1
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Lambert ZJ, Bian J, Cassmann ED, Greenlee MHW, Greenlee JJ. Scrapie versus Chronic Wasting Disease in White-Tailed Deer. Emerg Infect Dis 2024; 30:1651-1659. [PMID: 39043428 PMCID: PMC11286070 DOI: 10.3201/eid3008.240007] [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] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
White-tailed deer are susceptible to scrapie (WTD scrapie) after oronasal inoculation with the classical scrapie agent from sheep. Deer affected by WTD scrapie are difficult to differentiate from deer infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD). To assess the transmissibility of the WTD scrapie agent and tissue phenotypes when further passaged in white-tailed deer, we oronasally inoculated wild-type white-tailed deer with WTD scrapie agent. We found that WTD scrapie and CWD agents were generally similar, although some differences were noted. The greatest differences were seen in bioassays of cervidized mice that exhibited significantly longer survival periods when inoculated with WTD scrapie agent than those inoculated with CWD agent. Our findings establish that white-tailed deer are susceptible to WTD scrapie and that the presence of WTD scrapie agent in the lymphoreticular system suggests the handling of suspected cases should be consistent with current CWD guidelines because environmental shedding may occur.
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2
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Mierkiewicz M, Dzikowski A, Anusz K. CWD as a New Health Threat in Europe and the Adequacy and Effectiveness of Instruments of Legal Response from a Comparative Legal Perspective. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:2027. [PMID: 39061487 PMCID: PMC11273877 DOI: 10.3390/ani14142027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2024] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Prions cause infectious and fatal neurodegenerative diseases in mammals. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) affects wild and farmed cervids. The increasing number of cases in Europe, the resistance of prions to external conditions, and the persistence period threaten not only wild cervid populations but also the economy. The possible zoonotic potential of CWD is of growing concern. CWD is a relevant issue as far as the idea of "one health" is concerned, which is a fundamental principle of European veterinary law. Methods of legal text analysis and interpretation are used for this comparative legal study. Research reveals that countries struggling to tackle CWD employ different normative approaches to the problem and use different control and eradication schemes. The results of this study indicate that it is reasonable to issue uniform regulations in the European Union at the common, rather than national, level. The European legislation should creatively draw on the experience of North American countries that have been struggling with the discussed disease for a long time.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrzej Dzikowski
- Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159 Nowoursynowska St., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland; (M.M.); (K.A.)
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3
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Chang SC, Arifin MI, Tahir W, McDonald KJ, Zeng D, Schatzl HM, Hannaoui S, Gilch S. Extraneural infection route restricts prion conformational variability and attenuates the impact of quaternary structure on infectivity. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012370. [PMID: 38976748 PMCID: PMC11257401 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012370] [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: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 07/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Prions can exist as different strains that consist of conformational variants of the misfolded, pathogenic prion protein isoform PrPSc. Defined by stably transmissible biological and biochemical properties, strains have been identified in a spectrum of prion diseases, including chronic wasting disease (CWD) of wild and farmed cervids. CWD is highly contagious and spreads via direct and indirect transmission involving extraneural sites of infection, peripheral replication and neuroinvasion of prions. Here, we investigated the impact of infection route on CWD prion conformational selection and propagation. We used gene-targeted mouse models expressing deer PrP for intracerebral or intraperitoneal inoculation with fractionated or unfractionated brain homogenates from white-tailed deer, harboring CWD strains Wisc-1 or 116AG. Upon intracerebral inoculation, Wisc-1 and 116AG-inoculated mice differed in conformational stability of PrPSc. In brains of mice infected intraperitoneally with either inoculum, PrPSc propagated with identical conformational stability and fewer PrPSc deposits in most brain regions than intracerebrally inoculated animals. For either inoculum, PrPSc conformational stability in brain and spinal cord was similar upon intracerebral infection but significantly higher in spinal cords of intraperitoneally infected animals. Inoculation with fractionated brain homogenates resulted in lower variance of survival times upon intraperitoneal compared to intracerebral infection. In summary, we demonstrate that extraneural infection mitigates the impact of PrPSc quaternary structure on infection and reduces conformational variability of PrPSc propagated in the brain. These findings provide new insights into the evolution of stable CWD strains in natural, extraneural transmissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Chun Chang
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | | | - Waqas Tahir
- Canadian and WOAH Reference Laboratory for BSE, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Lethbridge, Canada
| | | | - Doris Zeng
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Hermann M. Schatzl
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Samia Hannaoui
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
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4
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Hoar BR, Ernest HB, Johnson LNL, LaCava MEF, Sandidge DJ, Gerow K, Mousel MR, Galloway NL, Swain W, Malmberg JL. Ecology and Chronic Wasting Disease Epidemiology Shape Prion Protein Gene Variation in Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). J Wildl Dis 2024; 60:496-501. [PMID: 38287919 DOI: 10.7589/jwd-d-23-00062] [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: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
As chronic wasting disease (CWD) continues to spread across North America, the relationship between CWD and host genetics has become of interest. In Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), one or two copies of a leucine allele at codon 132 of the prion protein gene (132L*) has been shown to prolong the incubation period of CWD. Our study examined the relationship between CWD epidemiology and codon 132 evolution in elk from Wyoming, USA, from 2011 to 2018. Using PCR and Sanger sequencing, we genotyped 997 elk and assessed the relationship between genotype and CWD prevalence estimated from surveillance data. Using logistic regression, we showed that each 1% increase in CWD prevalence is associated with a 9.6% increase in the odds that an elk would have at least one copy of leucine at codon 132. In some regions, however, 132L* variants were found in the absence of CWD, indicating that evolutionary and epidemiologic patterns can be heterogeneous across space and time. We also provide evidence that naturally occurring CWD is not rare in 132L* elk, which merits the study of shedding kinetics in 132L* elk and the influence of genotype on CWD strain diversity. The management implications of cervid adaptations to CWD are difficult to predict. Studies that investigate the degree to which evolutionary outcomes are shaped by host spatial structure can provide useful epidemiologic insight, which can in turn aid management by informing scale and extent of mitigation actions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Laura N L Johnson
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 1212 South Adams Street, Laramie, Wyoming 82070, USA
| | - Melanie E F LaCava
- Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | | | - Ken Gerow
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA
| | - Michelle R Mousel
- Animal Disease Research, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 2020 Northeast Wilson Road, Pullman, Washington 99163, USA
- School for Global Health, Washington State University, 1155 Northeast College Avenue, Pullman, Washington 99164, USA
| | - Nathan L Galloway
- Biological Resources Division, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive #200, Fort Collins, Colorado 80525, USA
| | - William Swain
- One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, 1089 Veterinary Medicine Drive, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Jennifer L Malmberg
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, 1174 Snowy Range Road, Laramie, Wyoming 82070, USA
- Current affiliation: National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, US Department of Agriculture, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA
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5
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Bartz JC, Benavente R, Caughey B, Christensen S, Herbst A, Hoover EA, Mathiason CK, McKenzie D, Morales R, Schwabenlander MD, Walsh DP. Chronic Wasting Disease: State of the Science. Pathogens 2024; 13:138. [PMID: 38392876 PMCID: PMC10892334 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13020138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting cervid species, both free-ranging and captive populations. As the geographic range continues to expand and disease prevalence continues to increase, CWD will have an impact on cervid populations, local economies, and ecosystem health. Mitigation of this "wicked" disease will require input from many different stakeholders including hunters, landowners, research biologists, wildlife managers, and others, working together. The NC1209 (North American interdisciplinary chronic wasting disease research consortium) is composed of scientists from different disciplines involved with investigating and managing CWD. Leveraging this broad breadth of expertise, the Consortium has created a state-of-the-science review of five key aspects of CWD, including current diagnostic capabilities for detecting prions, requirements for validating these diagnostics, the role of environmental transmission in CWD dynamics, and potential zoonotic risks associated with CWD. The goal of this review is to increase stakeholders', managers', and decision-makers' understanding of this disease informed by current scientific knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason C. Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA;
| | - Rebeca Benavente
- Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.B.); (R.M.)
