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Burgener K, Lichtenberg SS, Walsh DP, Inzalaco HN, Lomax A, Pedersen JA. Prion Seeding Activity in Plant Tissues Detected by RT-QuIC. Pathogens 2024; 13:452. [PMID: 38921750 PMCID: PMC11206635 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13060452] [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: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases such as scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and chronic wasting disease (CWD) affect domesticated and wild herbivorous mammals. Animals afflicted with CWD, the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids (deer, elk, and moose), shed prions into the environment, where they may persist and remain infectious for years. These environmental prions may remain in soil, be transported in surface waters, or assimilated into plants. Environmental sampling is an emerging area of TSE research and can provide more information about prion fate and transport once shed by infected animals. In this study, we have developed the first published method for the extraction and detection of prions in plant tissue using the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay. Incubation with a zwitterionic surfactant followed by precipitation with sodium phosphotungstate concentrates the prions within samples and allows for sensitive detection of prion seeding activity. Using this protocol, we demonstrate that prions can be detected within plant tissues and on plant surfaces using the RT-QuIC assay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Burgener
- Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; (K.B.)
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Stuart Siegfried Lichtenberg
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
- Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach, 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
| | - Heather N. Inzalaco
- Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Aaron Lomax
- Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA;
- Varizymes, Middleton, WI 53562, USA
| | - Joel A. Pedersen
- Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; (K.B.)
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA;
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2
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Huang J, Yuan X, Chen L, Hu B, Wang H, Wang Y, Huang W. Pathological α-synuclein detected by real-time quaking-induced conversion in synucleinopathies. Exp Gerontol 2024; 187:112366. [PMID: 38280659 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2024.112366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
synucleinopathies are diseases characterized by the aggregation of α-synuclein (α-syn), which forms fibrils through misfolding and accumulates in a prion-like manner. To detect the presence of these α-syn aggregates in clinical samples, seed amplification assays (SAAs) have been developed. These SAAs are capable of amplifying the α-syn seeds, allowing for their detection. αSyn-SAAs have been reported under the names 'protein misfolding cyclic amplification' (αSyn-PMCA) and 'real-time quaking-induced conversion'α-Syn-RT-QuIC. The α-Syn RT-QuIC, in particular, has been adapted to amplify and detect α-syn aggregates in various biospecimens, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), skin, nasal brushing, serum and saliva. The α-syn RT-QuIC assay has demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity in detecting pathological α-syn, particularly in Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) cases, with an accuracy rate of up to 80 %. Additionally, differential diagnosis between DLB and PD, as well as PD and multiple system atrophy (MSA), can be achieved by utilizing certain kinetic thioflavin T (ThT) parameters and other parameters. Moreover, the positive detection of α-syn in the prodromal stage of synucleinopathies provides an opportunity for early intervention and management. In summary, the development of the α-syn RT-QuIC assay has greatly contributed to the field of synucleinopathies. Therefore, we review the development of α-syn RT-QuIC assay and describe in detail the recent advancements of α-syn RT-QuIC assay for detecting pathological α-syn in synucleinopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Huang
- Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, China
| | - Xingxing Yuan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, China
| | - Lin Chen
- Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, China
| | - Binbin Hu
- Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, China
| | - Hui Wang
- Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, China
| | - Ye Wang
- Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, China.
| | - Wei Huang
- Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, China.
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3
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Yilmaz G, Morrill T, Pilot W, Ward C, Mitchell G, Soutyrine A, Dan H, Lin M, Guan J. Optimization of RT-QuIC Assay Duration for Screening Chronic Wasting Disease in White-Tailed Deer. Vet Sci 2024; 11:60. [PMID: 38393078 PMCID: PMC10891863 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci11020060] [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: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays have become a common tool to detect chronic wasting disease (CWD) and are very sensitive provided the assay duration is sufficient. However, a prolonged assay duration may lead to non-specific signal amplification. The wide range of pre-defined assay durations in current RT-QuIC applications presents a need for methods to optimize the RT-QuIC assay. In this study, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied to optimize the assay duration for CWD screening in obex and retropharyngeal lymph node (RLN) tissue specimens. Two different fluorescence thresholds were used: a fixed threshold based on background fluorescence (Tstdev) and a max-point ratio (maximum/background fluorescence) threshold (TMPR) to determine CWD positivity. The optimal assay duration was 33 h for obex and 30 h for RLN based on Tstdev, and 29 h for obex and 32 h for RLN based on TMPR. The optimized assay durations were then evaluated for screening CWD in white-tailed deer from an affected farm. At a replicate level, using the optimized assay durations with TStdev and TMPR, the level of agreement with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that when using a 40 h assay duration. These findings demonstrate that the optimization of assay duration via a ROC analysis can improve RT-QuIC assays for screening CWD in white-tailed deer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jiewen Guan
- Ottawa Laboratory Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON K2J 4S1, Canada
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4
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Frey B, Holzinger D, Taylor K, Ehrnhoefer DE, Striebinger A, Biesinger S, Gasparini L, O'Neill MJ, Wegner F, Barghorn S, Höglinger GU, Heym RG. Tau seed amplification assay reveals relationship between seeding and pathological forms of tau in Alzheimer's disease brain. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:181. [PMID: 37964332 PMCID: PMC10644662 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01676-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Tau seed amplification assays (SAAs) directly measure the seeding activity of tau and would therefore be ideal biomarkers for clinical trials targeting seeding-competent tau in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the precise relationship between tau seeding measured by SAA and the levels of pathological forms of tau in the AD brain remains unknown. We developed a new tau SAA based on full-length 0N3R tau with sensitivity in the low fg/ml range and used it to characterize 103 brain samples from three independent cohorts. Tau seeding clearly discriminated between AD and control brain samples. Interestingly, seeding was absent in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) putamen, suggesting that our tau SAA did not amplify 4R tau aggregates from PSP brain. The specificity of our tau SAA for AD brain was further supported by analysis of matched hippocampus and cerebellum samples. While seeding was detected in hippocampus from Braak stages I-II, no seeding was present in AD cerebellum that is devoid of tau inclusions. Analysis of 40 middle frontal gyrus samples encompassing all Braak stages showed that tau SAA seeding activity gradually increased with Braak stage. This relationship between seeding activity and the presence of tau inclusions in AD brain was further supported by robust correlations between tau SAA results and the levels of phosphorylated tau212/214, phosphorylated tau181, aggregated tau, and sarkosyl-insoluble tau. Strikingly, we detected tau seeding in the middle frontal gyrus already at Braak stage II-III, suggesting that tau SAA can detect tau pathology earlier than conventional immunohistochemical staining. In conclusion, our data suggest a quantitative relationship between tau seeding activity and pathological forms of tau in the human brain and provides an important basis for further development of tau SAA for accessible human samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Frey
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany.
