1
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Teruya K, Oguma A, Iwabuchi S, Nishizawa K, Doh-Ura K. Combination of Styrylbenzoazole Compound and Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Enhances Therapeutic Effect in Prion-Infected Mice. Mol Neurobiol 2024; 61:4705-4711. [PMID: 38114760 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03852-4] [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: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Prion diseases are fatal transmissible neurodegenerative disorders. Tremendous efforts have been made for prion diseases; however, no effective treatment is available. Several anti-prion compounds have a preference for which prion strains or prion-infected animal models to target. Styrylbenzoazole compound called cpd-B is effective in RML prion-infected mice but less so in 263K prion-infected mice, whereas hydroxypropyl methylcellulose is effective in 263K prion-infected mice but less so in RML prion-infected mice. In the present study, we developed a combination therapy of cpd-B and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose expecting synergistic effects in both RML prion-infected mice and 263K prion-infected mice. A single subcutaneous administration of this combination had substantially a synergistic effect in RML prion-infected mice but had no additive effect in 263K prion-infected mice. These results showed that the effect of cpd-B was enhanced by hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. The complementary nature of the two compounds in efficacy against prion strains, chemical properties, pharmacokinetics, and physical properties appears to have contributed to the effective combination therapy. Our results pave the way for the strategy of new anti-prion agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenta Teruya
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-Machi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan.
| | - Ayumi Oguma
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-Machi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan
| | - Sara Iwabuchi
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-Machi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan
| | - Keiko Nishizawa
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-Machi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan
| | - Katsumi Doh-Ura
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-Machi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan
- Faculty of Medical Science & Welfare, Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
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2
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Walsh DJ, Rees JR, Mehra S, Bourkas MEC, Kaczmarczyk L, Stuart E, Jackson WS, Watts JC, Supattapone S. Anti-prion drugs do not improve survival in novel knock-in models of inherited prion disease. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012087. [PMID: 38557815 PMCID: PMC10984475 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases uniquely manifest in three distinct forms: inherited, sporadic, and infectious. Wild-type prions are responsible for the sporadic and infectious versions, while mutant prions cause inherited variants like fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD). Although some drugs can prolong prion incubation times up to four-fold in rodent models of infectious prion diseases, no effective treatments for FFI and fCJD have been found. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of various anti-prion drugs on newly-developed knock-in mouse models for FFI and fCJD. These models express bank vole prion protein (PrP) with the pathogenic D178N and E200K mutations. We applied various drug regimens known to be highly effective against wild-type prions in vivo as well as a brain-penetrant compound that inhibits mutant PrPSc propagation in vitro. None of the regimens tested (Anle138b, IND24, Anle138b + IND24, cellulose ether, and PSCMA) significantly extended disease-free survival or prevented mutant PrPSc accumulation in either knock-in mouse model, despite their ability to induce strain adaptation of mutant prions. Our results show that anti-prion drugs originally developed to treat infectious prion diseases do not necessarily work for inherited prion diseases, and that the recombinant sPMCA is not a reliable platform for identifying compounds that target mutant prions. This work underscores the need to develop therapies and validate screening assays specifically for mutant prions, as well as anti-prion strategies that are not strain-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Walsh
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Judy R. Rees
- Department of Epidemiology Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
- Department of Community and Family Medicine Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Surabhi Mehra
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matthew E. C. Bourkas
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lech Kaczmarczyk
- Wallenberg Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Erica Stuart
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Walker S. Jackson
- Wallenberg Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Joel C. Watts
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Surachai Supattapone
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
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3
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Burke CM, Mark KMK, Kun J, Beauchemin KS, Supattapone S. Correction: Emergence of Prions Selectively Resistant to Combination Drug Therapy. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1011919. [PMID: 38190351 PMCID: PMC10773936 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008581.].