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA;
| | - Sonja Christensen
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;
| | - Allen Herbst
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA;
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; (E.A.H.); (C.K.M.)
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; (E.A.H.); (C.K.M.)
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2M9, Canada;
| | - Rodrigo Morales
- Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.B.); (R.M.)
- Centro Integrativo de Biologia y Quimica Aplicada (CIBQA), Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile
| | - Marc D. Schwabenlander
- Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA;
| | - Daniel P. Walsh
- U.S. Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
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6
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Tranulis MA, Tryland M. The Zoonotic Potential of Chronic Wasting Disease-A Review. Foods 2023; 12:foods12040824. [PMID: 36832899 PMCID: PMC9955994 DOI: 10.3390/foods12040824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are transmissible neurodegenerative disorders that affect humans and ruminant species consumed by humans. Ruminant prion diseases include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, scrapie in sheep and goats and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids. In 1996, prions causing BSE were identified as the cause of a new prion disease in humans; variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). This sparked a food safety crisis and unprecedented protective measures to reduce human exposure to livestock prions. CWD continues to spread in North America, and now affects free-ranging and/or farmed cervids in 30 US states and four Canadian provinces. The recent discovery in Europe of previously unrecognized CWD strains has further heightened concerns about CWD as a food pathogen. The escalating CWD prevalence in enzootic areas and its appearance in a new species (reindeer) and new geographical locations, increase human exposure and the risk of CWD strain adaptation to humans. No cases of human prion disease caused by CWD have been recorded, and most experimental data suggest that the zoonotic risk of CWD is very low. However, the understanding of these diseases is still incomplete (e.g., origin, transmission properties and ecology), suggesting that precautionary measures should be implemented to minimize human exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Tranulis
- Department of Preclinical Sciences and Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 5003 As, Norway
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +47-67232040
| | - Morten Tryland
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, 2480 Koppang, Norway
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7
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Emergence of CWD strains. Cell Tissue Res 2022; 392:135-148. [PMID: 36201049 PMCID: PMC10113326 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03688-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) strains present a novel challenge to defining and mitigating this contagious prion disease of deer, elk, moose, and reindeer. Similar to strains of other prion diseases (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, sheep scrapie), CWD strains can affect biochemical and neuropathological properties of the infectious agent, and importantly interspecies transmission. To date, ten CWD strains have been characterized. The expanding range of CWD in North America and its presence in South Korea as well as Scandinavian countries will potentially result in millions of cervids infected with CWD; thus, novel strains will continue to emerge. In this review, we will summarize the characteristics of known CWD strains and describe the impact of prion protein gene polymorphisms on the generation of strains. We will also discuss the evidence that individual cervids can harbor more than one CWD strain, complicating strain analysis, and affecting selection and adaptation of strains in new hosts.
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8
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Castle AR, Wohlgemuth S, Arce L, Westaway D. Investigating CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive for production of disease-preventing prion gene alleles. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269342. [PMID: 35671288 PMCID: PMC9173614 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269342] [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: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders that includes chronic wasting disease, which affects cervids and is highly transmissible. Given that chronic wasting disease prevalence exceeds 30% in some endemic areas of North America, and that eventual transmission to other mammalian species, potentially including humans, cannot be ruled out, novel control strategies beyond population management via hunting and/or culling must be investigated. Prion diseases depend upon post-translational conversion of the cellular prion protein, encoded by the Prnp gene, into a disease-associated conformation; ablation of cellular prion protein expression, which is generally well-tolerated, eliminates prion disease susceptibility entirely. Inspired by demonstrations of gene drive in caged mosquito species, we aimed to test whether a CRISPR/Cas9-based gene drive mechanism could, in principle, promote the spread of a null Prnp allele among mammalian populations. First, we showed that transient co-expression of Cas9 and Prnp-directed guide RNAs in RK13 cells generates indels within the Prnp open-reading frame, indicating that repair of Cas9-induced double-strand breaks by non-homologous end-joining had taken place. Second, we integrated a ~1.2 kb donor DNA sequence into the Prnp open-reading frame in N2a cells by homology-directed repair following Cas9-induced cleavages and confirmed that integration occurred precisely in most cases. Third, we demonstrated that electroporation of Cas9/guide RNA ribonucleoprotein complexes into fertilised mouse oocytes resulted in pups with a variety of disruptions to the Prnp open reading frame, with a new coisogenic line of Prnp-null mice obtained as part of this work. However, a technical challenge in obtaining expression of Cas9 in the male germline prevented implementation of a complete gene drive mechanism in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew R. Castle
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Serene Wohlgemuth
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Luis Arce
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - David Westaway
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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9
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Susceptibility of Beavers to Chronic Wasting Disease. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11050667. [PMID: 35625395 PMCID: PMC9137852 DOI: 10.3390/biology11050667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, fatal, neurodegenerative prion disease of cervids. The expanding geographical range and rising prevalence of CWD are increasing the risk of pathogen transfer and spillover of CWD to non-cervid sympatric species. As beavers have close contact with environmental and food sources of CWD infectivity, we hypothesized that they may be susceptible to CWD prions. We evaluated the susceptibility of beavers to prion diseases by challenging transgenic mice expressing beaver prion protein (tgBeaver) with five strains of CWD, four isolates of rodent-adapted prions and one strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. All CWD strains transmitted to the tgBeaver mice, with attack rates highest from moose CWD and the 116AG and H95+ strains of deer CWD. Mouse-, rat-, and especially hamster-adapted prions were also transmitted with complete attack rates and short incubation periods. We conclude that the beaver prion protein is an excellent substrate for sustaining prion replication and that beavers are at risk for CWD pathogen transfer and spillover.
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10
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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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11
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Gilch S. Chronic wasting disease - A prion disease through a One Health lens. THE CANADIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL = LA REVUE VETERINAIRE CANADIENNE 2022; 63:431-433. [PMID: 35368398 PMCID: PMC8922376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Gilch
- Dr. Gilch is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Prion Disease Research in the Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary
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12
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Moore SJ, Carlson CM, Schneider JR, Johnson CJ, Greenlee JJ. Increased Attack Rates and Decreased Incubation Periods in Raccoons with Chronic Wasting Disease Passaged through Meadow Voles. Emerg Infect Dis 2022; 28:793-801. [PMID: 35318913 PMCID: PMC8962881 DOI: 10.3201/eid2804.210271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a naturally-occurring neurodegenerative disease of cervids. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) have previously been shown to be susceptible to the CWD agent. To investigate the potential for transmission of the agent of CWD from white-tailed deer to voles and subsequently to raccoons, we intracranially inoculated raccoons with brain homogenate from a CWD-affected white-tailed deer (CWDWtd) or derivatives of this isolate after it had been passaged through voles 1 or 5 times. We found that passage of the CWDWtd isolate through voles led to a change in the biologic behavior of the CWD agent, including increased attack rates and decreased incubation periods in raccoons. A better understanding of the dynamics of cross-species transmission of CWD prions can provide insights into how these infectious proteins evolve in new hosts.