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany.
| | - David Holzinger
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Keenan Taylor
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, Biotherapeutics and Genetic Medicine Technologies, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Dagmar E Ehrnhoefer
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Andreas Striebinger
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Sandra Biesinger
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Laura Gasparini
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Michael J O'Neill
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegner
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | - Stefan Barghorn
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Günter U Höglinger
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases E.V. (DZNE), Munich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Roland G Heym
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
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5
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Mok TH, Nihat A, Majbour N, Sequeira D, Holm-Mercer L, Coysh T, Darwent L, Batchelor M, Groveman BR, Orr CD, Hughson AG, Heslegrave A, Laban R, Veleva E, Paterson RW, Keshavan A, Schott JM, Swift IJ, Heller C, Rohrer JD, Gerhard A, Butler C, Rowe JB, Masellis M, Chapman M, Lunn MP, Bieschke J, Jackson GS, Zetterberg H, Caughey B, Rudge P, Collinge J, Mead S. Seed amplification and neurodegeneration marker trajectories in individuals at risk of prion disease. Brain 2023; 146:2570-2583. [PMID: 36975162 PMCID: PMC10232278 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Human prion diseases are remarkable for long incubation times followed typically by rapid clinical decline. Seed amplification assays and neurodegeneration biofluid biomarkers are remarkably useful in the clinical phase, but their potential to predict clinical onset in healthy people remains unclear. This is relevant not only to the design of preventive strategies in those at-risk of prion diseases, but more broadly, because prion-like mechanisms are thought to underpin many neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we report the accrual of a longitudinal biofluid resource in patients, controls and healthy people at risk of prion diseases, to which ultrasensitive techniques such as real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and single molecule array (Simoa) digital immunoassays were applied for preclinical biomarker discovery. We studied 648 CSF and plasma samples, including 16 people who had samples taken when healthy but later developed inherited prion disease (IPD) ('converters'; range from 9.9 prior to, and 7.4 years after onset). Symptomatic IPD CSF samples were screened by RT-QuIC assay variations, before testing the entire collection of at-risk samples using the most sensitive assay. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament light (NfL), tau and UCH-L1 levels were measured in plasma and CSF. Second generation (IQ-CSF) RT-QuIC proved 100% sensitive and specific for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), iatrogenic and familial CJD phenotypes, and subsequently detected seeding activity in four presymptomatic CSF samples from three E200K carriers; one converted in under 2 months while two remain asymptomatic after at least 3 years' follow-up. A bespoke HuPrP P102L RT-QuIC showed partial sensitivity for P102L disease. No compatible RT-QuIC assay was discovered for classical 6-OPRI, A117V and D178N, and these at-risk samples tested negative with bank vole RT-QuIC. Plasma GFAP and NfL, and CSF NfL levels emerged as proximity markers of neurodegeneration in the typically slow IPDs (e.g. P102L), with significant differences in mean values segregating healthy control from IPD carriers (within 2 years to onset) and symptomatic IPD cohorts; plasma GFAP appears to change before NfL, and before clinical conversion. In conclusion, we show distinct biomarker trajectories in fast and slow IPDs. Specifically, we identify several years of presymptomatic seeding positivity in E200K, a new proximity marker (plasma GFAP) and sequential neurodegenerative marker evolution (plasma GFAP followed by NfL) in slow IPDs. We suggest a new preclinical staging system featuring clinical, seeding and neurodegeneration aspects, for validation with larger prion at-risk cohorts, and with potential application to other neurodegenerative proteopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tze How Mok
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
- NHS National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Akin Nihat
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
- NHS National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Nour Majbour
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Danielle Sequeira
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
- NHS National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Leah Holm-Mercer
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
- NHS National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Thomas Coysh
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
- NHS National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Lee Darwent
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Mark Batchelor
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Bradley R Groveman
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - Christina D Orr
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - Andrew G Hughson
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - Amanda Heslegrave
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Rhiannon Laban
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Elena Veleva
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Ross W Paterson
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Ashvini Keshavan
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Jonathan M Schott
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Imogen J Swift
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Carolin Heller
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Alexander Gerhard
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Medicine Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Medicine Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Christopher Butler
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - James B Rowe
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
| | - Mario Masellis
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Miles Chapman
- Neuroimmunology and CSF Laboratory, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Michael P Lunn
- Neuroimmunology and CSF Laboratory, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jan Bieschke
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Graham S Jackson
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, S-43180 Mölndal, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, S-431 80 Mölndal, Sweden
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hong Kong, China
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792-2420, USA
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - Peter Rudge
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
- NHS National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - John Collinge
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
- NHS National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Simon Mead
- Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London W1W 7FF, UK
- NHS National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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Christenson PR, Li M, Rowden G, Larsen PA, Oh SH. Nanoparticle-Enhanced RT-QuIC (Nano-QuIC) Diagnostic Assay for Misfolded Proteins. NANO LETTERS 2023; 23:4074-4081. [PMID: 37126029 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c01001] [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: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Misfolded proteins associated with various neurodegenerative diseases often accumulate in tissues or circulate in biological fluids years before the clinical onset, thus representing ideal diagnostic targets. Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC), a protein-based seeded-amplification assay, holds great potential for early disease detection, yet challenges remain for routine diagnostic application. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), associated with misfolded prion proteins of cervids, serves as an ideal model for evaluating new RT-QuIC methodologies. In this study, we investigate the previously untested hypothesis that incorporating nanoparticles into RT-QuIC assays can enhance their speed and sensitivity when applied to biological samples. We show that adding 50 nm silica nanoparticles to RT-QuIC experiments (termed Nano-QuIC) for CWD diagnostics greatly improves the performance by reducing detection times 2.5-fold and increasing sensitivity 10-fold by overcoming the effect of inhibitors in complex tissue samples. Crucially, no false positives were observed with these 50 nm silica nanoparticles, demonstrating the enhanced reliability and potential for diagnostic application of Nano-QuIC in detecting misfolded proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter R Christenson
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
- Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach (MNPRO), University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
| | - Manci Li
- Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach (MNPRO), University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
| | - Gage Rowden
- Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach (MNPRO), University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
| | - Peter A Larsen
- Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach (MNPRO), University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
| | - Sang-Hyun Oh
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
- Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach (MNPRO), University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
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7