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4
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Walsh DJ, Rees JR, Mehra S, Bourkas MEC, Kaczmarczyk L, Stuart E, Jackson WS, Watts JC, Supattapone S. Anti-prion drugs do not improve survival in knock-in models of inherited prion disease. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.28.559951. [PMID: 37808761 PMCID: PMC10557747 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.28.559951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Prion diseases uniquely manifest in three distinct forms: inherited, sporadic, and infectious. Wild-type prions are responsible for the sporadic and infectious versions, while mutant prions cause inherited variants like fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD). Although some drugs can prolong prion incubation times up to four-fold in rodent models of infectious prion diseases, no effective treatments for FFI and fCJD have been found. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of various anti-prion drugs on newly-developed knock-in mouse models for FFI and fCJD. These models express bank vole prion protein (PrP) with the pathogenic D178N and E200K mutations. We applied various drug regimens known to be highly effective against wild-type prions in vivo as well as a brain-penetrant compound that inhibits mutant PrP Sc propagation in vitro . None of the regimens tested (Anle138b, IND24, Anle138b + IND24, cellulose ether, and PSCMA) significantly extended disease-free survival or prevented mutant PrP Sc accumulation in either knock-in mouse model, despite their ability to induce strain adaptation of mutant prions. Paradoxically, the combination of Anle138b and IND24 appeared to accelerate disease by 16% and 26% in kiBVI E200K and kiBVI D178N mice, respectively, and accelerated the aggregation of mutant PrP molecules in vitro . Our results show that anti-prion drugs originally developed to treat infectious prion diseases do not necessarily work for inherited prion diseases, and that the recombinant sPMCA is not a reliable platform for identifying compounds that target mutant prions. This work underscores the need to develop therapies and validate screening assays specifically for mutant prions.
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5
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Masone A, Zucchelli C, Caruso E, Lavigna G, Eraña H, Giachin G, Tapella L, Comerio L, Restelli E, Raimondi I, Elezgarai SR, De Leo F, Quilici G, Taiarol L, Oldrati M, Lorenzo NL, García-Martínez S, Cagnotto A, Lucchetti J, Gobbi M, Vanni I, Nonno R, Di Bari MA, Tully MD, Cecatiello V, Ciossani G, Pasqualato S, Van Anken E, Salmona M, Castilla J, Requena JR, Banfi S, Musco G, Chiesa R. A tetracationic porphyrin with dual anti-prion activity. iScience 2023; 26:107480. [PMID: 37636075 PMCID: PMC10448035 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107480] [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: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions are deadly infectious agents made of PrPSc, a misfolded variant of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) which self-propagates by inducing misfolding of native PrPC. PrPSc can adopt different pathogenic conformations (prion strains), which can be resistant to potential drugs, or acquire drug resistance, hampering the development of effective therapies. We identified Zn(II)-BnPyP, a tetracationic porphyrin that binds to distinct domains of native PrPC, eliciting a dual anti-prion effect. Zn(II)-BnPyP binding to a C-terminal pocket destabilizes the native PrPC fold, hindering conversion to PrPSc; Zn(II)-BnPyP binding to the flexible N-terminal tail disrupts N- to C-terminal interactions, triggering PrPC endocytosis and lysosomal degradation, thus reducing the substrate for PrPSc generation. Zn(II)-BnPyP inhibits propagation of different prion strains in vitro, in neuronal cells and organotypic brain cultures. These results identify a PrPC-targeting compound with an unprecedented dual mechanism of action which might be exploited to achieve anti-prion effects without engendering drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Masone
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Zucchelli
- Biomolecular NMR Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Enrico Caruso
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy
| | - Giada Lavigna
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Hasier Eraña
- Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biociencias (CIC BioGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Carlos III National Health Institute, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Gabriele Giachin
- Department of Chemical Sciences (DiSC), University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy
| | - Laura Tapella
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Liliana Comerio
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Elena Restelli
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Ilaria Raimondi
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Saioa R. Elezgarai
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Federica De Leo
- Biomolecular NMR Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Giacomo Quilici
- Biomolecular NMR Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Taiarol
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Marvin Oldrati
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Nuria L. Lorenzo
- CIMUS Biomedical Research Institute and Department of Medical Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela-IDIS, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Sandra García-Martínez
- Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biociencias (CIC BioGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Alfredo Cagnotto