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13
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Wagner K, Pierce R, Gordon E, Hay A, Lessard A, Telling GC, Ballard JR, Moreno JA, Zabel MD. Tissue-specific biochemical differences between chronic wasting disease prions isolated from free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). J Biol Chem 2022; 298:101834. [PMID: 35304100 PMCID: PMC9019250 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101834] [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: 12/12/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an invariably fatal prion disease affecting cervid species worldwide. Prions can manifest as distinct strains that can influence disease pathology and transmission. CWD is profoundly lymphotropic, and most infected cervids likely shed peripheral prions replicated in lymphoid organs. However, CWD is a neurodegenerative disease, and most research on prion strains has focused on neurogenic prions. Thus, a knowledge gap exists comparing neurogenic prions to lymphogenic prions. In this study, we compared prions from the obex and lymph nodes of naturally exposed white-tailed deer to identify potential biochemical strain differences. Here, we report biochemical evidence of strain differences between the brain and lymph node from these animals. Conformational stability assays, glycoform ratio analyses, and immunoreactivity scanning across the structured domain of the prion protein that refolds into the amyloid aggregate of the infectious prion reveal significantly more structural and glycoform variation in lymphogenic prions than neurogenic prions. Surprisingly, we observed greater biochemical differences among neurogenic prions than lymphogenic prions across individuals. We propose that the lymphoreticular system propagates a diverse array of prions from which the brain selects a more restricted pool of prions that may be quite different than those from another individual of the same species. Future work should examine the biological and zoonotic impact of these biochemical differences and examine more cervids from multiple locations to determine if these differences are conserved across species and locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn Wagner
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Robyn Pierce
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Elizabeth Gordon
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Arielle Hay
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Avery Lessard
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Glenn C. Telling
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Jennifer R. Ballard
- Research Division, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
| | - Julie A. Moreno
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Mark D. Zabel
- Prion Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,For correspondence: Mark D. Zabel
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14
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Gene-Edited Cell Models to Study Chronic Wasting Disease. Viruses 2022; 14:v14030609. [PMID: 35337016 PMCID: PMC8950194 DOI: 10.3390/v14030609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are fatal infectious neurodegenerative disorders affecting both humans and animals. They are caused by the misfolded isoform of the cellular prion protein (PrPC), PrPSc, and currently no options exist to prevent or cure prion diseases. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer, elk and other cervids is considered the most contagious prion disease, with extensive shedding of infectivity into the environment. Cell culture models provide a versatile platform for convenient quantification of prions, for studying the molecular and cellular biology of prions, and for performing high-throughput screening of potential therapeutic compounds. Unfortunately, only a very limited number of cell lines are available that facilitate robust and persistent propagation of CWD prions. Gene-editing using programmable nucleases (e.g., CRISPR-Cas9 (CC9)) has proven to be a valuable tool for high precision site-specific gene modification, including gene deletion, insertion, and replacement. CC9-based gene editing was used recently for replacing the PrP gene in mouse and cell culture models, as efficient prion propagation usually requires matching sequence homology between infecting prions and prion protein in the recipient host. As expected, such gene-editing proved to be useful for developing CWD models. Several transgenic mouse models were available that propagate CWD prions effectively, however, mostly fail to reproduce CWD pathogenesis as found in the cervid host, including CWD prion shedding. This is different for the few currently available knock-in mouse models that seem to do so. In this review, we discuss the available in vitro and in vivo models of CWD, and the impact of gene-editing strategies.
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15
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Ketz AC, Robinson SJ, Johnson CJ, Samuel MD. Pathogen‐mediated selection and management implications for white‐tailed deer exposed to chronic wasting disease. J Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alison C. Ketz
- Wisconsin Cooperative Research Unit Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology University of Wisconsin Madison WI USA
| | - Stacie J. Robinson
- NOAA Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Honolulu HI USA
| | - Chad J. Johnson
- Medical Microbiology and Immunology University of Wisconsin Madison WI USA
| | - Michael D. Samuel
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology University of Wisconsin Madison WI USA
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16
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Chafin TK, Douglas MR, Martin BT, Zbinden ZD, Middaugh CR, Ballard JR, Gray MC, Don White, Douglas ME. Age structuring and spatial heterogeneity in prion protein gene ( PRNP) polymorphism in white-tailed deer. Prion 2021; 14:238-248. [PMID: 33078661 PMCID: PMC7575228 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2020.1832947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic-wasting disease (CWD) is a prion-derived fatal neurodegenerative disease that has affected wild cervid populations on a global scale. Susceptibility has been linked unambiguously to several amino acid variants within the prion protein gene (PRNP). Quantifying their distribution across landscapes can provide critical information for agencies attempting to adaptively manage CWD. Here we attempt to further define management implications of PRNP polymorphism by quantifying the contemporary geographic distribution (i.e., phylogeography) of PRNP variants in hunter-harvested white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus, N = 1433) distributed across Arkansas (USA), including a focal spot for CWD since detection of the disease in February 2016. Of these, PRNP variants associated with the well-characterized 96S non-synonymous substitution showed a significant increase in relative frequency among older CWD-positive cohorts. We interpreted this pattern as reflective of a longer life expectancy for 96S genotypes in a CWD-endemic region, suggesting either decreased probabilities of infection or reduced disease progression. Other variants showing statistical signatures of potential increased susceptibility, however, seemingly reflect an artefact of population structure. We also showed marked heterogeneity across the landscape in the prevalence of ‘reduced susceptibility’ genotypes. This may indicate, in turn, that differences in disease susceptibility among WTD in Arkansas are an innate, population-level characteristic that is detectable through phylogeographic analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler K Chafin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Marlis R Douglas
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Bradley T Martin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Zachery D Zbinden
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Christopher R Middaugh
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Research, Evaluation, and Compliance Division , Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Jennifer R Ballard
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Research, Evaluation, and Compliance Division , Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - M Cory Gray
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Research, Evaluation, and Compliance Division , Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Don White
- University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station , Monticello, AR, USA
| | - Michael E Douglas
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, AR, USA
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17
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Selective Breeding for Disease-Resistant PRNP Variants to Manage Chronic Wasting Disease in Farmed Whitetail Deer. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12091396. [PMID: 34573378 PMCID: PMC8471411 DOI: 10.3390/genes12091396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of cervids caused by a misfolded variant of the normal cellular prion protein, and it is closely related to sheep scrapie. Variations in a host's prion gene, PRNP, and its primary protein structure dramatically affect susceptibility to specific prion disorders, and breeding for PRNP variants that prevent scrapie infection has led to steep declines in the disease in North American and European sheep. While resistant alleles have been identified in cervids, a PRNP variant that completely prevents CWD has not yet been identified. Thus, control of the disease in farmed herds traditionally relies on quarantine and depopulation. In CWD-endemic areas, depopulation of private herds becomes challenging to justify, leading to opportunities to manage the disease in situ. We developed a selective breeding program for farmed white-tailed deer in a high-prevalence CWD-endemic area which focused on reducing frequencies of highly susceptible PRNP variants and introducing animals with less susceptible variants. With the use of newly developed primers, we found that breeding followed predictable Mendelian inheritance, and early data support our project's utility in reducing CWD prevalence. This project represents a novel approach to CWD management, with future efforts building on these findings.
