. Taken together, these results support a low risk for natural transmission of Nor98-like scrapie in ARR/ARR sheep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert B. Piel
- Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Valerie R. McElliott
- Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - James B. Stanton
- Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Dongyue Zhuang
- Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Sally A. Madsen-Bouterse
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Linda K. Hamburg
- Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Robert D. Harrington
- Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - David A. Schneider
- Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Hofmann A, Wrede A, Jürgens-Wemheuer WM, Schulz-Schaeffer WJ. Prion type 2 selection in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease affecting peripheral ganglia. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2021; 9:187. [PMID: 34819156 PMCID: PMC8611978 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-021-01286-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD), the pathological changes appear to be restricted to the central nervous system. Only involvement of the trigeminal ganglion is widely accepted. The present study systematically examined the involvement of peripheral ganglia in sCJD utilizing the currently most sensitive technique for detecting prions in tissue morphologically. The trigeminal, nodose, stellate, and celiac ganglia, as well as ganglia of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar sympathetic trunk of 40 patients were analyzed with the paraffin-embedded tissue (PET)-blot method. Apart from the trigeminal ganglion, which contained protein aggregates in five of 19 prion type 1 patients, evidence of prion protein aggregation was only found in patients associated with type 2 prions. With the PET-blot, aggregates of prion protein type 2 were found in all trigeminal (17/17), in some nodose (5 of 7) and thoracic (3 of 6) ganglia, as well as in a few celiac (4 of 19) and lumbar (1 of 5) ganglia of sCJD patients. Whereas aggregates of both prion types may spread to dorsal root ganglia, more CNS-distant ganglia seem to be only involved in patients accumulating prion type 2. Whether the prion type association is due to selection by prion type-dependent replication, or due to a prion type-dependent property of axonal spread remains to be resolved in further studies.
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Arnold M, Ru G, Simmons M, Vidal‐Diez A, Ortiz‐Pelaez A, Stella P. Scientific report on the analysis of the 2-year compulsory intensified monitoring of atypical scrapie. EFSA J 2021; 19:e06686. [PMID: 34262626 PMCID: PMC8265166 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The European Commission asked EFSA whether the scientific data on the 2-year intensified monitoring in atypical scrapie (AS) outbreaks (2013-2020) provide any evidence on the contagiousness of AS, and whether they added any new knowledge on the epidemiology of AS. An ad hoc data set from intensified monitoring in 22 countries with index case/s of AS in sheep and/or goats (742 flocks from 20 countries, 76 herds from 11 countries) was analysed. No secondary cases were confirmed in goat herds, while 35 secondary cases were confirmed in 28 sheep flocks from eight countries. The results of the calculated design prevalence and of a model simulation indicated that the intensified monitoring had limited ability to detect AS, with no difference between countries with or without secondary cases. A regression model showed an increased, but not statistically significant, prevalence (adjusted by surveillance stream) of secondary cases in infected flocks compared with that of index cases in the non-infected flocks (general population). A simulation model of within-flock transmission, comparing a contagious (i.e. transmissible between animals under natural conditions) with a non-contagious scenario, produced a better fit of the observed data with the non-contagious scenario, in which each sheep in a flock had the same probability of developing AS in the first year of life. Based on the analyses performed, and considering uncertainties and data limitations, it was concluded that there is no new evidence that AS can be transmitted between animals under natural conditions, and it is considered more likely (subjective probability range 50-66%) that AS is a non-contagious, rather than a contagious disease. The analysis of the data of the EU intensified monitoring in atypical scrapie infected flocks/herds confirmed some of the known epidemiological features of AS but identified that major knowledge gaps still remain.