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Protein Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Jacopo Lucchetti
- Laboratory of Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics, Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Gobbi
- Laboratory of Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics, Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Michele A. Di Bari
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Mark D. Tully
- Structural Biology Group, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Valentina Cecatiello
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Ciossani
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
| | - Sebastiano Pasqualato
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
| | - Eelco Van Anken
- Protein Transport and Secretion Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Mario Salmona
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Protein Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Joaquín Castilla
- Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biociencias (CIC BioGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Carlos III National Health Institute, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Jesús R. Requena
- CIMUS Biomedical Research Institute and Department of Medical Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela-IDIS, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Stefano Banfi
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy
| | - Giovanna Musco
- Biomolecular NMR Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Chiesa
- Laboratory of Prion Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
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6
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Gunnels T, Shikiya RA, York TC, Block AJ, Bartz JC. Evidence for preexisting prion substrain diversity in a biologically cloned prion strain. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011632. [PMID: 37669293 PMCID: PMC10503715 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of inevitably fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting numerous mammalian species, including Sapiens. Prions are composed of PrPSc, the disease specific conformation of the host encoded prion protein. Prion strains are operationally defined as a heritable phenotype of disease under controlled transmission conditions. Treatment of rodents with anti-prion drugs results in the emergence of drug-resistant prion strains and suggest that prion strains are comprised of a dominant strain and substrains. While much experimental evidence is consistent with this hypothesis, direct observation of substrains has not been observed. Here we show that replication of the dominant strain is required for suppression of a substrain. Based on this observation we reasoned that selective reduction of the dominant strain may allow for emergence of substrains. Using a combination of biochemical methods to selectively reduce drowsy (DY) PrPSc from biologically-cloned DY transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME)-infected brain resulted in the emergence of strains with different properties than DY TME. The selection methods did not occur during prion formation, suggesting the substrains identified preexisted in the DY TME-infected brain. We show that DY TME is biologically stable, even under conditions of serial passage at high titer that can lead to strain breakdown. Substrains therefore can exist under conditions where the dominant strain does not allow for substrain emergence suggesting that substrains are a common feature of prions. This observation has mechanistic implications for prion strain evolution, drug resistance and interspecies transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tess Gunnels
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Ronald A. Shikiya
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Taylor C. York
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Alyssa J. Block
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Jason C. Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
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7
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Arshad H, Patel Z, Amano G, Li LY, Al-Azzawi ZAM, Supattapone S, Schmitt-Ulms G, Watts JC. A single protective polymorphism in the prion protein blocks cross-species prion replication in cultured cells. J Neurochem 2023; 165:230-245. [PMID: 36511154 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The bank vole (BV) prion protein (PrP) can function as a universal acceptor of prions. However, the molecular details of BVPrP's promiscuity for replicating a diverse range of prion strains remain obscure. To develop a cultured cell paradigm capable of interrogating the unique properties of BVPrP, we generated monoclonal lines of CAD5 cells lacking endogenous PrP but stably expressing either hamster (Ha), mouse (Mo), or BVPrP (M109 or I109 polymorphic variants) and then challenged them with various strains of mouse or hamster prions. Cells expressing BVPrP were susceptible to both mouse and hamster prions, whereas cells expressing MoPrP or HaPrP could only be infected with species-matched prions. Propagation of mouse and hamster prions in cells expressing BVPrP resulted in strain adaptation in several instances, as evidenced by alterations in conformational stability, glycosylation, susceptibility to anti-prion small molecules, and the inability of BVPrP-adapted mouse prion strains to infect cells expressing MoPrP. Interestingly, cells expressing BVPrP containing the G127V prion gene variant, identified in individuals resistant to kuru, were unable to become infected with prions. Moreover, the G127V polymorphic variant impeded the spontaneous aggregation of recombinant BVPrP. These results demonstrate that BVPrP can facilitate cross-species prion replication in cultured cells and that a single amino acid change can override the prion-permissive nature of BVPrP. This cellular paradigm will be useful for dissecting the molecular features of BVPrP that allow it to function as a universal prion acceptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamza Arshad