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18
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Otero A, Velásquez CD, Aiken J, McKenzie D. Chronic wasting disease: a cervid prion infection looming to spillover. Vet Res 2021; 52:115. [PMID: 34488900 PMCID: PMC8420063 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-021-00986-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) during the last six decades has resulted in cervid populations of North America where CWD has become enzootic. This insidious disease has also been reported in wild and captive cervids from other continents, threatening ecosystems, livestock and public health. These CWD "hot zones" are particularly complex given the interplay between cervid PRNP genetics, the infection biology, the strain diversity of infectious prions and the long-term environmental persistence of infectivity, which hinder eradication efforts. Here, we review different aspects of CWD including transmission mechanisms, pathogenesis, epidemiology and assessment of interspecies infection. Further understanding of these aspects could help identify "control points" that could help reduce exposure for humans and livestock and decrease CWD spread between cervids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Otero
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Camilo Duque Velásquez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Judd Aiken
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. .,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
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19
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Hannaoui S, Triscott E, Duque Velásquez C, Chang SC, Arifin MI, Zemlyankina I, Tang X, Bollinger T, Wille H, McKenzie D, Gilch S. New and distinct chronic wasting disease strains associated with cervid polymorphism at codon 116 of the Prnp gene. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009795. [PMID: 34310662 PMCID: PMC8341689 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting cervids. Polymorphisms in the prion protein gene can result in extended survival of CWD-infected animals. However, the impact of polymorphisms on cellular prion protein (PrPC) and prion properties is less understood. Previously, we characterized the effects of a polymorphism at codon 116 (A>G) of the white-tailed deer (WTD) prion protein and determined that it destabilizes PrPC structure. Comparing CWD isolates from WTD expressing homozygous wild-type (116AA) or heterozygous (116AG) PrP, we found that 116AG-prions were conformationally less stable, more sensitive to proteases, with lower seeding activity in cell-free conversion and reduced infectivity. Here, we aimed to understand CWD strain emergence and adaptation. We show that the WTD-116AG isolate contains two different prion strains, distinguished by their host range, biochemical properties, and pathogenesis from WTD-116AA prions (Wisc-1). Serial passages of WTD-116AG prions in tg(CerPrP)1536+/+ mice overexpressing wild-type deer-PrPC revealed two populations of mice with short and long incubation periods, respectively, and remarkably prolonged clinical phase upon inoculation with WTD-116AG prions. Inoculation of serially diluted brain homogenates confirmed the presence of two strains in the 116AG isolate with distinct pathology in the brain. Interestingly, deglycosylation revealed proteinase K-resistant fragments with different electrophoretic mobility in both tg(CerPrP)1536+/+ mice and Syrian golden hamsters infected with WTD-116AG. Infection of tg60 mice expressing deer S96-PrP with 116AG, but not Wisc-1 prions induced clinical disease. On the contrary, bank voles resisted 116AG prions, but not Wisc-1 infection. Our data indicate that two strains co-existed in the WTD-116AG isolate, expanding the variety of CWD prion strains. We argue that the 116AG isolate does not contain Wisc-1 prions, indicating that the presence of 116G-PrPC diverted 116A-PrPC from adopting a Wisc-1 structure. This can have important implications for their possible distinct capacities to cross species barriers into both cervids and non-cervids. Chronic wasting disease belongs to the family of prion diseases. It is considered the most contagious prion disease and the only one that affects free ranging wildlife. The disease range is expanding in North America and Northern Europe. This work describes the emergence and characterization of new chronic wasting disease strains related to a polymorphism in the prion protein gene. It supports the concept that strains are a dynamic mixture of substrains that can influence and interfere with each other. Because transmission barriers are governed by the compatibility of a particular prion strain with the new host’s prion protein, it is critical to understand the emergence and variety of chronic wasting disease strains circulating in wild animals and their ability to infect new host species including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samia Hannaoui
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Triscott
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Camilo Duque Velásquez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Sheng Chun Chang
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Maria Immaculata Arifin
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Irina Zemlyankina
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Xinli Tang
- Department of Biochemistry, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Trent Bollinger
- Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Holger Wille
- Department of Biochemistry, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- * E-mail:
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20
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Otero A, Duque Velásquez C, Aiken J, McKenzie D. White-tailed deer S96 prion protein does not support stable in vitro propagation of most common CWD strains. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11193. [PMID: 34045540 PMCID: PMC8160261 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90606-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
PrPC variation at residue 96 (G/S) plays an important role in the epidemiology of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in exposed white-tailed deer populations. In vivo studies have demonstrated the protective effect of serine at codon 96, which hinders the propagation of common CWD strains when expressed in homozygosis and increases the survival period of S96/wt heterozygous deer after challenge with CWD. Previous in vitro studies of the transmission barrier suggested that following a single amplification step, wt and S96 PrPC were equally susceptible to misfolding when seeded with various CWD prions. When we performed serial prion amplification in vitro using S96-PrPC, we observed a reduction in the efficiency of propagation with the Wisc-1 or CWD2 strains, suggesting these strains cannot stably template their conformations on this PrPC once the primary sequence has changed after the first round of replication. Our data shows the S96-PrPC polymorphism is detrimental to prion conversion of some CWD strains. These data suggests that deer homozygous for S96-PrPC may not sustain prion transmission as compared to a deer expressing G96-PrPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Otero
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Camilo Duque Velásquez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Judd Aiken
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. .,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
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21
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Figgie MP, Appleby BS. Clinical Use of Improved Diagnostic Testing for Detection of Prion Disease. Viruses 2021; 13:v13050789. [PMID: 33925126 PMCID: PMC8146465 DOI: 10.3390/v13050789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are difficult to recognize as many symptoms are shared among other neurologic pathologies and the full spectra of symptoms usually do not appear until late in the disease course. Additionally, many commonly used laboratory markers are non-specific to prion disease. The recent introduction of second-generation real time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC) has revolutionized pre-mortem diagnosis of prion disease due to its extremely high sensitivity and specificity. However, RT-QuIC does not provide prognostic data and has decreased diagnostic accuracy in some rarer, atypical prion diseases. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the current clinical utility of fluid-based biomarkers, neurodiagnostic testing, and brain imaging in the diagnosis of prion disease and to suggest guidelines for their clinical use, with a focus on rarer prion diseases with atypical features. Recent advancements in laboratory-based testing and imaging criteria have shown improved diagnostic accuracy and prognostic potential in prion disease, but because these diagnostic tests are not sensitive in some prion disease subtypes and diagnostic test sensitivities are unknown in the event that CWD transmits to humans, it is important to continue investigations into the clinical utility of various testing modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark P. Figgie
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
| | - Brian S. Appleby
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Correspondence:
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22
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Zink RM. Considering the use of the terms strain and adaptation in prion research. Heliyon 2021; 7:e06801. [PMID: 33898853 PMCID: PMC8060586 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary biologists and disease biologists use the terms strain and adaptation in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) research in different ways. In evolutionary biology, a strain is a nascent genetic lineage that can be described by a genealogy, and a phylogenetic nomenclature constructed to reflect that genealogy. Prion strains are described as showing distinct host range, clinical presentation, disease progression, and neuropathological and PrP biochemical profiles, and lack information that would permit phylogenetic reconstruction of their history. Prion strains are alternative protein conformations, sometimes derived from the same genotype. I suggest referring to prion strains as ecotypes, because the variant phenotypic conformations ("strains") are a function of the interaction between PRNP amino acid genotype and the host environment. In the case of CWD, a prion ecotype in white-tailed deer would be described by its genotype and the host in which it occurs, such as the H95 + ecotype. However, an evolutionary nomenclature is difficult because not all individuals with the same PRNP genotype show signs of CWD, therefore creating a nomenclature reflecting and one-to-one relationship between PRNP genealogy and CWD presence is difficult. Furthermore, very little information exists on the phylogenetic distribution of CWD ecotypes in wild deer populations. Adaptation has a clear meaning in evolutionary biology, the differential survival and reproduction of individual genotypes. If a new prion ecotype arises in a particular host and kills more hosts or kills at an earlier age, it is the antithesis of the evolutionary definition of adaptation. However, prion strains might be transmitted across generations epigenetically, but whether this represents adaptation depends on the fitness consequences of the strain. Protein phenotypes of PRNP that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), and CWD, are maladaptive and would not be propagated genetically or epigenetically via a process consistent with an evolutionary view of adaptation. I suggest terming the process of prion strain origination "phenotypic transformation", and only adaptation if evidence shows they are not maladaptive and persist over evolutionary time periods (e.g., thousands of generations) and across distinct species boundaries (via inheritance). Thus, prion biologists use strain and adaptation, historically evolutionary terms, in quite different ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M. Zink
- School of Natural Resources, School of Biological Sciences, Nebraska State Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68503, USA
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23
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Arifin MI, Hannaoui S, Chang SC, Thapa S, Schatzl HM, Gilch S. Cervid Prion Protein Polymorphisms: Role in Chronic Wasting Disease Pathogenesis. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22052271. [PMID: 33668798 PMCID: PMC7956812 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22052271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease found in both free-ranging and farmed cervids. Susceptibility of these animals to CWD is governed by various exogenous and endogenous factors. Past studies have demonstrated that polymorphisms within the prion protein (PrP) sequence itself affect an animal's susceptibility to CWD. PrP polymorphisms can modulate CWD pathogenesis in two ways: the ability of the endogenous prion protein (PrPC) to convert into infectious prions (PrPSc) or it can give rise to novel prion strains. In vivo studies in susceptible cervids, complemented by studies in transgenic mice expressing the corresponding cervid PrP sequence, show that each polymorphism has distinct effects on both PrPC and PrPSc. It is not entirely clear how these polymorphisms are responsible for these effects, but in vitro studies suggest they play a role in modifying PrP epitopes crucial for PrPC to PrPSc conversion and determining PrPC stability. PrP polymorphisms are unique to one or two cervid species and most confer a certain degree of reduced susceptibility to CWD. However, to date, there are no reports of polymorphic cervid PrP alleles providing absolute resistance to CWD. Studies on polymorphisms have focused on those found in CWD-endemic areas, with the hope that understanding the role of an animal's genetics in CWD can help to predict, contain, or prevent transmission of CWD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Immaculata Arifin
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Samia Hannaoui
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Sheng Chun Chang
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Simrika Thapa
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Hermann M. Schatzl
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; (M.I.A.); (S.H.); (S.C.C.); (S.T.); (H.M.S.)