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Transmission of the atypical/Nor98 scrapie agent to Suffolk sheep with VRQ/ARQ, ARQ/ARQ, and ARQ/ARR genotypes. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246503. [PMID: 33571246 PMCID: PMC7877616 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that occurs in sheep. Atypical/Nor98 scrapie occurs in sheep that tend to be resistant to classical scrapie and it is thought to occur spontaneously. The purpose of this study was to test the transmission of the Atypical/Nor98 scrapie agent in three genotypes of Suffolk sheep and characterize the distribution of misfolded prion protein (PrPSc). Ten sheep were intracranially inoculated with brain homogenate from a sheep with Atypical/Nor98 scrapie. All sheep with the ARQ/ARQ and ARQ/ARR genotypes developed Atypical/Nor98 scrapie confirmed by immunohistochemistry, and one sheep with the VRQ/ARQ genotype had detectable PrPSc consistent with Atypical/Nor98 scrapie at the experimental endpoint of 8 years. Sheep with mild early accumulations of PrPSc in the cerebellum had concomitant retinal PrPSc. Accordingly, large amounts of retinal PrPSc were identified in clinically affected sheep and sheep with dense accumulations of PrPSc in the cerebellum.
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Barrio T, Filali H, Otero A, Sheleby-Elías J, Marín B, Vidal E, Béringue V, Torres JM, Groschup M, Andréoletti O, Badiola JJ, Bolea R. Mixtures of prion substrains in natural scrapie cases revealed by ovinised murine models. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5042. [PMID: 32193445 PMCID: PMC7081250 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61977-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic variability in prion diseases, such as scrapie, is associated to the existence of prion strains, which are different pathogenic prion protein (PrPSc) conformations with distinct pathobiological properties. To faithfully study scrapie strain variability in natural sheep isolates, transgenic mice expressing sheep cellular prion protein (PrPC) are used. In this study, we used two of such models to bioassay 20 scrapie isolates from the Spain-France-Andorra transboundary territory. Animals were intracerebrally inoculated and survival periods, proteinase K-resistant PrP (PrPres) banding patterns, lesion profiles and PrPSc distribution were studied. Inocula showed a remarkable homogeneity on banding patterns, all of them but one showing 19-kDa PrPres. However, a number of isolates caused accumulation of 21-kDa PrPres in TgShp XI. A different subgroup of isolates caused long survival periods and presence of 21-kDa PrPres in Tg338 mice. It seemed that one major 19-kDa prion isoform and two distinct 21-kDa variants coexisted in source inocula, and that they could be separated by bioassay in each transgenic model. The reason why each model favours a specific component of the mixture is unknown, although PrPC expression level may play a role. Our results indicate that coinfection with more than one substrain is more frequent than infection with a single component.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomás Barrio
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Hicham Filali
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Alicia Otero
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jessica Sheleby-Elías
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Belén Marín
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Enric Vidal
- Priocat Laboratory, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vincent Béringue
- UMR Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires (VIM-UR892), INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, 78352, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Juan María Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, CISA-INIA, 28130, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Martin Groschup
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, Germany
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225- IHAP, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 31076, Toulouse, France
| | - Juan José Badiola
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Rosa Bolea
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza - CITA), 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.
