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Further Characterization of Glycoform-Selective Prions of Variably Protease-Sensitive Prionopathy. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10050513. [PMID: 33922765 PMCID: PMC8146342 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10050513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion is an infectious protein (PrPSc) that is derived from a cellular glycoprotein (PrPC) through a conformational transition and associated with a group of prion diseases in animals and humans. Characterization of proteinase K (PK)-resistant PrPSc by western blotting has been critical to diagnosis and understanding of prion diseases including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease in humans. However, formation as well as biochemical and biological properties of the glycoform-selective PrPSc in variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) remain poorly understood. Here we reveal that formation of the ladder-like PrPSc in VPSPr is a PK-dependent two-step process, which is enhanced by basic pH. Two sets of PrPSc fragments can be identified with antibodies directed against an intermediate or a C-terminal domain of the protein. Moreover, antibodies directed against specific PrP glycoforms reveal faster electrophoretic migrations of PrP fragments mono-glycosylated at residue 181 and 197 in VPSPr than those in sporadic CJD (sCJD). Finally, RT-QuIC assay indicates that PrPSc-seeding activity is lower and its lag time is longer in VPSPr than in sCJD. Our results suggest that the glycoform-selective PrPSc in VPSPr is associated with altered glycosylation, resulting in different PK-truncation and aggregation seeding activity compared to PrPSc in sCJD.
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2
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Shen P, Dang J, Wang Z, Zhang W, Yuan J, Lang Y, Ding M, Mitchell M, Kong Q, Feng J, Rozemuller AJM, Cui L, Petersen RB, Zou WQ. Characterization of Anchorless Human PrP With Q227X Stop Mutation Linked to Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker Syndrome In Vivo and In Vitro. Mol Neurobiol 2020; 58:21-33. [PMID: 32889654 PMCID: PMC7695670 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-02098-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Alteration in cellular prion protein (PrPC) localization on the cell surface through mediation of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor has been reported to dramatically affect the formation and infectivity of its pathological isoform (PrPSc). A patient with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) syndrome was previously found to have a nonsense heterozygous PrP-Q227X mutation resulting in an anchorless PrP. However, the allelic origin of this anchorless PrPSc and cellular trafficking of PrPQ227X remain to be determined. Here, we show that PrPSc in the brain of this GSS patient is mainly composed of the mutant but not wild-type PrP (PrPWt), suggesting pathological PrPQ227X is incapable of recruiting PrPWt in vivo. This mutant anchorless protein, however, is able to recruit PrPWt from humanized transgenic mouse brain but not from autopsied human brain homogenates to produce a protease-resistant PrPSc-like form in vitro by protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). To further investigate the characteristics of this mutation, constructs expressing human PrPQ227X or PrPWt were transfected into neuroblastoma cells (M17). Fractionation of the M17 cells demonstrated that most PrPWt is recovered in the cell lysate fraction, while most of the mutant PrPQ227X is recovered in the medium fraction, consistent with the results obtained by immunofluorescence microscopy. Two-dimensional gel-electrophoresis and Western blotting showed that cellular PrPQ227X spots clustered at molecular weights of 22–25 kDa with an isoelectric point (pI) of 3.5–5.5, whereas protein spots from the medium are at 18–26 kDa with a pI of 7–10. Our findings suggest that the role of GPI anchor in prion propagation between the anchorless mutant PrP and wild-type PrP relies on the cellular distribution of the protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pingping Shen
- Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, People's Republic of China.,Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Johnny Dang
- Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Zerui Wang
- Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, People's Republic of China.,Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Weiguanliu Zhang
- Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, People's Republic of China.,Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Jue Yuan
- Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Yue Lang
- Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, People's Republic of China.,Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Mingxuan Ding
- Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, People's Republic of China.,Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Marcus Mitchell
- Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Qingzhong Kong
- Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA.,National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Jiachun Feng
- Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Annemiek J M Rozemuller
- Dutch Surveillance Center for Prion Diseases, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Li Cui
- Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, People's Republic of China.
| | - Robert B Petersen
- Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA. .,Foundation Sciences, Central Michigan University College of Medicine, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA.
| | - Wen-Quan Zou
- Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA. .,National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH, USA. .,National Center for Regenerative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.