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Correspondence:
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24
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Nonno R, Di Bari MA, Pirisinu L, D'Agostino C, Vanni I, Chiappini B, Marcon S, Riccardi G, Tran L, Vikøren T, Våge J, Madslien K, Mitchell G, Telling GC, Benestad SL, Agrimi U. Studies in bank voles reveal strain differences between chronic wasting disease prions from Norway and North America. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:31417-31426. [PMID: 33229531 PMCID: PMC7733848 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2013237117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a relentless epidemic disorder caused by infectious prions that threatens the survival of cervid populations and raises increasing public health concerns in North America. In Europe, CWD was detected for the first time in wild Norwegian reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces) in 2016. In this study, we aimed at comparing the strain properties of CWD prions derived from different cervid species in Norway and North America. Using a classical strain typing approach involving transmission and adaptation to bank voles (Myodes glareolus), we found that prions causing CWD in Norway induced incubation times, neuropathology, regional deposition of misfolded prion protein aggregates in the brain, and size of their protease-resistant core, different from those that characterize North American CWD. These findings show that CWD prion strains affecting Norwegian cervids are distinct from those found in North America, implying that the highly contagious North American CWD prions are not the proximate cause of the newly discovered Norwegian CWD cases. In addition, Norwegian CWD isolates showed an unexpected strain variability, with reindeer and moose being caused by different CWD strains. Our findings shed light on the origin of emergent European CWD, have significant implications for understanding the nature and the ecology of CWD in Europe, and highlight the need to assess the zoonotic potential of the new CWD strains detected in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- 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
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D'Agostino
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Chiappini
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Marcon
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Geraldina Riccardi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Linh Tran
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Turid Vikøren
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jørn Våge
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Knut Madslien
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Gordon Mitchell
- National and World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and Chronic Wasting Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON K2H 8P9, Canada
| | - Glenn C Telling
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80525
| | - Sylvie L Benestad
- World Organization for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for Chronic Wasting Disease, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, N-0106 Oslo, Norway
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
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25
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Cullingham CI, Peery RM, Dao A, McKenzie DI, Coltman DW. Predicting the spread-risk potential of chronic wasting disease to sympatric ungulate species. Prion 2020; 14:56-66. [PMID: 32008428 PMCID: PMC7009333 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2020.1720486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Wildlife disease incidence is increasing, resulting in negative impacts on the economy, biodiversity, and potentially human health. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids (wild and captive) which continues to spread geographically resulting in exposure to potential new host species. The disease agent (PrPCWD) is a misfolded conformer of the cellular prion protein (PrPC). In Canada, the disease is endemic in Alberta and Saskatchewan, affecting mule and white-tail deer, with lesser impact on elk and moose. As the disease continues to expand, additional wild ungulate species including bison, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and pronghorn antelope may be exposed. To better understand the species-barrier, we reviewed the current literature on taxa naturally or experimentally exposed to CWD to identify susceptible and resistant species. We created a phylogeny of these taxa using cytochrome B and found that CWD susceptibility followed the species phylogeny. Using this phylogeny we estimated the probability of CWD susceptibility for wild ungulate species. We then compared PrPC amino acid polymorphisms among these species to identify which sites segregated between susceptible and resistant species. We identified sites that were significantly associated with susceptibility, but they were not fully discriminating. Finally, we sequenced Prnp from 578 wild ungulates to further evaluate their potential susceptibility. Together, these data suggest the host-range for CWD will potentially include pronghorn, mountain goat and bighorn sheep, but bison are likely to be more resistant. These findings highlight the need for monitoring potentially susceptible species as CWD continues to expand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine I. Cullingham
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Rhiannon M. Peery
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Anh Dao
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Debbie I. McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - David W. Coltman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
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Kondru N, Manne S, Kokemuller R, Greenlee J, Greenlee MHW, Nichols T, Kong Q, Anantharam V, Kanthasamy A, Halbur P, Kanthasamy AG. An Ex Vivo Brain Slice Culture Model of Chronic Wasting Disease: Implications for Disease Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Development. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7640. [PMID: 32376941 PMCID: PMC7203233 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64456-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a rapidly spreading prion disease of cervids, yet antemortem diagnosis, treatment, and control remain elusive. We recently developed an organotypic slice culture assay for sensitive detection of scrapie prions using ultrasensitive prion seeding. However, this model was not established for CWD prions due to their strong transmission barrier from deer (Odocoileus spp) to standard laboratory mice (Mus musculus). Therefore, we developed and characterized the ex vivo brain slice culture model for CWD, using a transgenic mouse model (Tg12) that expresses the elk (Cervus canadensis) prion protein gene (PRNP). We tested for CWD infectivity in cultured slices using sensitive seeding assays such as real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). Slice cultures from Tg12, but not from prnp-/- mice, tested positive for CWD. Slice-generated CWD prions transmitted efficiently to Tg12 mice. Furthermore, we determined the activity of anti-prion compounds and optimized a screening protocol for the infectivity of biological samples in this CWD slice culture model. Our results demonstrate that this integrated brain slice model of CWD enables the study of pathogenic mechanisms with translational implications for controlling CWD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naveen Kondru
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Sireesha Manne
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Robyn Kokemuller
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Justin Greenlee
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, USA
| | - M Heather West Greenlee
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Tracy Nichols
- Surveillance, Preparedness and Response Services, Veterinary Services, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Qingzhong Kong
- Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Vellareddy Anantharam
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Arthi Kanthasamy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Patrick Halbur
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Anumantha G Kanthasamy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
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Duque Velásquez C, Kim C, Haldiman T, Kim C, Herbst A, Aiken J, Safar JG, McKenzie D. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) prion strains evolve via adaptive diversification of conformers in hosts expressing prion protein polymorphisms. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:4985-5001. [PMID: 32111742 PMCID: PMC7152757 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.012546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is caused by an unknown spectrum of prions and has become enzootic in populations of cervid species that express cellular prion protein (PrPC) molecules varying in amino acid composition. These PrPC polymorphisms can affect prion transmission, disease progression, neuropathology, and emergence of new prion strains, but the mechanistic steps in prion evolution are not understood. Here, using conformation-dependent immunoassay, conformation stability assay, and protein-misfolding cyclic amplification, we monitored the conformational and phenotypic characteristics of CWD prions passaged through deer and transgenic mice expressing different cervid PrPC polymorphisms. We observed that transmission through hosts with distinct PrPC sequences diversifies the PrPCWD conformations and causes a shift toward oligomers with defined structural organization, replication rate, and host range. When passaged in host environments that restrict prion replication, distinct co-existing PrPCWD conformers underwent competitive selection, stabilizing a new prion strain. Nonadaptive conformers exhibited unstable replication and accumulated only to low levels. These results suggest a continuously evolving diversity of CWD conformers and imply a critical interplay between CWD prion plasticity and PrPC polymorphisms during prion strain evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilo Duque Velásquez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