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Olech M. Conventional and State-of-the-Art Detection Methods of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087135. [PMID: 37108297 PMCID: PMC10139118 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087135] [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: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). It is believed that the infectious agent responsible for prion diseases is abnormally folded prion protein (PrPSc), which derives from a normal cellular protein (PrPC), which is a cell surface glycoprotein predominantly expressed in neurons. There are three different types of BSE, the classical BSE (C-type) strain and two atypical strains (H-type and L-type). BSE is primarily a disease of cattle; however, sheep and goats also can be infected with BSE strains and develop a disease clinically and pathogenically indistinguishable from scrapie. Therefore, TSE cases in cattle and small ruminants require discriminatory testing to determine whether the TSE is BSE or scrapie and to discriminate classical BSE from the atypical H- or L-type strains. Many methods have been developed for the detection of BSE and have been reported in numerous studies. Detection of BSE is mainly based on the identification of characteristic lesions or detection of the PrPSc in the brain, often by use of their partial proteinase K resistance properties. The objective of this paper was to summarize the currently available methods, highlight their diagnostic performance, and emphasize the advantages and drawbacks of the application of individual tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Olech
- Department of Pathology, National Veterinary Research Institute, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
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8
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Walters RO, Haigh CL. Organoids for modeling prion diseases. Cell Tissue Res 2023; 392:97-111. [PMID: 35088182 PMCID: PMC9329493 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03589-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Human cerebral organoids are an exciting and novel model system emerging in the field of neurobiology. Cerebral organoids are spheres of self-organizing, neuronal lineage tissue that can be differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells and that present the possibility of on-demand human neuronal cultures that can be used for non-invasively investigating diseases affecting the brain. Compared with existing humanized cell models, they provide a more comprehensive replication of the human cerebral environment. The potential of the human cerebral organoid model is only just beginning to be elucidated, but initial studies have indicated that they could prove to be a valuable model for neurodegenerative diseases such as prion disease. The application of the cerebral organoid model to prion disease, what has been learned so far and the future potential of this model are discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan O Walters
- Prion Cell Biology Unit, Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, MT, 59840, USA
| | - Cathryn L Haigh
- Prion Cell Biology Unit, Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, MT, 59840, USA.
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9
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Bsoul R, Lund EL, Burns K, Andrews M, McKenzie N, Green A, Areškevičiūtė A. Improved Real-Time Quaking Induced Conversion for Early Diagnostics of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in Denmark. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076098. [PMID: 37047069 PMCID: PMC10094695 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076098] [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: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Cerebrospinal fluid-based real-time quaking-induced conversion (CSF RT-QuIC) is currently the most prominent method for early detection of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), the most common prion disease. CSF RT-QuIC delivers high sensitivity (>90%) and specificity (100%), which has been demonstrated by large ring-trial studies testing probable and definitive sCJD cohorts. Following the inclusion of CSF RT-QuIC in the revised European CJD Surveillance Network diagnostic criteria for sCJD, it has become a standard diagnostic procedure in many prion disease reference or surveillance centers around the world. In this study, we present the implementation of the second-generation CSF RT-QuIC (commonly known as Improved QuIC or IQ) at the Danish Reference Center for Prion Diseases (DRCPD). The method's sensitivity and specificity were evaluated and validated by analyzing 63 CSF samples. These 63 samples were also analyzed at the National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), based at the University of Edinburgh, UK; analysis was carried out using the first generation or previous CSF RT-QuIC method (PQ). The sensitivity and specificity of PQ during tests at the NCJDRSU were 92% and 100%, respectively. Using these 63 CSF samples, the agreement between the two RT-QuIC generations at DRCPD and NCJDRSU prion laboratories was 100%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remarh Bsoul
- Danish Reference Center for Prion Diseases, Department of Pathology, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Eva Løbner Lund
- Danish Reference Center for Prion Diseases, Department of Pathology, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kimberley Burns
- National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Mary Andrews
- National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Neil McKenzie
- National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Alison Green
- National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Aušrinė Areškevičiūtė
- Danish Reference Center for Prion Diseases, Department of Pathology, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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10
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Vaneyck J, Yousif TA, Segers-Nolten I, Blum C, Claessens MMAE. Quantitative Seed Amplification Assay: A Proof-of-Principle Study. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:1735-1743. [PMID: 36795058 PMCID: PMC9986870 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c08326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils of the protein α-synuclein (αS) have recently been identified as a biomarker for Parkinson's disease (PD). To detect the presence of these amyloid fibrils, seed amplification assays (SAAs) have been developed. SAAs allow for the detection of αS amyloid fibrils in biomatrices such as cerebral spinal fluid and are promising for PD diagnosis by providing a dichotomous (yes/no) response. The additional quantification of the number of αS amyloid fibrils may enable clinicians to evaluate and follow the disease progression and severity. Developing quantitative SAAs has been shown to be challenging. Here, we report on a proof-of-principle study on the quantification of αS fibrils in fibril-spiked model solutions of increasing compositional complexity including blood serum. We show that parameters derived from standard SAAs can be used for fibril quantification in these solutions. However, interactions between the monomeric αS reactant that is used for amplification and biomatrix components such as human serum albumin have to be taken into account. We demonstrate that quantification of fibrils is possible even down to the single fibril level in a model sample consisting of fibril-spiked diluted blood serum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Vaneyck
- Nanobiophysics (NBP), Faculty of Science and Technology, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology and Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands
| | - Therese A Yousif
- Nanobiophysics (NBP), Faculty of Science and Technology, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology and Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands
| | - Ine Segers-Nolten
- Nanobiophysics (NBP), Faculty of Science and Technology, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology and Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Blum
- Nanobiophysics (NBP), Faculty of Science and Technology, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology and Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands
| | - Mireille M A E Claessens
- Nanobiophysics (NBP), Faculty of Science and Technology, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology and Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands
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11
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Hereditary E200K mutation within the prion protein gene alters human iPSC derived cardiomyocyte function. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15788. [PMID: 36138047 PMCID: PMC9500067 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19631-5] [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: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiomyopathy is a co-morbidity of some prion diseases including genetic disease caused by mutations within the PrP gene (PRNP). Although the cellular prion protein (PrP) has been shown to protect against cardiotoxicity caused by oxidative stress, it is unclear if the cardiomyopathy is directly linked to PrP dysfunction. We differentiated cardiomyocyte cultures from donor human induced pluripotent stem cells and found a direct influence of the PRNP E200K mutation on cellular function. The PRNP E200K cardiomyocytes showed abnormal function evident in the irregularity of the rapid repolarization; a phenotype comparable with the dysfunction reported in Down Syndrome cardiomyocytes. PRNP E200K cardiomyocyte cultures also showed increased mitochondrial superoxide accompanied by increased mitochondrial membrane potential and dysfunction. To confirm that the changes were due to the E200K mutation, CRISPR-Cas9 engineering was used to correct the E200K carrier cells and insert the E200K mutation into control cells. The isotype matched cardiomyocytes showed that the lysine expressing allele does directly influence electrophysiology and mitochondrial function but some differences in severity were apparent between donor lines. Our results demonstrate that cardiomyopathy in hereditary prion disease may be directly linked to PrP dysfunction.