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3
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Cali I, Cracco L, Saracino D, Occhipinti R, Coppola C, Appleby BS, Puoti G. Case Report: Histopathology and Prion Protein Molecular Properties in Inherited Prion Disease With a De Novo Seven-Octapeptide Repeat Insertion. Front Cell Neurosci 2020; 14:150. [PMID: 32733203 PMCID: PMC7362343 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2020.00150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The insertion of additional 168 base pair containing seven octapeptide repeats in the prion protein (PrP) gene region spanning residues 51–91 is associated with inherited prion disease. In 2008, we reported the clinical features of a novel de novo seven-octapeptide repeat insertion (7-OPRI) mutation coupled with codon 129 methionine (M) homozygosity in the PrP gene of a 19-year-old man presenting with psychosis and atypical dementia, and 16-year survival. Here, we describe the histopathological and PrP molecular properties in the autopsied brain of this patient. Histopathological examination revealed widespread brain atrophy, focal spongiform degeneration (SD), cortical PrP plaques, and elongated PrP formations in the cerebellum. Overall, these histopathological features resemble those described in a Belgian pedigree with 7-OPRI mutation except for the presence of PrP plaques in our case, which are morphologically different from the multicore plaques described in some OPRI mutations and in Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker (GSS) syndrome. The comparative characterization of the detergent-soluble and detergent-insoluble PrP in our patient and in sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) revealed distinct molecular signatures. Proteinase K digestion of the pathogenic, disease-associated PrP (PrPD) revealed PrPD type 1 in the cerebral cortex and mixed PrPD types 1 and 2 in the cerebellum. Altogether, the present study outlines the importance of assessing the phenotypical and PrP biochemical properties of these rare conditions, thereby widening the spectrum of the phenotypic heterogeneity of the 7-OPRI insertion mutations. Further studies are needed to determine whether distinct conformers of PrPD are associated with two major clinico-histopathological phenotypes in prion disease with 7-OPRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.,National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Laura Cracco
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | - Dario Saracino
- Division of Neurology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy.,Prion Disease Diagnosis and Surveillance Center (PDDSC), University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy
| | - Rossana Occhipinti
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Cinzia Coppola
- Division of Neurology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy
| | - Brian Stephen Appleby
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.,National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.,Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Gianfranco Puoti
- Division of Neurology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy.,Prion Disease Diagnosis and Surveillance Center (PDDSC), University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy
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Baiardi S, Rossi M, Capellari S, Parchi P. Recent advances in the histo-molecular pathology of human prion disease. Brain Pathol 2019; 29:278-300. [PMID: 30588685 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.12695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are progressive neurodegenerative disorders affecting humans and other mammalian species. The term prion, originally put forward to propose the concept that a protein could be infectious, refers to PrPSc , a misfolded isoform of the cellular prion protein (PrPC ) that represents the pathogenetic hallmark of these disorders. The discovery that other proteins characterized by misfolding and seeded aggregation can spread from cell to cell, similarly to PrPSc , has increased interest in prion diseases. Among neurodegenerative disorders, however, prion diseases distinguish themselves for the broader phenotypic spectrum, the fastest disease progression and the existence of infectious forms that can be transmitted through the exposure to diseased tissues via ingestion, injection or transplantation. The main clinicopathological phenotypes of human prion disease include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, by far the most common, fatal insomnia, variably protease-sensitive prionopathy, and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease. However, clinicopathological manifestations extend even beyond those predicted by this classification. Because of their transmissibility, the phenotypic diversity of prion diseases can also be propagated into syngenic hosts as prion strains with distinct characteristics, such as incubation period, pattern of PrPSc distribution and regional severity of histopathological changes in the brain. Increasing evidence indicates that different PrPSc conformers, forming distinct ordered aggregates, encipher the phenotypic variants related to prion strains. In this review, we summarize the most recent advances concerning the histo-molecular pathology of human prion disease focusing on the phenotypic spectrum of the disease including co-pathologies, the characterization of prion strains by experimental transmission and their correlation with the physicochemical properties of PrPSc aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Baiardi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marcello Rossi
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sabina Capellari
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Piero Parchi
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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5
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Abstract
Since the term protein was first coined in 1838 and protein was discovered to be the essential component of fibrin and albumin, all cellular proteins were presumed to play beneficial roles in plants and mammals. However, in 1967, Griffith proposed that proteins could be infectious pathogens and postulated their involvement in scrapie, a universally fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in goats and sheep. Nevertheless, this novel hypothesis had not been evidenced until 1982, when Prusiner and coworkers purified infectious particles from scrapie-infected hamster brains and demonstrated that they consisted of a specific protein that he called a "prion." Unprecedentedly, the infectious prion pathogen is actually derived from its endogenous cellular form in the central nervous system. Unlike other infectious agents, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, prions do not contain genetic materials such as DNA or RNA. The unique traits and genetic information of prions are believed to be encoded within the conformational structure and posttranslational modifications of the proteins. Remarkably, prion-like behavior has been recently observed in other cellular proteins-not only in pathogenic roles but also serving physiological functions. The significance of these fascinating developments in prion biology is far beyond the scope of a single cellular protein and its related disease.