| | - Chae Kim
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Tracy Haldiman
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Chiye Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
| | - Allen Herbst
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Judd Aiken
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Jiri G Safar
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M8, Canada
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28
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McNulty EE, Nalls AV, Xun R, Denkers ND, Hoover EA, Mathiason CK. In vitro detection of haematogenous prions in white-tailed deer orally dosed with low concentrations of chronic wasting disease. J Gen Virol 2020; 101:347-361. [PMID: 31846418 PMCID: PMC7416609 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Infectivity associated with prion disease has been demonstrated in blood throughout the course of disease, yet the ability to detect blood-borne prions by in vitro methods remains challenging. We capitalized on longitudinal pathogenesis studies of chronic wasting disease (CWD) conducted in the native host to examine haematogenous prion load by real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and protein misfolding cyclic amplification. Our study demonstrated in vitro detection of amyloid seeding activity (prions) in buffy-coat cells harvested from deer orally dosed with low concentrations of CWD positive (+) brain (1 gr and 300 ng) or saliva (300 ng RT-QuIC equivalent). These findings make possible the longitudinal assessment of prion disease and deeper investigation of the role haematogenous prions play in prion pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E. McNulty
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Amy V. Nalls
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Randy Xun
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Nathaniel D. Denkers
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Edward A. Hoover
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Candace K. Mathiason
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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29
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Silva CJ, Erickson-Beltran ML, Duque Velásquez C, Aiken JM, McKenzie D. A General Mass Spectrometry-Based Method of Quantitating Prion Polymorphisms from Heterozygous Chronic Wasting Disease-Infected Cervids. Anal Chem 2019; 92:1276-1284. [PMID: 31815434 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b04449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the only prion disease naturally transmitted among farmed and free-ranging cervids (deer, elk, moose, etc.). These diseases are always fatal and have long asymptomatic incubation periods. By 2019, CWD-infected cervids had been detected in 26 states, three Canadian provinces, South Korea, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Prions (PrPSc) replicate by inducing a normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) to adopt the prion conformation. This prion templated conformational conversion is influenced by PrPC polymorphisms. Cervid PrPC contains at least 20 different polymorphic sites. By using chymotrypsin, trypsin, or trypsin followed by chymotrypsin to digest denatured cervid PrP, 19 peptides suitable for multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-based analysis and spanning positions 30-51, 61-112, and 114-231 of cervid PrP were identified. Ten of these peptides span polymorphism-containing regions of cervid PrP. The other nine contain no polymorphisms, so they can be used as internal standards. Calibration curves relating the area ratios of MRM signals from polymorphism-containing peptides to appropriate internal standard peptides were linear and had excellent correlation coefficients. Samples from heterozygous (G96/S96) white-tailed deer orally dosed with CWD from homozygous (G96/G96) deer were analyzed. The G96 polymorphism comprised 75 ± 5% of the total PrP from the G96/S96 heterozygotes. Heterozygous animals facilitate conversion of different PrPC polymorphisms into PrPSc. This approach can be used to quantitate the relative amounts of the polymorphisms present in other animal species and even humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Silva
- Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture , Agricultural Research Service , 800 Buchanan Street , Albany , California 94710 , United States of America
| | - Melissa L Erickson-Beltran
- Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture , Agricultural Research Service , 800 Buchanan Street , Albany , California 94710 , United States of America
| | - Camilo Duque Velásquez
- University of Alberta , Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases , 114 Brain and Aging Research Building , Edmonton , Alberta T6G 2M8 , Canada
| | - Judd M Aiken
- University of Alberta , Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases , 114 Brain and Aging Research Building , Edmonton , Alberta T6G 2M8 , Canada
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- University of Alberta , Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases , 114 Brain and Aging Research Building , Edmonton , Alberta T6G 2M8 , Canada
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30
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Bistaffa E, Vuong TT, Cazzaniga FA, Tran L, Salzano G, Legname G, Giaccone G, Benestad SL, Moda F. Use of different RT-QuIC substrates for detecting CWD prions in the brain of Norwegian cervids. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18595. [PMID: 31819115 PMCID: PMC6901582 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55078-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly contagious prion disease affecting captive and free-ranging cervid populations. CWD has been detected in United States, Canada, South Korea and, most recently, in Europe (Norway, Finland and Sweden). Animals with CWD release infectious prions in the environment through saliva, urine and feces sustaining disease spreading between cervids but also potentially to other non-cervids ruminants (e.g. sheep, goats and cattle). In the light of these considerations and due to CWD unknown zoonotic potential, it is of utmost importance to follow specific surveillance programs useful to minimize disease spreading and transmission. The European community has already in place specific surveillance measures, but the traditional diagnostic tests performed on nervous or lymphoid tissues lack sensitivity. We have optimized a Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay for detecting CWD prions with high sensitivity and specificity to try to overcome this problem. In this work, we show that bank vole prion protein (PrP) is an excellent substrate for RT-QuIC reactions, enabling the detection of trace-amounts of CWD prions, regardless of prion strain and cervid species. Beside supporting the traditional diagnostic tests, this technology could be exploited for detecting prions in peripheral tissues from live animals, possibly even at preclinical stages of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edoardo Bistaffa
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milano, Italy
| | | | - Federico Angelo Cazzaniga
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milano, Italy
| | - Linh Tran
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Oslo, Norway
| | - Giulia Salzano
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Trieste, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Trieste, Italy
| | - Giorgio Giaccone
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milano, Italy
| | | | - Fabio Moda
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milano, Italy.
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Koutsoumanis K, Allende A, Alvarez-Ordoňez A, Bolton D, Bover-Cid S, Chemaly M, Davies R, De Cesare A, Herman L, Hilbert F, Lindqvist R, Nauta M, Peixe L, Ru G, Skandamis P, Suffredini E, Andreoletti O, Benestad SL, Comoy E, Nonno R, da Silva Felicio T, Ortiz-Pelaez A, Simmons MM. Update on chronic wasting disease (CWD) III. EFSA J 2019; 17:e05863. [PMID: 32626163 PMCID: PMC7008890 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The European Commission asked EFSA for a Scientific Opinion: to revise the state of knowledge about the differences between the chronic wasting disease (CWD) strains found in North America (NA) and Europe and within Europe; to review new scientific evidence on the zoonotic potential of CWD and to provide recommendations to address the potential risks and to identify risk factors for the spread of CWD in the European Union. Full characterisation of European isolates is being pursued, whereas most NA CWD isolates have not been characterised in this way. The differing surveillance programmes in these continents result in biases in the types of cases that can be detected. Preliminary data support the contention that the CWD strains identified in Europe and NA are different and suggest the presence of strain diversity in European cervids. Current data do not allow any conclusion on the implications of strain diversity on transmissibility, pathogenesis or prevalence. Available data do not allow any conclusion on the zoonotic potential of NA or European CWD isolates. The risk of CWD to humans through consumption of meat cannot be directly assessed. At individual level, consumers of meat, meat products and offal derived from CWD-infected cervids will be exposed to the CWD agent(s). Measures to reduce human dietary exposure could be applied, but exclusion from the food chain of whole carcasses of infected animals would be required to eliminate exposure. Based on NA experiences, all the risk factors identified for the spread of CWD may be associated with animals accumulating infectivity in both the peripheral tissues and the central nervous system. A subset of risk factors is relevant for infected animals without involvement of peripheral tissues. All the risk factors should be taken into account due to the potential co-localisation of animals presenting with different disease phenotypes.