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Moore SJ, Smith JD, Richt JA, Greenlee JJ. Raccoons accumulate PrP Sc after intracranial inoculation of the agents of chronic wasting disease or transmissible mink encephalopathy but not atypical scrapie. J Vet Diagn Invest 2019; 31:200-209. [PMID: 30694116 DOI: 10.1177/1040638718825290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of misfolded prion protein (PrPSc) in the brain and other tissues. Animal prion diseases include scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids, and transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) in ranch-raised mink. We investigated the susceptibility of raccoons to various prion disease agents and compared the clinicopathologic features of the resulting disease. Raccoon kits were inoculated intracranially with the agents of raccoon-passaged TME (TMERac), bovine-passaged TME (TMEBov), hamster-adapted drowsy (TMEDY) or hyper TME (TMEHY), CWD from white-tailed deer (CWDWtd) or elk (CWDElk), or atypical (Nor98) scrapie. Raccoons were euthanized when they developed clinical signs of prion disease or at study endpoint (<82 mo post-inoculation). Brain was examined for the presence of spongiform change, and disease-associated PrPSc was detected using an enzyme immunoassay, western blot, and immunohistochemistry. All raccoons inoculated with the agents of TMERac and TMEBov developed clinical disease at ~6.6 mo post-inoculation, with widespread PrPSc accumulation in central nervous system tissues. PrPSc was detected in the brain of 1 of 4 raccoons in each of the CWDWtd-, CWDElk-, and TMEHY-inoculated groups. None of the raccoons inoculated with TMEDY or atypical scrapie agents developed clinical disease or detectable PrPSc accumulation. Our results indicate that raccoons are highly susceptible to infection with raccoon- and bovine-passaged TME agents, whereas CWD isolates from white-tailed deer or elk and hamster-adapted TMEHY transmit poorly. Raccoons appear to be resistant to infection with hamster-adapted TMEDY and atypical scrapie agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Jo Moore
- National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA (Moore, Greenlee).,Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, IA (Smith).,Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Manhattan, KS (Richt)
| | - Jodi D Smith
- National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA (Moore, Greenlee).,Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, IA (Smith).,Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Manhattan, KS (Richt)
| | - Jürgen A Richt
- National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA (Moore, Greenlee).,Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, IA (Smith).,Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Manhattan, KS (Richt)
| | - Justin J Greenlee
- National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA (Moore, Greenlee).,Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, IA (Smith).,Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Manhattan, KS (Richt)
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Silva CJ, Erickson-Beltran ML, Martín-Burriel I, Badiola JJ, Requena JR, Bolea R. Determining the Relative Susceptibility of Four Prion Protein Genotypes to Atypical Scrapie. Anal Chem 2018; 90:1255-1262. [PMID: 29240410 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b03985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Atypical scrapie is a sheep prion (PrPSc) disease whose epidemiology is consistent with a sporadic origin and is associated with specific polymorphisms of the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC). To determine the relative amounts of PrP polymorphisms present in atypical scrapie, total PrP was digested with chymotrypsin to generate characteristic peptides spanning relevant polymorphisms at positions 136, 141, 154, 171, and 172 of sheep PrPC. A multiple reaction monitoring method (MRM), employing 15N-labeled internal standards, was used to detect and quantify these polymorphisms present in both the PrPSc and PrPC from heterozygous (ALRRY and ALHQY or ALRQD or AFRQY) atypical scrapie-infected or uninfected control sheep. Both polymorphisms of the full length and truncated (C1) natively expressed PrPC are produced in equal amounts. The overall amount of PrPC present in the infected or uninfected animals was similar. PrPSc isolated from heterozygotes was composed of significant amounts of both PrP polymorphisms, including the ALRRY polymorphism which is highly resistant to classical scrapie. Thus, an atypical scrapie infection does not result from an overexpression of sheep PrPC. The replication of all atypical scrapie prions occurs at comparable rates, despite polymorphisms at positions 141, 154, 171, or 172.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Silva
- Produce Safety & Microbiology Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service , Albany, California 94710, United States of America
| | - Melissa L Erickson-Beltran
- Produce Safety & Microbiology Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service , Albany, California 94710, United States of America
| | - Inmaculada Martín-Burriel
- LAGENBIO, Laboratorio de Genética Bioquímica, Facultad de Veterinaria, IA2 Universidad de Zaragoza , 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.,Veterinary Faculty, Centro de Investigación en Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes (CIEETE), Universidad de Zaragoza , 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Juan José Badiola