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6
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Insights into Mechanisms of Chronic Neurodegeneration. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17:ijms17010082. [PMID: 26771599 PMCID: PMC4730326 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17010082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2015] [Revised: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 12/23/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and prion diseases are characterised by the accumulation of abnormal conformers of a host encoded protein in the central nervous system. The process leading to neurodegeneration is still poorly defined and thus development of early intervention strategies is challenging. Unique amongst these diseases are Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases, which have the ability to transmit between individuals. The infectious nature of these diseases has permitted in vivo and in vitro modelling of the time course of the disease process in a highly reproducible manner, thus early events can be defined. Recent evidence has demonstrated that the cell-to-cell spread of protein aggregates by a “prion-like mechanism” is common among the protein misfolding diseases. Thus, the TSE models may provide insights into disease mechanisms and testable hypotheses for disease intervention, applicable to a number of these chronic neurodegenerative diseases.
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Transmission Properties of Human PrP 102L Prions Challenge the Relevance of Mouse Models of GSS. PLoS Pathog 2015; 11:e1004953. [PMID: 26135918 PMCID: PMC4489887 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2015] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Inherited prion disease (IPD) is caused by autosomal-dominant pathogenic mutations in the human prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP). A proline to leucine substitution at PrP residue 102 (P102L) is classically associated with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease but shows marked clinical and neuropathological variability within kindreds that may be caused by variable propagation of distinct prion strains generated from either PrP 102L or wild type PrP. To-date the transmission properties of prions propagated in P102L patients remain ill-defined. Multiple mouse models of GSS have focused on mutating the corresponding residue of murine PrP (P101L), however murine PrP 101L, a novel PrP primary structure, may not have the repertoire of pathogenic prion conformations necessary to accurately model the human disease. Here we describe the transmission properties of prions generated in human PrP 102L expressing transgenic mice that were generated after primary challenge with ex vivo human GSS P102L or classical CJD prions. We show that distinct strains of prions were generated in these mice dependent upon source of the inoculum (either GSS P102L or CJD brain) and have designated these GSS-102L and CJD-102L prions, respectively. GSS-102L prions have transmission properties distinct from all prion strains seen in sporadic and acquired human prion disease. Significantly, GSS-102L prions appear incapable of transmitting disease to conventional mice expressing wild type mouse PrP, which contrasts strikingly with the reported transmission properties of prions generated in GSS P102L-challenged mice expressing mouse PrP 101L. We conclude that future transgenic modeling of IPDs should focus exclusively on expression of mutant human PrP, as other approaches may generate novel experimental prion strains that are unrelated to human disease. Inherited prion disease (IPD) is caused by pathogenic mutations in the human prion protein (PrP) gene leading to the formation of lethal prions in the brain. To-date the properties of prions causing IPD and their similarities to prions causing other forms of human prion disease remain ill-defined. In the present study we have investigated the properties of prions seen in patients with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease associated with the substitution of leucine for proline at amino acid position 102 (GSS P102L). We examined the ability of these prions to infect transgenic mice expressing human mutant 102L PrP, human wild-type PrP or wild-type mice. We found that GSS-102L prions have properties distinct from other types of human prions by showing that they can only infect transgenic mice expressing human PrP carrying the same mutation. Mice expressing wild-type human PrP or wild-type mouse PrP were entirely resistant to infection with GSS-102L prions. We conclude that accurate modeling of inherited prion disease requires the expression of authentic mutant human PrP in transgenic models, as other approaches may generate results that do not mirror the human disease.