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32
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Hannaoui S, Arifin MI, Chang SC, Yu J, Gopalakrishnan P, Doh-Ura K, Schatzl HM, Gilch S. Cellulose ether treatment in vivo generates chronic wasting disease prions with reduced protease resistance and delayed disease progression. J Neurochem 2019; 152:727-740. [PMID: 31553058 PMCID: PMC7078990 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.14877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of free-ranging and farmed cervids that is highly contagious because of extensive prion shedding and prion persistence in the environment. Previously, cellulose ether compounds (CEs) have been shown to significantly extend the survival of mice inoculated with mouse-adapted prion strains. In this study, we used CEs, TC-5RW, and 60SH-50, in vitro and in vivo to assess their efficacy to interfere with CWD prion propagation. In vitro, CEs inhibited CWD prion amplification in a dose-dependent manner. Transgenic mice over-expressing elk PrPC (tgElk) were injected subcutaneously with a single dose of either of the CEs, followed by intracerebral inoculation with different CWD isolates from white tailed deer, mule deer, or elk. All treated groups showed a prolonged survival of up to more than 30 % when compared to the control group regardless of the CWD isolate used for infection. The extended survival in the treated groups correlated with reduced proteinase K resistance of prions. Remarkably, passage of brain homogenates from treated or untreated animals in tgElk mice resulted in a prolonged life span of mice inoculated with homogenates from CE-treated mice (of + 17%) even in the absence of further treatment. Besides the delayed disease onset upon passage in TgElk mice, the reduced proteinase K resistance was maintained but less pronounced. Therefore, these compounds can be very useful in limiting the spread of CWD in captive and wild-ranging cervids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samia Hannaoui
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Maria Immaculata Arifin
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Sheng Chun Chang
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Jie Yu
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Preetha Gopalakrishnan
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Katsumi Doh-Ura
- Department of Neurochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Hermann M Schatzl
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
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Chronic Wasting Disease in Cervids: Implications for Prion Transmission to Humans and Other Animal Species. mBio 2019; 10:mBio.01091-19. [PMID: 31337719 PMCID: PMC6650550 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01091-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion-related transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids, including deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose. CWD has been confirmed in at least 26 U.S. states, three Canadian provinces, South Korea, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, with a notable increase in the past 5 years. The continued geographic spread of this disease increases the frequency of exposure to CWD prions among cervids, humans, and other animal species. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion-related transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids, including deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose. CWD has been confirmed in at least 26 U.S. states, three Canadian provinces, South Korea, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, with a notable increase in the past 5 years. The continued geographic spread of this disease increases the frequency of exposure to CWD prions among cervids, humans, and other animal species. Since CWD is now an established wildlife disease in North America, proactive steps, where possible, should be taken to limit transmission of CWD among animals and reduce the potential for human exposure.
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34
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Otero A, Duque Velásquez C, Johnson C, Herbst A, Bolea R, Badiola JJ, Aiken J, McKenzie D. Prion protein polymorphisms associated with reduced CWD susceptibility limit peripheral PrP CWD deposition in orally infected white-tailed deer. BMC Vet Res 2019; 15:50. [PMID: 30717795 PMCID: PMC6360794 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-019-1794-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting members of the Cervidae family. PrPC primary structures play a key role in CWD susceptibility resulting in extended incubation periods and regulating the propagation of CWD strains. We analyzed the distribution of abnormal prion protein (PrPCWD) aggregates in brain and peripheral organs from orally inoculated white-tailed deer expressing four different PRNP genotypes: Q95G96/Q95G96 (wt/wt), S96/wt, H95/wt and H95/S96 to determine if there are substantial differences in the deposition pattern of PrPCWD between different PRNP genotypes. Results Although we detected differences in certain brain areas, globally, the different genotypes showed similar PrPCWD deposition patterns in the brain. However, we found that clinically affected deer expressing H95 PrPC, despite having the longest survival periods, presented less PrPCWD immunoreactivity in particular peripheral organs. In addition, no PrPCWD was detected in skeletal muscle of any of the deer. Conclusions Our data suggest that expression of H95-PrPC limits peripheral accumulation of PrPCWD as detected by immunohistochemistry. Conversely, infected S96/wt and wt/wt deer presented with similar PrPCWD peripheral distribution at terminal stage of disease, suggesting that the S96-PrPC allele, although delaying CWD progression, does not completely limit the peripheral accumulation of the infectious agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Otero
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, IA2, IIS, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Camilo Duque Velásquez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Chad Johnson
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
| | - Allen Herbst
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Rosa Bolea
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, IA2, IIS, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Juan José Badiola
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, IA2, IIS, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Judd Aiken
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Debbie McKenzie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. .,Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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35
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van Raamsdonk LWD, Prins TW, Meijer N, Scholtens IMJ, Bremer MGEG, de Jong J. Bridging legal requirements and analytical methods: a review of monitoring opportunities of animal proteins in feed. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 2019; 36:46-73. [PMID: 30608892 DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2018.1543956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Availability and safety of food ranks among the basic requirements for human beings. The importance of the food producing sector, inclusive of feed manufacturing, demands a high level of regulation and control. This paper will present and discuss the relationships in the triangle of legislation, the background of hazards with a biological nature, and opportunities for monitoring methods, most notable for prion-based diseases as primary issue. The European Union legislation for prevention of prion-based diseases since 2000 is presented and discussed. The definitions and circumscriptions of groups of species will be analysed in the view biological classification and evolutionary relationships. The state of the art of monitoring methods is presented and discussed. Methods based on visual markers (microscopy), DNA-based methods (PCR), protein-based methods (ELISA, mass spectroscopy, proteomics), near infrared oriented methods and combinations thereof are being evaluated. It is argued that the use in legislation of non-homogeneous groups of species in a biological sense will hamper the optimal design of monitoring methods. Proper definitions are considered to act as bridges between legal demands and suitable analytical methods for effective monitoring. Definitions including specified groups of species instead of single species are more effective for monitoring in a range of cases. Besides the desire of precise circumscription of animal groups targeted by legislation, processed products need well defined definitions as well. Most notable examples are blood versus blood products, and hydrolysis of several types of material. The WISE principle for harmonising the design of legislation and of analytical methods is discussed. This principle includes the elements Witful (reasonable legal principles), Indicative (clear limits between prohibition and authorisation), Societal demands (public health, environment, economy), and Enforceable (presence of suited monitoring methods) in order to promote a balanced effort for reaching the desired level of safety in the food production chain.