- Veterinary Faculty, Centro de Investigación en Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes (CIEETE), Universidad de Zaragoza , 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jesús R Requena
- CIMUS Biomedical Research Institute & Department of Medical Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela-IDIS , Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Rosa Bolea
- Veterinary Faculty, Centro de Investigación en Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes (CIEETE), Universidad de Zaragoza , 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
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Ricci A, Allende A, Bolton D, Chemaly M, Davies R, Fernández Escámez PS, Gironés R, Herman L, Koutsoumanis K, Lindqvist R, Nørrung B, Robertson L, Ru G, Sanaa M, Skandamis P, Speybroeck N, Simmons M, Kuile BT, Threlfall J, Wahlström H, Acutis PL, Andreoletti O, Goldmann W, Langeveld J, Windig JJ, Ortiz Pelaez A, Snary E. Genetic resistance to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in goats. EFSA J 2017; 15:e04962. [PMID: 32625625 PMCID: PMC7010077 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Breeding programmes to promote resistance to classical scrapie, similar to those for sheep in existing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) regulations, have not been established in goats. The European Commission requested a scientific opinion from EFSA on the current knowledge of genetic resistance to TSE in goats. An evaluation tool, which considers both the weight of evidence and strength of resistance to classical scrapie of alleles in the goat PRNP gene, was developed and applied to nine selected alleles of interest. Using the tool, the quality and certainty of the field and experimental data are considered robust enough to conclude that the K222, D146 and S146 alleles both confer genetic resistance against classical scrapie strains known to occur naturally in the EU goat population, with which they have been challenged both experimentally and under field conditions. The weight of evidence for K222 is greater than that currently available for the D146 and S146 alleles and for the ARR allele in sheep in 2001. Breeding for resistance can be an effective tool for controlling classical scrapie in goats and it could be an option available to member states, both at herd and population levels. There is insufficient evidence to assess the impact of K222, D146 and S146 alleles on susceptibility to atypical scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or on health and production traits. These alleles are heterogeneously distributed across the EU Member States and goat breeds, but often at low frequencies (< 10%). Given these low frequencies, high selection pressure may have an adverse effect on genetic diversity so any breeding for resistance programmes should be developed at Member States, rather than EU level and their impact monitored, with particular attention to the potential for any negative impact in rare or small population breeds.
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11
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Ricci A, Allende A, Bolton D, Chemaly M, Davies R, Fernández Escámez PS, Gironés R, Herman L, Koutsoumanis K, Lindqvist R, Nørrung B, Robertson L, Sanaa M, Simmons M, Skandamis P, Snary E, Speybroeck N, Kuile BT, Threlfall J, Wahlström H, Adkin A, De Koeijer A, Ducrot C, Griffin J, Ortiz Pelaez A, Latronico F, Ru G. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases born after the total feed ban. EFSA J 2017; 15:e04885. [PMID: 32625550 PMCID: PMC7010122 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Sixty bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases of Classical or unknown type (BARB‐60 cases) were born after the date of entry into force of the EU total feed ban on 1 January 2001. The European Commission has requested EFSA to provide a scientific opinion on the most likely origin(s) of these BARB‐60 cases; whether feeding with material contaminated with the BSE agent can be excluded as the origin of any of these cases and, if so, whether there is enough scientific evidence to conclude that such cases had a spontaneous origin. The source of infection cannot be ascertained at the individual level for any BSE case, including these BARB‐60 cases, so uncertainty remains high about the origin of disease in each of these animals, but when compared with other biologically plausible sources of infection (maternal, environmental, genetic, iatrogenic), feed‐borne exposure is the most likely. This exposure was apparently excluded for only one of these BARB‐60 cases. However, there is considerable uncertainty associated with the data collected through the field investigation of these cases, due to a time span of several years between the potential exposure of the animal and the confirmation of disease, recall difficulty, and the general paucity of documented objective evidence available in the farms at the time of the investigation. Thus, feeding with material contaminated with the BSE agent cannot be excluded as the origin of any of the BARB‐60 cases, nor is it possible to definitively attribute feed as the cause of any of the BARB‐60 cases. A case of disease is classified as spontaneous by a process of elimination, excluding all other definable possibilities; with regard to the BARB‐60 cases, it is not possible to conclude that any of them had a spontaneous origin.