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12
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Coysh T, Mead S. The Future of Seed Amplification Assays and Clinical Trials. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:872629. [PMID: 35813946 PMCID: PMC9257179 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.872629] [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: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion-like seeded misfolding of host proteins is the leading hypothesised cause of neurodegenerative diseases. The exploitation of the mechanism in the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) and real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays have transformed prion disease research and diagnosis and have steadily become more widely used for research into other neurodegenerative disorders. Clinical trials in adult neurodegenerative diseases have been expensive, slow, and disappointing in terms of clinical benefits. There are various possible factors contributing to the failure to identify disease-modifying treatments for adult neurodegenerative diseases, some of which include: limited accuracy of antemortem clinical diagnosis resulting in the inclusion of patients with the “incorrect” pathology for the therapeutic; the role of co-pathologies in neurodegeneration rendering treatments targeting one pathology alone ineffective; treatment of the primary neurodegenerative process too late, after irreversible secondary processes of neurodegeneration have become established or neuronal loss is already extensive; and preclinical models used to develop treatments not accurately representing human disease. The use of seed amplification assays in clinical trials offers an opportunity to tackle these problems by sensitively detecting in vivo the proteopathic seeds thought to be central to the biology of neurodegenerative diseases, enabling improved diagnostic accuracy of the main pathology and co-pathologies, and very early intervention, particularly in patients at risk of monogenic forms of neurodegeneration. The possibility of quantifying proteopathic seed load, and its reduction by treatments, is an attractive pharmacodynamic biomarker in the preclinical and early clinical stages of drug development. Here we review some potential applications of seed amplification assays in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Coysh
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
- National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Mead
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, London, United Kingdom
- National Prion Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
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13
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Poleggi A, Baiardi S, Ladogana A, Parchi P. The Use of Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion for the Diagnosis of Human Prion Diseases. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:874734. [PMID: 35547619 PMCID: PMC9083464 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.874734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are rapidly progressive, invariably fatal, transmissible neurodegenerative disorders associated with the accumulation of the amyloidogenic form of the prion protein in the central nervous system (CNS). In humans, prion diseases are highly heterogeneous both clinically and neuropathologically. Prion diseases are challenging to diagnose as many other neurologic disorders share the same symptoms, especially at clinical onset. Definitive diagnosis requires brain autopsy to identify the accumulation of the pathological prion protein, which is the only specific disease biomarker. Although brain post-mortem investigation remains the gold standard for diagnosis, antemortem clinical, instrumental, and laboratory tests showing variable sensitivities and specificity, being surrogate disease biomarkers, have been progressively introduced in clinical practice to reach a diagnosis. More recently, the ultrasensitive Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay, exploiting, for the first time, the detection of misfolded prion protein through an amplification strategy, has highly improved the “in-vitam” diagnostic process, reaching in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and olfactory mucosa (OM) around 96% sensitivity and close to 100% specificity. RT-QuIC also improved the detection of the pathologic prion protein in several peripheral tissues, possibly even before the clinical onset of the disease. The latter aspect is of great interest for the early and even preclinical diagnosis in subjects at genetic risk of developing the disease, who will likely be the main target population in future clinical trials. This review presents an overview of the current knowledge and future perspectives on using RT-QuIC to diagnose human prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Poleggi
- Unit of Clinic, Diagnostics and Therapy of the Central Nervous System Diseases, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Simone Baiardi
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Programma Neuropatologia delle Malattie Neurodegenerative, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Anna Ladogana
- Unit of Clinic, Diagnostics and Therapy of the Central Nervous System Diseases, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Piero Parchi
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Programma Neuropatologia delle Malattie Neurodegenerative, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- *Correspondence: Piero Parchi,
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14
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Vascellari S, Orrù CD, Caughey B. Real-Time Quaking- Induced Conversion Assays for Prion Diseases, Synucleinopathies, and Tauopathies. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:853050. [PMID: 35360213 PMCID: PMC8960852 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.853050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases, synucleinopathies and tauopathies are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by deposition of abnormal protein aggregates in brain and other tissues. These aggregates consist of misfolded forms of prion, α-synuclein (αSyn), or tau proteins that cause neurodegeneration and represent hallmarks of these disorders. A main challenge in the management of these diseases is the accurate detection and differentiation of these abnormal proteins during the early stages of disease before the onset of severe clinical symptoms. Unfortunately, many clinical manifestations may occur only after neuronal damage is already advanced and definite diagnoses typically require post-mortem neuropathological analysis. Over the last decade, several methods have been developed to increase the sensitivity of prion detection with the aim of finding reliable assays for the accurate diagnosis of prion disorders. Among these, the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT–QuIC) assay now provides a validated diagnostic tool for human patients, with positive results being accepted as an official criterion for a diagnosis of probable prion disease in multiple countries. In recent years, applications of this approach to the diagnosis of other prion-like disorders, such as synucleinopathies and tauopathies, have been developed. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the use of the RT-QuIC assays for human proteopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Vascellari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
- *Correspondence: Sarah Vascellari,
| | - Christina D. Orrù
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases (LPVD), Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Health (NIH), Hamilton, MT, United States
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases (LPVD), Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Health (NIH), Hamilton, MT, United States
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15