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zeel Patel
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Genki Amano
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Le Yao Li
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zaid A M Al-Azzawi
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Surachai Supattapone
- Department of Biochemistry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
- Department of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Gerold Schmitt-Ulms
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joel C Watts
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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8
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Vallabh SM, Zou D, Pitstick R, O’Moore J, Peters J, Silvius D, Kriz J, Jackson WS, Carlson GA, Minikel EV, Cabin DE. Therapeutic Trial of anle138b in Mouse Models of Genetic Prion Disease. J Virol 2023; 97:e0167222. [PMID: 36651748 PMCID: PMC9973041 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01672-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic screening has yielded small-molecule inhibitors of prion replication that are effective in vivo against certain prion strains but not others. Here, we sought to test the small molecule anle138b in multiple mouse models of prion disease. In mice inoculated with the RML strain of prions, anle138b doubled survival and durably suppressed astrogliosis measured by live-animal bioluminescence imaging. In knock-in mouse models of the D178N and E200K mutations that cause genetic prion disease, however, we were unable to identify a clear, quantifiable disease endpoint against which to measure therapeutic efficacy. Among untreated animals, the mutations did not impact overall survival, and bioluminescence remained low out to >20 months of age. Vacuolization and PrP deposition were observed in some brain regions in a subset of mutant animals but appeared to be unable to carry the weight of a primary endpoint in a therapeutic study. We conclude that not all animal models of prion disease are suited to well-powered therapeutic efficacy studies, and care should be taken in choosing the models that will support drug development programs. IMPORTANCE There is an urgent need to develop drugs for prion disease, a currently untreatable neurodegenerative disease. In this effort, there is a debate over which animal models can best support a drug development program. While the study of prion disease benefits from excellent animal models because prions naturally afflict many different mammals, different models have different capabilities and limitations. Here, we conducted a therapeutic efficacy study of the drug candidate anle138b in mouse models with two of the most common mutations that cause genetic prion disease. In a more typical model where prions are injected directly into the brain, we found anle138b to be effective. In the genetic models, however, the animals never reached a clear, measurable point of disease onset. We conclude that not all prion disease animal models are ideally suited to drug efficacy studies, and well-defined, quantitative disease metrics should be a priority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia M. Vallabh
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- McCance Center for Brain Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Prion Alliance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Dan Zou
- Montana Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Rose Pitstick
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, USA
| | - Jill O’Moore
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, USA
| | - Janet Peters
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, USA
| | - Derek Silvius
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, USA
| | - Jasna Kriz
- Cervo Brain Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Walker S. Jackson
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - George A. Carlson
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California—San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Eric Vallabh Minikel
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- McCance Center for Brain Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Prion Alliance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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9
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Prions: a threat to health security and the need for effective medical countermeasures. GLOBAL HEALTH JOURNAL 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.glohj.2023.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
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10