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12
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Wemheuer WM, Wrede A, Schulz-Schaeffer WJ. Types and Strains: Their Essential Role in Understanding Protein Aggregation in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:187. [PMID: 28670273 PMCID: PMC5472693 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein misfolding and aggregation is a key event in diseases like Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is associated with neurodegeneration. Factors that initiate protein misfolding and the role of protein aggregation in the pathophysiology of disease pose major challenges to the neuroscientific community. Interestingly, although the accumulation of the same misfolded protein, e.g., α-synuclein is detectable in all idiopathic PD patients, the disease spectrum covers a variety of different clinical presentations and disease courses. In a more recent attempt this clinical variance is being explained in analogy to prion diseases by different protein aggregate conformations. In prion diseases a relationship between protein aggregate conformation properties and the clinical disease course was shown by relating different prion types to a dementia and an ataxic disease course in Creutzfeldt-Jakob patients. This principle is currently transferred to AD, PD and other neurodegenerative diseases with protein aggregation. However, differences in protein aggregate conformation are frequently addressed as disease strains. The term “strain” also derives from prion research and evolved by adopting the virus terminology at a time when transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs; later called prion diseases) were assumed to be caused by a virus. The problem is that in virus taxonomy the term “type” refers to properties of the disease agent itself and the term “strain” refers to host associated factors that interact with the disease agent and may moderately modify the clinical disease presentation. Strain factors can be discovered only after transmission and passaging of the agent in a host of a different species. The incorrect use of the terminology confuses disease agent and host factors and hampers the understanding of the pathophysiology of protein aggregate-associated neurodegenerative diseases. In this review article the discoveries are reviewed that explain how the terms “type” and “strain” emerged for unconventional disease agents. This may help to avoid confusion in the terminology of protein aggregation diseases and to reflect correctly the impact of protein aggregate conformation as well as host factor contribution on different clinical variations of AD, PD and other neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke M Wemheuer
- Institute of Neuropathology, Saarland University Medical CenterHomburg, Germany.,Luxembourg Centre of Systems Biology, University of LuxembourgEsch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Arne Wrede
- Institute of Neuropathology, Saarland University Medical CenterHomburg, Germany.,Prion and Dementia Research Unit, Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center GoettingenGoettingen, Germany
| | - Walter J Schulz-Schaeffer
- Institute of Neuropathology, Saarland University Medical CenterHomburg, Germany.,Prion and Dementia Research Unit, Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center GoettingenGoettingen, Germany
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13
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Simmons MM, Chaplin MJ, Konold T, Casalone C, Beck KE, Thorne L, Everitt S, Floyd T, Clifford D, Spiropoulos J. L-BSE experimentally transmitted to sheep presents as a unique disease phenotype. Vet Res 2016; 47:112. [PMID: 27825366 PMCID: PMC5101820 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-016-0394-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2016] [Accepted: 10/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Apart from prion protein genotype, the factors determining the host range and susceptiblity for specific transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents remain unclear. It is known that bovine atypical L-BSE can transmit to a range of species including primates and humanised transgenic mice. It is important, therefore, that there is as broad an understanding as possible of how such isolates might present in food animal species and how robust they are on inter- and intra-species transmission to inform surveillance sytems and risk assessments. This paper demonstrates that L-BSE can be intracerebrally transmitted to sheep of several genotypes, with the exception of ARR/ARR animals. Positive animals mostly present with a cataplectic form of disease characterized by collapsing episodes and reduced muscle tone. PrP accumulation is confined to the nervous system, with the exception of one animal with lymphoreticular involvement. In Western blot there was maintenance of the low molecular mass and glycoform profile associated with L-BSE, irrespective of ovine host genotype, but there was a substantially higher N-terminal antibody signal relative to the core-specific antibody, which is similar to the ratio associated with classical scrapie. The disease phenotype was maintained on experimental subpassage, but with a shortened survival time indicative of an original species barrier and subsequent adaptation. Passive surveillance approaches would be unlikely to identify such cases as TSE suspects, but current statutory active screening methods would be capable of detecting such cases and classifying them as unusual and requiring further investigation if they were to occur in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion M Simmons
- Department of Pathology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK.