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Harrathi C, Fernández-Borges N, Eraña H, Elezgarai SR, Venegas V, Charco JM, Castilla J. Insights into the Bidirectional Properties of the Sheep-Deer Prion Transmission Barrier. Mol Neurobiol 2018; 56:5287-5303. [PMID: 30592012 PMCID: PMC6614146 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-018-1443-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The large chronic wasting disease (CWD)-affected cervid population in the USA and Canada, and the risk of the disease being transmitted to humans through intermediate species, is a highly worrying issue that is still poorly understood. In this case, recombinant protein misfolding cyclic amplification was used to determine, in vitro, the relevance of each individual amino acid on cross-species prion transmission. Others and we have found that the β2-α2 loop is a key modulator of transmission barriers between species and markedly influences infection by sheep scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or elk CWD. Amino acids that differentiate ovine and deer normal host prion protein (PrPC) and associated with structural rigidity of the loop β2-α2 (S173N, N177T) appear to confer resistance to some prion diseases. However, addition of methionine at codon 208 together with the previously described rigid loop substitutions seems to hide a key in this species barrier, as it makes sheep recombinant prion protein highly susceptible to CWD-induced misfolding. These studies indicate that interspecies prion transmission is not only governed just by the β2-α2 loop amino acid sequence but also by its interactions with the α3-helix as shown by substitution I208M. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, characterized by long incubation periods and spongiform changes associated with neuronal loss in the brain, have been described in several mammalian species appearing either naturally (scrapie in sheep and goats, bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle, chronic wasting disease in cervids, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans) or by experimental transmission studies (scrapie in mice and hamsters). Much of the pathogenesis of the prion diseases has been determined in the last 40 years, such as the etiological agent or the fact that prions occur as different strains that show distinct biological and physicochemical properties. However, there are many unanswered questions regarding the strain phenomenon and interspecies transmissibility. To assess the risk of interspecies transmission between scrapie and chronic wasting disease, an in vitro prion propagation method has been used. This technique allows to predict the amino acids preventing the transmission between sheep and deer prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chafik Harrathi
- CIC bioGUNE, Parque tecnológico de Bizkaia, 48160, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | | | - Hasier Eraña
- CIC bioGUNE, Parque tecnológico de Bizkaia, 48160, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Saioa R Elezgarai
- CIC bioGUNE, Parque tecnológico de Bizkaia, 48160, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Vanessa Venegas
- CIC bioGUNE, Parque tecnológico de Bizkaia, 48160, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Jorge M Charco
- CIC bioGUNE, Parque tecnológico de Bizkaia, 48160, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Joaquín Castilla
- CIC bioGUNE, Parque tecnológico de Bizkaia, 48160, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain. .,IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011, Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain.
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Abdelaziz DH, Thapa S, Brandon J, Maybee J, Vankuppeveld L, McCorkell R, Schätzl HM. Recombinant prion protein vaccination of transgenic elk PrP mice and reindeer overcomes self-tolerance and protects mice against chronic wasting disease. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:19812-19822. [PMID: 30397182 PMCID: PMC6314114 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.004810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Revised: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects cervids in North America and now Europe. No effective measures are available to control CWD. We hypothesized that active vaccination with homologous and aggregation-prone recombinant prion protein (PrP) could overcome self-tolerance and induce autoantibody production against the cellular isoform of PrP (PrPC), which would be protective against CWD infection from peripheral routes. Five groups of transgenic mice expressing elk PrP (TgElk) were vaccinated with either the adjuvant CpG alone or one of four recombinant PrP immunogens: deer dimer (Ddi); deer monomer (Dmo); mouse dimer (Mdi); and mouse monomer (Mmo). Mice were then challenged intraperitoneally with elk CWD prions. All vaccinated mice developed ELISA-detectable antibody titers against PrP. Importantly, all four vaccinated groups survived longer than the control group, with the Mmo-immunized group exhibiting 60% prolongation of mean survival time compared with the control group (183 versus 114 days post-inoculation). We tested for prion infection in brain and spleen of all clinically sick mice. Notably, the attack rate was 100% as revealed by positive CWD signals in all tested tissues when assessed with Western blotting, real-time quaking-induced conversion, and immunohistochemistry. Our pilot study in reindeer indicated appreciable humoral immune responses to Mdi and Ddi immunogens, and the post-immune sera from the Ddi-vaccinated reindeer mitigated CWD propagation in a cell culture model (CWD-RK13). Taken together, our study provides very promising vaccine candidates against CWD, but further studies in cervids are required to investigate vaccine efficacy in the natural CWD hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalia H Abdelaziz
- From the Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine and.,the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt.,the Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada and
| | - Simrika Thapa
- From the Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine and.,the Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada and
| | - Jenna Brandon
- From the Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine and
| | - Justine Maybee
- From the Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine and
| | | | - Robert McCorkell
- From the Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine and
| | - Hermann M Schätzl
- From the Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine and .,the Calgary Prion Research Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada and
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Eckland TE, Shikiya RA, Bartz JC. Independent amplification of co-infected long incubation period low conversion efficiency prion strains. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007323. [PMID: 30335854 PMCID: PMC6193734 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are caused by a misfolded isoform of the prion protein, PrPSc. Prion strains are hypothesized to be encoded by strain-specific conformations of PrPSc and prions can interfere with each other when a long-incubation period strain (i.e. blocking strain) inhibits the conversion of a short-incubation period strain (i.e. non-blocking). Prion strain interference influences prion strain dynamics and the emergence of a strain from a mixture; however, it is unknown if two long-incubation period strains can interfere with each other. Here, we show that co-infection of animals with combinations of long-incubation period strains failed to identify evidence of strain interference. To exclude the possibility that this inability of strains to interfere in vivo was due to a failure to infect common populations of neurons we used protein misfolding cyclic amplification strain interference (PMCAsi). Consistent with the animal bioassay studies, PMCAsi indicated that both co-infecting strains were amplifying independently, suggesting that the lack of strain interference is not due to a failure to target the same cells but is an inherent property of the strains involved. Importantly PMCA reactions seeded with long incubation-period strains contained relatively higher levels of remaining PrPC compared to reactions seeded with a short-incubation period strain. Mechanistically, we hypothesize the abundance of PrPC is not limiting in vivo or in vitro resulting in prion strains with relatively low prion conversion efficiency to amplify independently. Overall, this observation changes the paradigm of the interactions of prion strains and has implications for interspecies transmission and emergence of prion strains from a mixture. This is the first example of prion strains that replicate independently in vitro and in vivo. This observation changes the paradigm of the interactions of prion strains and provides further evidence that strains are a dynamic mixture of substrains. Strain interference is influenced by the abundance of PrPC that is convertible by the strains involved. These observations have implications for interspecies transmission and emergence of prion strains from a mixture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E. Eckland
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Ronald A. Shikiya
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Jason C. Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Pocchiari M, Manson J. Concluding remarks. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2018; 153:485-488. [PMID: 29887155 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-63945-5.00028-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This is the first volume of the Handbook of Clinical Neurology totally devoted to prion diseases. The reason for this choice is to inform neurologists and neuroscientists about the remarkable advances that this field has made in the diagnosis of human and animal prion diseases, understanding the pathogenesis of disease, and in the development of novel in vivo and in vitro models. In recent years, the knowledge of prion replication and mechanisms of prion spreading within the brain and peripheral organs of infected people has also become important for understanding other protein misfolded diseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Researchers in these diseases have recognized that the process within an individual leading to the deposition of misfolded proteins within the central nervous system shares remarkable common mechanisms with prion diseases, leading to the terminology of "prion-like diseases."
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jean Manson
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Igel-Egalon A, Béringue V, Rezaei H, Sibille P. Prion Strains and Transmission Barrier Phenomena. Pathogens 2018; 7:E5. [PMID: 29301257 PMCID: PMC5874731 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens7010005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Revised: 12/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Several experimental evidences show that prions are non-conventional pathogens, which physical support consists only in proteins. This finding raised questions regarding the observed prion strain-to-strain variations and the species barrier that happened to be crossed with dramatic consequences on human health and veterinary policies during the last 3 decades. This review presents a focus on a few advances in the field of prion structure and prion strains characterization: from the historical approaches that allowed the concept of prion strains to emerge, to the last results demonstrating that a prion strain may in fact be a combination of a few quasi species with subtle biophysical specificities. Then, we will focus on the current knowledge on the factors that impact species barrier strength and species barrier crossing. Finally, we present probable scenarios on how the interaction of strain properties with host characteristics may account for differential selection of new conformer variants and eventually species barrier crossing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angélique Igel-Egalon
- Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, UR892, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Vincent Béringue
- Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, UR892, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Human Rezaei
- Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, UR892, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Pierre Sibille
- Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, INRA, Université Paris-Saclay, UR892, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
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