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8
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Proteinase K and the structure of PrPSc: The good, the bad and the ugly. Virus Res 2015; 207:120-6. [PMID: 25816779 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2015.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2015] [Revised: 03/14/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Infectious proteins (prions) are, ironically, defined by their resistance to proteolytic digestion. A defining characteristic of the transmissible isoform of the prion protein (PrP(Sc)) is its partial resistance to proteinase K (PK) digestion. Diagnosis of prion disease typically relies upon immunodetection of PK-digested PrP(Sc) by Western blot, ELISA or immunohistochemical detection. PK digestion has also been used to detect differences in prion strains. Thus, PK has been a crucial tool to detect and, thereby, control the spread of prions. PK has also been used as a tool to probe the structure of PrP(Sc). Mass spectrometry and antibodies have been used to identify PK cleavage sites in PrP(Sc). These results have been used to identify the more accessible, flexible stretches connecting the β-strand components in PrP(Sc). These data, combined with physical constraints imposed by spectroscopic results, were used to propose a qualitative model for the structure of PrP(Sc). Assuming that PrP(Sc) is a four rung β-solenoid, we have threaded the PrP sequence to satisfy the PK proteolysis data and other experimental constraints.
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9
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Xiao X, Cali I, Yuan J, Cracco L, Curtiss P, Zeng L, Abouelsaad M, Gazgalis D, Wang GX, Kong Q, Fujioka H, Puoti G, Zou WQ. Synthetic Aβ peptides acquire prion-like properties in the brain. Oncotarget 2015; 6:642-50. [PMID: 25460507 PMCID: PMC4359245 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.2819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In transmission studies with Alzheimer's disease (AD) animal models, the formation of Aβ plaques is proposed to be initiated by seeding the inoculated amyloid β (Aβ) peptides in the brain. Like the misfolded scrapie prion protein (PrPSc) in prion diseases, Aβ in AD shows a certain degree of resistance to protease digestion while the biochemical basis for protease resistance of Aβ remains poorly understood. Using in vitro assays, histoblotting, and electron microscopy, we characterize the biochemical and morphological features of synthetic Aβ peptides and Aβ isolated from AD brain tissues. Consistent with previous observations, monomeric and oligomeric Aβ species extracted from AD brains are insoluble in detergent buffers and resistant to digestions with proteinase K (PK). Histoblotting of AD brain tissue sections exhibits an increased Aβ immunoreactivity after digestion with PK. In contrast, synthetic Aβ40 and Aβ42 are soluble in detergent buffers and fully digested by PK. Electron microscopy of Aβ40 and Aβ42 synthetic peptides shows that both species of Aβ form mature fibrils. Those generated from Aβ40 are longer but less numerous than those made of Aβ42. When spiked into human brain homogenates, both Aβ40 and Aβ42 acquire insolubility in detergent and resistance to PK. Our study favors the hypothesis that the human brain may contain cofactor(s) that confers the synthetic Aβ peptides PrPSc-like physicochemical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangzhu Xiao
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Jue Yuan
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Laura Cracco
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Paul Curtiss
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Liang Zeng
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, The People's Republic of China
| | - Mai Abouelsaad
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Dimitris Gazgalis
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Gong-Xian Wang
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, The People's Republic of China
| | - Qingzhong Kong
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Hisashi Fujioka
- Department of Pharmacology and EM Facility, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Gianfranco Puoti
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Wen-Quan Zou
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- National Center for Regenerative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, The People's Republic of China
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10
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Prion protein misfolding, strains, and neurotoxicity: an update from studies on Mammalian prions. Int J Cell Biol 2013; 2013:910314. [PMID: 24454379 PMCID: PMC3884631 DOI: 10.1155/2013/910314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2013] [Revised: 11/10/2013] [Accepted: 11/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting humans and other mammalian species. The central event in TSE pathogenesis is the conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein, PrPC, into the aggregate, β-sheet rich, amyloidogenic form, PrPSc. Increasing evidence indicates that distinct PrPSc conformers, forming distinct ordered aggregates, can encipher the phenotypic TSE variants related to prion strains. Prion strains are TSE isolates that, after inoculation into syngenic hosts, cause disease with distinct characteristics, such as incubation period, pattern of PrPSc distribution, and regional severity of histopathological changes in the brain. In analogy with other amyloid forming proteins, PrPSc toxicity is thought to derive from the existence of various intermediate structures prior to the amyloid fiber formation and/or their specific interaction with membranes. The latter appears particularly relevant for the pathogenesis of TSEs associated with GPI-anchored PrPSc, which involves major cellular membrane distortions in neurons. In this review, we update the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying three fundamental aspects of the basic biology of prions such as the putative mechanism of prion protein conversion to the pathogenic form PrPSc and its propagation, the molecular basis of prion strains, and the mechanism of induced neurotoxicity by PrPSc aggregates.