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Vasili E, Dominguez-Meijide A, Flores-León M, Al-Azzani M, Kanellidi A, Melki R, Stefanis L, Outeiro TF. Endogenous Levels of Alpha-Synuclein Modulate Seeding and Aggregation in Cultured Cells. Mol Neurobiol 2022; 59:1273-1284. [PMID: 34984585 PMCID: PMC8857012 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02713-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of misfolded alpha-synuclein in intraneuronal inclusions known as Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Multiple studies strongly implicate the levels of alpha-synuclein as a major risk factor for the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease. Alpha-synuclein pathology spreads progressively throughout interconnected brain regions but the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the seeding of alpha-synuclein aggregation are still unclear. Here, using stable cell lines expressing alpha-synuclein, we examined the correlation between endogenous alpha-synuclein levels and the seeding propensity by exogenous alpha-synuclein preformed fibrils. We applied biochemical approaches and imaging methods in stable cell lines expressing alpha-synuclein and in primary neurons to determine the impact of alpha-synuclein levels on seeding and aggregation. Our results indicate that the levels of alpha-synuclein define the pattern and severity of aggregation and the extent of p-alpha-synuclein deposition, likely explaining the selective vulnerability of different cell types in synucleinopathies. The elucidation of the cellular processes involved in the pathological aggregation of alpha-synuclein will enable the identification of novel targets and the development of therapeutic strategies for Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eftychia Vasili
- Department of Experimental Neurodegeneration, Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37073, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Antonio Dominguez-Meijide
- Department of Experimental Neurodegeneration, Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37073, Goettingen, Germany
- Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Experimental Neurology, Department. of Morphological Sciences, CIMUS, IDIS, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Manuel Flores-León
- Departamento de Medicina Genómica Y Toxicología Ambiental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70-228, 04510, México, DF, Mexico
| | - Mohammed Al-Azzani
- Department of Experimental Neurodegeneration, Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37073, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Angeliki Kanellidi
- Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, 11527, Athens, Greece
| | - Ronald Melki
- Institut Francois Jacob (MIRCen), CEA, and Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, CNRS, Fontenay-Aux-Roses, France
| | - Leonidas Stefanis
- Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, 11527, Athens, Greece
| | - Tiago Fleming Outeiro
- Department of Experimental Neurodegeneration, Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37073, Goettingen, Germany.
- Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Goettingen, Germany.
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK.
- Scientific Employee With a Honorary Contract at Deutsches Zentrum Für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany.
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16
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Wu J, Chen D, Shi Q, Dong X. Protein amplification technology: New advances in human prion disease diagnosis. BIOSAFETY AND HEALTH 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bsheal.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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17
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Hwang S, Beckley D, Alekseev KP, Nicholson EM. Hofmeister Effect in RT-QuIC Seeding Activity of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:709965. [PMID: 34660549 PMCID: PMC8515057 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.709965] [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: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that causes a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cervids. Cases of CWD are rapidly increasing in North America among wild and farmed cervid populations, and potential for zoonotic transmission is not yet determined. Therefore, in order to manage the disease, it is imperative to devise a system that can detect CWD during its early phases to prevent spread to new captive herds through introduction of CWD-affected animals into otherwise CWD-free herds. Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays have been applied to detect the presence of disease-associated prions from various samples in both animals and humans. In this study, we have tested the use of five Hofmeister anions that range from weakly hydrating to strongly hydrating: Na3citrate, Na2SO4, NaCl, NaI, and NaClO4 in RT-QuIC reactions for CWD seeding activity using different recombinant prion proteins as substrates. This work shows how the ionic environment of the RT-QuIC reaction can enhance or diminish the seeding activity. The use of Na2SO4 or NaI as the sodium salt for RT-QuIC using bank vole recombinant prion substrate for the detection of CWD using brain samples reduces the lag time to detect with reasonable specificity. For detection of the CWD in fecal samples, only NaI showed comparable reduction in lag time relative to NaCl but required reduced temperature to alleviate spontaneous fibril formation in negative control samples. Selection of the proper ion environment and recombinant prion protein substrate will make RT-QuIC a powerful diagnostic tool for early detection of CWD prions, further supporting CWD surveillance in wild and captive cervids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyoun Hwang
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, IA, United States
| | - Danielle Beckley
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, IA, United States.,U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Konstantin P Alekseev
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, IA, United States.,U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, United States.,N. F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Eric M Nicholson
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, IA, United States
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18
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Cazzaniga FA, Bistaffa E, De Luca CMG, Bufano G, Indaco A, Giaccone G, Moda F. Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: Real-Time Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay represents a major diagnostic advance. Eur J Histochem 2021; 65. [PMID: 34657408 PMCID: PMC8529530 DOI: 10.4081/ejh.2021.3298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder with an incidence of 1.5 to 2 cases per million population/year. The disease is caused by a proteinaceous infectious agent, named prion (or PrPSc), which arises from the conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC). Once formed, PrPSc interacts with the normally folded PrPC coercing it to undergo similar structural rearrangement. The disease is highly heterogeneous from a clinical and neuropathological point of view. The origin of this variability lies in the aberrant structures acquired by PrPSc. At least six different sCJD phenotypes have been described and each of them is thought to be caused by a peculiar PrPSc strain. Definitive sCJD diagnosis requires brain analysis with the aim of identifying intracerebral accumulation of PrPSc which currently represents the only reliable biomarker of the disease. Clinical diagnosis of sCJD is very challenging and is based on the combination of several clinical, instrumental and laboratory tests representing surrogate disease biomarkers. Thanks to the advent of the ultrasensitive Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay, PrPSc was found in several peripheral tissues of sCJD patients, sometimes even before the clinical onset of the disease. This discovery represents an important step forward for the clinical diagnosis of sCJD. In this manuscript, we present an overview of the current applications and future perspectives of RT-QuIC in the field of sCJD diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Edoardo Bistaffa
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5-Neuropathology, Milan.
| | | | - Giuseppe Bufano
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5-Neuropathology, Milan, Italy.
| | - Antonio Indaco
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5-Neuropathology, Milan.
| | - Giorgio Giaccone
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5-Neuropathology, Milan, Italy.
| | - Fabio Moda
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5-Neuropathology, Milan, Italy.