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Shim KH, Sharma N, An SSA. Prion therapeutics: Lessons from the past. Prion 2022; 16:265-294. [PMID: 36515657 PMCID: PMC9754114 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2022.2153551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of incurable zoonotic neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) in humans and other animals caused by the prion proteins. The abnormal folding and aggregation of the soluble cellular prion proteins (PrPC) into scrapie isoform (PrPSc) in the Central nervous system (CNS) resulted in brain damage and other neurological symptoms. Different therapeutic approaches, including stalling PrPC to PrPSc conversion, increasing PrPSc removal, and PrPC stabilization, for which a spectrum of compounds, ranging from organic compounds to antibodies, have been explored. Additionally, a non-PrP targeted drug strategy using serpin inhibitors has been discussed. Despite numerous scaffolds being screened for anti-prion activity in vitro, only a few were effective in vivo and unfortunately, almost none of them proved effective in the clinical studies, most likely due to toxicity and lack of permeability. Recently, encouraging results from a prion-protein monoclonal antibody, PRN100, were presented in the first human trial on CJD patients, which gives a hope for better future for the discovery of other new molecules to treat prion diseases. In this comprehensive review, we have re-visited the history and discussed various classes of anti-prion agents, their structure, mode of action, and toxicity. Understanding pathogenesis would be vital for developing future treatments for prion diseases. Based on the outcomes of existing therapies, new anti-prion agents could be identified/synthesized/designed with reduced toxicity and increased bioavailability, which could probably be effective in treating prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyu Hwan Shim
- Department of Bionano Technology, Gachon University, Seongnam, South Korea
| | - Niti Sharma
- Department of Bionano Technology, Gachon University, Seongnam, South Korea
| | - Seong Soo A An
- Department of Bionano Technology, Gachon University, Seongnam, South Korea
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Beauchemin KS, Rees JR, Supattapone S. Alternating anti-prion regimens reduce combination drug resistance but do not further extend survival in scrapie-infected mice. J Gen Virol 2021; 102:001705. [PMID: 34904943 PMCID: PMC8744272 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are fatal and infectious neurodegenerative diseases in humans and other mammals caused by templated misfolding of the endogenous prion protein (PrP). Although there is currently no vaccine or therapy against prion disease, several classes of small-molecule compounds have been shown to increase disease-free incubation time in prion-infected mice. An apparent obstacle to effective anti-prion therapy is the emergence of drug-resistant strains during static therapy with either single compounds or multi-drug combination regimens. Here, we treated scrapie-infected mice with dynamic regimens that alternate between different classes of anti-prion drugs. The results show that alternating regimens containing various combinations of Anle138b, IND24 and IND116135 reduce the incidence of combination drug resistance, but do not significantly increase long-term disease-free survival compared to monotherapy. Furthermore, the alternating regimens induced regional vacuolation profiles resembling those generated by a single component of the alternating regimen, suggesting the emergence of strain dominance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn S. Beauchemin
- Departments of Biochemistry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Judy R. Rees
- Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA,Community and Family Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Surachai Supattapone
- Departments of Biochemistry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA,Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA,*Correspondence: Surachai Supattapone,
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12
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Teruya K, Oguma A, Arai K, Nishizawa K, Iwabuchi S, Watanabe-Matsui M, Sakasegawa Y, Schätzl H, Gilch S, Doh-Ura K. Polymorphisms in glia maturation factor β gene are markers of cellulose ether effectiveness in prion-infected mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 560:105-111. [PMID: 33984767 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.04.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Anti-prion effects of cellulose ether (CE) are reported in rodents, but the molecular mechanism is fully unknown. Here, we investigated the genetic background of CE effectiveness by proteomic and genetic analysis in mice. Proteomic analysis in the two mouse lines showing a dramatic difference in CE effectiveness revealed a distinct polymorphism in the glia maturation factor β gene. This polymorphism was significantly associated with the CE effectiveness in various prion-infected mouse lines. Sequencing of this gene and its vicinity genes also revealed several other polymorphisms that were significantly related to the CE effectiveness. These polymorphisms are useful as genetic markers for finding more suitable mouse lines and exploring the genetic factors of CE effectiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenta Teruya
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Ayumi Oguma
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Keita Arai
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Keiko Nishizawa
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Sara Iwabuchi
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Miki Watanabe-Matsui
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Yuji Sakasegawa
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Hermann Schätzl
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Katsumi Doh-Ura
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
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13
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Chen C, Dong X. Therapeutic implications of prion diseases. BIOSAFETY AND HEALTH 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bsheal.2020.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
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