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11
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Small-molecule theranostic probes: a promising future in neurodegenerative diseases. Int J Cell Biol 2013; 2013:150952. [PMID: 24324497 PMCID: PMC3845517 DOI: 10.1155/2013/150952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2013] [Accepted: 09/03/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative illnesses, which include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and scrapie, chronic wasting disease, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals. They are caused by unconventional infectious agents consisting primarily of misfolded, aggregated, β -sheet-rich isoforms, denoted prions, of the physiological cellular prion protein (PrP(C)). Many lines of evidence suggest that prions (PrP(Sc)) act both as a template for this conversion and as a neurotoxic agent causing neuronal dysfunction and cell death. As such, PrP(Sc) may be considered as both a neuropathological hallmark of the disease and a therapeutic target. Several diagnostic imaging probes have been developed to monitor cerebral amyloid lesions in patients with neurodegenerative disorders (such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and prion disease). Examples of these probes are Congo red, thioflavin T, and their derivatives. We synthesized a series of styryl derivatives, denoted theranostics, and studied their therapeutic and/or diagnostic potentials. Here we review the salient traits of these small molecules that are able to detect and modulate aggregated forms of several proteins involved in protein misfolding diseases. We then highlight the importance of further studies for their practical implications in therapy and diagnostics.
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12
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Kovacs GG, Peden A, Weis S, Höftberger R, Berghoff AS, Yull H, Ströbel T, Koppi S, Katzenschlager R, Langenscheidt D, Assar H, Zaruba E, Gröner A, Voigtländer T, Puska G, Hametner E, Grams A, Muigg A, Knoflach M, László L, Ironside JW, Head MW, Budka H. Rapidly progressive dementia with thalamic degeneration and peculiar cortical prion protein immunoreactivity, but absence of proteinase K resistant PrP: a new disease entity? Acta Neuropathol Commun 2013; 1:72. [PMID: 24252716 PMCID: PMC3835463 DOI: 10.1186/2051-5960-1-72] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2013] [Accepted: 11/01/2013] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Human prion diseases are a group of rare fatal neurodegenerative conditions with well-developed clinical and neuropathological diagnostic criteria. Recent observations have expanded the spectrum of prion diseases beyond the classically recognized forms. Results In the present study we report six patients with a novel, apparently sporadic disease characterised by thalamic degeneration and rapidly progressive dementia (duration of illness 2–12 months; age at death: 55–81 years). Light and electron microscopic immunostaining for the prion protein (PrP) revealed a peculiar intraneuritic distribution in neocortical regions. Proteinase K resistant PrP (PrPres) was undetectable by Western blotting in frontal cortex from the three cases with frozen tissue, even after enrichment for PrPres by centrifugation or by phosphotungstic acid precipitation. Conformation-dependent immunoassay analysis using a range of PK digestion conditions (and no PK digestion) produced only very limited evidence of meaningful D-N (denatured/native) values, indicative of the presence of disease-associated PrP (PrPSc) in these cases, when the results were compared with appropriate negative control groups. Conclusions Our observation expands the spectrum of conditions associated with rapidly progressive dementia and may have implications for the understanding of the pathogenesis of prion diseases.
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PrP(ST), a soluble, protease resistant and truncated PrP form features in the pathogenesis of a genetic prion disease. PLoS One 2013; 8:e69583. [PMID: 23922744 PMCID: PMC3724911 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
While the conversion of PrP(C) into PrP(Sc) in the transmissible form of prion disease requires a preexisting PrP(Sc) seed, in genetic prion disease accumulation of disease related PrP could be associated with biochemical and metabolic modifications resulting from the designated PrP mutation. To investigate this possibility, we looked into the time related changes of PrP proteins in the brains of TgMHu2ME199K/wt mice, a line modeling for heterozygous genetic prion disease linked to the E200K PrP mutation. We found that while oligomeric entities of mutant E199KPrP exist at all ages, aggregates of wt PrP in the same brains presented only in advanced disease, indicating a late onset conversion process. We also show that most PK resistant PrP in TgMHu2ME199K mice is soluble and truncated (PrP(ST)), a pathogenic form never before associated with prion disease. We next looked into brain samples from E200K patients and found that both PK resistant PrPs, PrP(ST) as in TgMHu2ME199K mice, and "classical" PrP(Sc) as in infectious prion diseases, coincide in the patient's post mortem brains. We hypothesize that aberrant metabolism of mutant PrPs may result in the formation of previously unknown forms of the prion protein and that these may be central for the fatal outcome of the genetic prion condition.
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