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19
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Arshad H, Patel Z, Mehrabian M, Bourkas MEC, Al-Azzawi ZAM, Schmitt-Ulms G, Watts JC. The aminoglycoside G418 hinders de novo prion infection in cultured cells. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:101073. [PMID: 34390689 PMCID: PMC8413896 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101073] [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: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of prions and the discovery of candidate therapeutics for prion disease have been facilitated by the ability of prions to replicate in cultured cells. Paradigms in which prion proteins from different species are expressed in cells with low or no expression of endogenous prion protein (PrP) have expanded the range of prion strains that can be propagated. In these systems, cells stably expressing a PrP of interest are typically generated via coexpression of a selectable marker and treatment with an antibiotic. Here, we report the unexpected discovery that the aminoglycoside G418 (Geneticin) interferes with the ability of stably transfected cultured cells to become infected with prions. In G418-resistant lines of N2a or CAD5 cells, the presence of G418 reduced levels of protease-resistant PrP following challenge with the RML or 22L strains of mouse prions. G418 also interfered with the infection of cells expressing hamster PrP with the 263K strain of hamster prions. Interestingly, G418 had minimal to no effect on protease-resistant PrP levels in cells with established prion infection, arguing that G418 selectively interferes with de novo prion infection. As G418 treatment had no discernible effect on cellular PrP levels or its localization, this suggests that G418 may specifically target prion assemblies or processes involved in the earliest stages of prion infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamza Arshad
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zeel Patel
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mohadeseh Mehrabian
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matthew E C Bourkas
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Zaid A M Al-Azzawi
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gerold Schmitt-Ulms
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joel C Watts
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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20
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Singh S, DeMarco ML. In Vitro Conversion Assays Diagnostic for Neurodegenerative Proteinopathies. J Appl Lab Med 2021; 5:142-157. [PMID: 31811072 DOI: 10.1373/jalm.2019.029801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In vitro conversion assays, including real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) techniques, were first developed to study the conversion process of the prion protein to its misfolded, disease-associated conformation. The intrinsic property of prion proteins to propagate their misfolded structure was later exploited to detect subfemtogram quantities of the misfolded protein present in tissues and fluids from humans and animals with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Currently, conversion assays are used clinically as sensitive and specific diagnostic tools for antemortem diagnosis of prion disease. CONTENT In vitro conversion assays are now being applied to the development of diagnostics for related neurodegenerative diseases, including detection of misfolded α-synuclein in Parkinson disease, misfolded amyloid-β in Alzheimer disease, and misfolded tau in Pick disease. Like the predicate prion protein in vitro conversion diagnostics, these assays exploit the ability of endogenously misfolded proteins to induce misfolding and aggregation of their natively folded counterpart in vitro. This property enables biomarker detection of the underlying protein pathology. Herein, we review RT-QuIC and PMCA for (a) prion-, (b) α-synuclein-, (c) amyloid-β-, and (d) tau-opathies. SUMMARY Although already in routine clinical use for the detection of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, in vitro conversion assays for other neurodegenerative disorders require further development and evaluation of diagnostic performance before consideration for clinical implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Singh
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Mari L DeMarco
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital, Providence Health Care, Vancouver, Canada
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21
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Mok TH, Nihat A, Luk C, Sequeira D, Batchelor M, Mead S, Collinge J, Jackson GS. Bank vole prion protein extends the use of RT-QuIC assays to detect prions in a range of inherited prion diseases. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5231. [PMID: 33664355 PMCID: PMC7933407 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84527-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) real-time quaking-induced conversion assay (RT-QuIC) is an ultrasensitive prion amyloid seeding assay for diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) but several prion strains remain unexplored or resistant to conversion with commonly used recombinant prion protein (rPrP) substrates. Here, bank vole (BV) rPrP was used to study seeding by a wide range of archived post-mortem human CSF samples from cases of sporadic, acquired and various inherited prion diseases in high throughput 384-well format. BV rPrP substrate yielded positive reactions in 70/79 cases of sporadic CJD [Sensitivity 88.6% (95% CI 79.5-94.7%)], 1/2 variant CJD samples, and 9/20 samples from various inherited prion diseases; 5/57 non-prion disease control CSFs had positive reactions, yielding an overall specificity of 91.2% (95% CI 80.1-97.1%). Despite limitations of using post-mortem samples and our results' discrepancy with other studies, we demonstrated for the first time that BV rPrP is susceptible to conversion by human CSF samples containing certain prion strains not previously responsive in conventional rPrPs, thus justifying further optimisation for wider diagnostic and prognostic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tze How Mok
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Akin Nihat
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Connie Luk
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Danielle Sequeira
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Mark Batchelor
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Simon Mead
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Graham S Jackson
- MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London, W1W 7FF, UK.
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22
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Hwang S, Greenlee JJ, Nicholson EM. Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion Detection of PrP Sc in Fecal Samples From Chronic Wasting Disease Infected White-Tailed Deer Using Bank Vole Substrate. Front Vet Sci 2021; 8:643754. [PMID: 33748218 PMCID: PMC7969510 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.643754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that is fatal to free-range and captive cervids. CWD has been reported in the United States, Canada, South Korea, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, and the case numbers in both wild and farmed cervids are increasing rapidly. Studies indicate that lateral transmission of cervids likely occurs through the shedding of infectious prions in saliva, feces, urine, and blood into the environment. Therefore, the detection of CWD early in the incubation time is advantageous for disease management. In this study, we adapt real-time quacking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays to detect the seeding activity of CWD prions in feces samples from clinical and preclinical white-tailed deer. By optimizing reaction conditions for temperature as well as the salt and salt concentration, prion seeding activity from both clinical and preclinical animals were detected by RT-QuIC. More specifically, all fecal samples collected from 6 to 30 months post inoculation showed seeding activity under the conditions of study. The combination of a highly sensitive detection tool paired with a sample type that may be collected non-invasively allows a useful tool to support CWD surveillance in wild and captive cervids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyoun Hwang
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, United States
| | - Justin J Greenlee
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, United States
| | - Eric M Nicholson
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, United States
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23