| | - Melanie J Chaplin
- Department of Pathology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
| | - Timm Konold
- Department of Pathology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK.,Animal Sciences Unit, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
| | - Cristina Casalone
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta Sede Centrale di Torino, via Bologna, 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Katy E Beck
- Department of Pathology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
| | - Leigh Thorne
- Department of Virology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
| | - Sharon Everitt
- Department of Pathology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
| | - Tobias Floyd
- Department of Pathology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
| | - Derek Clifford
- Department of Pathology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK.,Animal Sciences Unit, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
| | - John Spiropoulos
- Department of Pathology, APHA Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
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14
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Aguilar-Calvo P, Espinosa JC, Andréoletti O, González L, Orge L, Juste R, Torres JM. Goat K 222-PrP C polymorphic variant does not provide resistance to atypical scrapie in transgenic mice. Vet Res 2016; 47:96. [PMID: 27659200 PMCID: PMC5034450 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-016-0380-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2016] [Accepted: 09/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Host prion (PrPC) genotype is a major determinant for the susceptibility to prion diseases. The Q/K222-PrPC polymorphic variant provides goats and mice with high resistance against classical scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE); yet its effect against atypical scrapie is unknown. Here, transgenic mice expressing the goat wild-type (wt) or the K222-PrPC variant were intracerebrally inoculated with several natural cases of atypical scrapie from sheep and goat and their susceptibility to the prion disease was determined. Goat wt and K222-PrPC transgenic mice were 100% susceptible to all the atypical scrapie isolates, showing similar survival times and almost identical disease phenotypes. The capacity of the K222-PrPC variant to replicate specifically the atypical scrapie strain as efficiently as the goat wt PrPC, but not the classical scrapie or cattle-BSE as previously reported, further suggests the involvement of concrete areas of the host PrPC in the strain-dependent replication of prions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Aguilar-Calvo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.,Department of Pathology and Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, USA
| | - Juan-Carlos Espinosa
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | | | - Leonor Orge
- Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Juan-María Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.
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15
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Chong A, Kennedy I, Goldmann W, Green A, González L, Jeffrey M, Hunter N. Archival search for historical atypical scrapie in sheep reveals evidence for mixed infections. J Gen Virol 2015; 96:3165-3178. [PMID: 26281831 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural scrapie in sheep occurs in classical and atypical forms, which may be distinguished on the basis of the associated neuropathology and properties of the disease-associated prion protein on Western blots. First detected in 1998, atypical scrapie is known to have occurred in UK sheep since the 1980s. However, its aetiology remains unclear and it is often considered as a sporadic, non-contagious disease unlike classical scrapie which is naturally transmissible. Although atypical scrapie tends to occur in sheep of prion protein (PRNP) genotypes that are different from those found predominantly in classical scrapie, there is some overlap so that there are genotypes in which both scrapie forms can occur. In this search for early atypical scrapie cases, we made use of an archive of fixed and frozen sheep samples, from both scrapie-affected and healthy animals (∼1850 individuals), dating back to the 1960s. Using a selection process based primarily on PRNP genotyping, but also on contemporaneous records of unusual clinical signs or pathology, candidate sheep samples were screened by Western blot, immunohistochemistry and strain-typing methods using tg338 mice. We identified, from early time points in the archive, three atypical scrapie cases, including one sheep which died in 1972 and two which showed evidence of mixed infection with classical scrapie. Cases with both forms of scrapie in the same animal as recognizable entities suggest that mixed infections have been around for a long time and may potentially contribute to the variety of scrapie strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Chong
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Iain Kennedy
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Wilfred Goldmann
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Andrew Green
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Lorenzo González
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA - Lasswade), Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PZ, UK
| | - Martin Jeffrey
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA - Lasswade), Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PZ, UK
| | - Nora Hunter
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
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16
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Scientific Opinion on a request for a review of a scientific publication concerning the zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions. EFSA J 2015. [DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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