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Suzuki A, Sawada K, Yamasaki T, Denkers ND, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA, Horiuchi M. Involvement of N- and C-terminal region of recombinant cervid prion protein in its reactivity to CWD and atypical BSE prions in real-time quaking-induced conversion reaction in the presence of high concentrations of tissue homogenates. Prion 2020; 14:283-295. [PMID: 33345717 PMCID: PMC7757825 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2020.1858694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) reaction is a sensitive and specific method for detecting prions. However, inhibitory factors present in tissue homogenates can easily interfere with this reaction. To identify the RT-QuIC condition under which low levels of chronic wasting disease (CWD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions can be detected in the presence of high concentrations of brain tissue homogenates, reactivities of various recombinant prion proteins (rPrPs) were tested. Among the tested rPrPs, recombinant cervid PrP (rCerPrP) showed a unique reactivity: the reactivity of rCerPrP to CWD and atypical BSE prions was not highly affected by high concentrations of normal brain homogenates. The unique reactivity of rCerPrP disappeared when the N-terminal region (aa 25-93) was truncated. Replacement of aa 23-149 of mouse (Mo) PrP with the corresponding region of CerPrP partially restored the unique reactivity of rCerPrP in RT-QuIC. Replacement of the extreme C-terminal region of MoPrP aa 219-231 to the corresponding region of CerPrP partially conferred the unique reactivity of rCerPrP to rMoPrP, suggesting the involvement of both N- and C-terminal regions. Additionally, rCerN-Mo-CerCPrP, a chimeric PrP comprising CerPrP aa 25-153, MoPrP aa 150-218, and CerPrP aa 223-233, showed an additive effect of the N- and C-terminal regions. These results provide a mechanistic implication for detecting CWD and atypical BSE prions using rCerPrP and are useful for further improvements of RT-QuIC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akio Suzuki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Kazuhei Sawada
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Takeshi Yamasaki
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Nathaniel D Denkers
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Candace K Mathiason
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Edward A Hoover
- Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Motohiro Horiuchi
- Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
- Global Station for Zoonosis Control. Global Institute for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan
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24
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Orrú CD, Groveman BR, Foutz A, Bongianni M, Cardone F, McKenzie N, Culeux A, Poleggi A, Grznarova K, Perra D, Fiorini M, Liu X, Ladogana A, Sbriccoli M, Hughson AG, Haïk S, Green AJ, Geschwind MD, Pocchiari M, Safar JG, Zanusso G, Caughey B. Ring trial of 2nd generation RT-QuIC diagnostic tests for sporadic CJD. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2020; 7:2262-2271. [PMID: 33185334 PMCID: PMC7664259 DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Real‐time quaking‐induced conversion (RT‐QuIC) assays detect prion‐seeding activity in a variety of human biospecimens, including cerebrospinal fluid and olfactory mucosa swabs. The assay has shown high diagnostic accuracy in patients with prion disorders. Recently, advances in these tests have led to markedly improved diagnostic sensitivity and reduced assay times. Accordingly, an algorithm has been proposed that entails the use of RT‐QuIC analysis of both sample types to diagnose sporadic Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease with nearly 100% accuracy. Here we present a multi‐center evaluation (ring trial) of the reproducibility of these improved “second generation” RT‐QuIC assays as applied to these diagnostic specimens. Methods Cerebrospinal fluid samples were analyzed from subjects with sporadic Creutzfeldt‐Jakob (n = 55) or other neurological diseases (n = 45) at multiple clinical centers. Olfactory mucosa brushings collected by multiple otolaryngologists were obtained from nine sporadic Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease cases and 19 controls. These sample sets were initially tested blindly by RT‐QuIC by a coordinating laboratory, recoded, and then sent to five additional testing laboratories for blinded ring trial testing. Results Unblinding of the results by a third party indicated 98‐100% concordance between the results obtained by the testing of these cerebrospinal fluid and nasal brushings at the six laboratories. Interpretation This second‐generation RT‐QuIC assay is highly transferrable, reproducible, and therefore robust for the diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina D. Orrú
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral DiseasesRocky Mountain LaboratoriesNational Institute for Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNational Institutes of HealthHamiltonMontanaUSA
| | - Bradley R. Groveman
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral DiseasesRocky Mountain LaboratoriesNational Institute for Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNational Institutes of HealthHamiltonMontanaUSA
| | - Aaron Foutz
- Departments of Pathology and NeurologyCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
| | - Matilde Bongianni
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement SciencesUniversity of VeronaVeronaItaly
| | - Franco Cardone
- Department of NeuroscienceIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Neil McKenzie
- National CJD Research and Surveillance UnitCentre for Clinical Brain SciencesSchool of Clinical SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Audrey Culeux
- Sorbonne UniversitéINSERMCNRSUMR 7225Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinièreICMParisFrance
| | - Anna Poleggi
- Department of NeuroscienceIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Katarina Grznarova
- Sorbonne UniversitéINSERMCNRSUMR 7225Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinièreICMParisFrance
| | - Daniela Perra
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement SciencesUniversity of VeronaVeronaItaly
| | - Michele Fiorini
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement SciencesUniversity of VeronaVeronaItaly
| | - Xiaoqin Liu
- Departments of Pathology and NeurologyCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
| | - Anna Ladogana
- Department of NeuroscienceIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Marco Sbriccoli
- Department of NeuroscienceIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Andrew G. Hughson
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral DiseasesRocky Mountain LaboratoriesNational Institute for Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNational Institutes of HealthHamiltonMontanaUSA
| | - Stéphane Haïk
- Sorbonne UniversitéINSERMCNRSUMR 7225Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinièreICMParisFrance
| | - Alison J. Green
- National CJD Research and Surveillance UnitCentre for Clinical Brain SciencesSchool of Clinical SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Michael D. Geschwind
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging CenterUniversity of California San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Jiri G. Safar
- Departments of Pathology and NeurologyCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
| | - Gianluigi Zanusso
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement SciencesUniversity of VeronaVeronaItaly
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral DiseasesRocky Mountain LaboratoriesNational Institute for Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNational Institutes of HealthHamiltonMontanaUSA
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25
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Mammadova N, West Greenlee MH, Moore SJ, Hwang S, Lehmkuhl AD, Nicholson EM, Greenlee JJ. Evaluation of Antemortem Diagnostic Techniques in Goats Naturally Infected With Scrapie. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:517862. [PMID: 33240943 PMCID: PMC7677257 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.517862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Scrapie is a naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects sheep and goats. Sheep and goats can be infected with scrapie as lambs or kids via contact with the placenta or placental fluids, or from ingestion of prions shed in the environment and/or bodily fluids (e.g., saliva, urine, and feces). Like other TSEs, scrapie is generally not diagnosed before extensive and irreversible brain damage has occurred. Therefore, a reliable method to screen animals may facilitate diagnosis. Additionally, while natural scrapie in sheep has been widely described, naturally acquired goat scrapie is less well-characterized. The purpose of this study was to better understand natural goat scrapie in regard to disease phenotype (i.e., incubation period, clinical signs, neuroanatomical deposition patterns of PrPSc, and molecular profile as detected by Western blot) and to evaluate the efficacy of antemortem tests to detect scrapie-positive animals in a herd of goats. Briefly, 28 scrapie-exposed goats were removed from a farm depopulated due to previous diagnoses of scrapie on the premises and observed daily for 30 months. Over the course of the observation period, antemortem biopsies of recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) were taken and tested using immunohistochemistry and real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC), and retinal thickness was measured in vivo using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Following the observation period, immunohistochemistry and Western blot were performed to assess neuroanatomical deposition patterns of PrPSc and molecular profile. Our results demonstrate that antemortem rectal biopsy was 77% effective in identifying goats naturally infected with scrapie and that a positive antemortem rectal biopsy was associated with the presence of clinical signs of neurologic disease and a positive dam status. We report that changes in retinal thickness are not detectable over the course of the observation period in goats naturally infected with scrapie. Finally, our results indicate that the accumulation of PrPSc in central nervous system (CNS) and non-CNS tissues is consistent with previous reports of scrapie in sheep and goats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najiba Mammadova
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, United States
| | - M Heather West Greenlee
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, IA, United States
| | - S Jo Moore
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, United States
| | - Soyoun Hwang
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, United States
| | - Aaron D Lehmkuhl
- National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) Diagnostic Bacteriology and Pathology Laboratory, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, United States
| | - Eric M Nicholson
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, United States
| | - Justin J Greenlee
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, United States
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26
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Manne S, Kondru N, Jin H, Serrano GE, Anantharam V, Kanthasamy A, Adler CH, Beach TG, Kanthasamy AG. Blinded RT-QuIC Analysis of α-Synuclein Biomarker in Skin Tissue From Parkinson's Disease Patients. Mov Disord 2020; 35:2230-2239. [PMID: 32960470 DOI: 10.1002/mds.28242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND An unmet clinical need in Parkinson's disease (PD) is to identify biomarkers for diagnosis, preferably in peripherally accessible tissues such as skin. Immunohistochemical studies have detected pathological α-synuclein (αSyn) in skin biopsies from PD patients albeit sensitivity needs to be improved. OBJECTIVE Our study provides the ultrasensitive detection of pathological αSyn present in the skin of PD patients, and thus, pathological αSyn in skin could be a potential biomarker for PD. METHODS The real-time quaking-induced conversion assay was used to detect pathological αSyn present in human skin tissues. Further, we optimized this ultra-sensitive and specific assay for both frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections of skin tissues. We determined the seeding kinetics of the αSyn present in the skin from autopsied subjects consisting of frozen skin tissues from 25 PD and 25 controls and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded skin sections from 12 PD and 12 controls. RESULTS In a blinded study of skin tissues from autopsied subjects, we correctly identified 24/25 PD and 24/25 controls using frozen skin tissues (96% sensitivity and 96% specificity) compared to 9/12 PD and 10/12 controls using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded skin sections (75% sensitivity and 83% specificity). CONCLUSIONS Our blinded study results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of using skin tissues for clinical diagnosis of PD by detecting pathological αSyn. Moreover, this peripheral biomarker discovery study may have broader translational value in detecting misfolded proteins in skin samples as a longitudinal progression marker. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sireesha Manne
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
| | - Naveen Kondru
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
| | - Huajun Jin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Geidy E Serrano
- Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, Arizona, USA
| | - Vellareddy Anantharam
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Arthi Kanthasamy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Charles H Adler
- Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
| | - Thomas G Beach
- Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, Arizona, USA
| | - Anumantha G Kanthasamy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
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27
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Arshad H, Bourkas MEC, Watts JC. The utility of bank voles for studying prion disease. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2020; 175:179-211. [PMID: 32958232 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2020.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The transmission of prions between species is typically an inefficient process due to the species barrier, which represents incompatibility between prion seed and substrate molecules. Bank voles (Myodes glareolus) are an exception to this rule, as they are susceptible to a diverse range of prion strains from many different animal species. In particular, bank voles can be efficiently infected with most types of human prions and have played a critical role in validating variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) and certain forms of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease as bona fide prion disorders rather than non-transmissible proteinopathies. The bank vole prion protein (BVPrP) confers a "universal prion acceptor" phenotype when expressed in mice and when used as a substrate for in vitro prion amplification assays, indicating that the unique prion transmission properties of bank voles are mediated by BVPrP. Over-expression of BVPrP in mice can also promote the spontaneous development of prion disease, indicating that BVPrP is intrinsically prone to both spontaneous and template-directed misfolding. Here, we discuss the utility of bank voles and BVPrP for prion research and how they have provided new tools for establishing rapid animal bioassays, modeling spontaneous prion disease, standardizing prion diagnostics, and understanding the molecular basis of the species barrier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamza Arshad
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Matthew E C Bourkas
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Joel C Watts
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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28
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Defining the Protein Seeds of Neurodegeneration using Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion Assays. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10091233. [PMID: 32854212 PMCID: PMC7564261 DOI: 10.3390/biom10091233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the accumulation of disease-related misfolded proteins. It is now widely understood that the characteristic self-amplifying (i.e., seeding) capacity once only attributed to the prions of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases is a feature of other misfolded proteins of neurodegenerative diseases, including tau, Aβ, and αSynuclein (αSyn). Ultrasensitive diagnostic assays, known as real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays, exploit these seeding capabilities in order to exponentially amplify protein seeds from various biospecimens. To date, RT-QuIC assays have been developed for the detection of protein seeds related to known prion diseases of mammals, the αSyn aggregates of Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy, and the tau aggregates of Alzheimer’s disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and other tauopathies including progressive supranuclear palsy. Application of these assays to premortem human biospecimens shows promise for diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and is an area of active investigation. RT-QuIC assays are also powerful experimental tools that can be used to dissect seeding networks within and between tissues and to evaluate how protein seed distribution and quantity correlate to disease-related outcomes in a host. As well, RT-QuIC application may help characterize molecular pathways influencing protein seed accumulation, transmission, and clearance. In this review we discuss the application of RT-QuIC assays as diagnostic, experimental, and structural tools for detection and discrimination of PrP prions, tau, and αSyn protein seeds.
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29
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Barbosa BJAP, Castrillo BB, Alvim RP, de Brito MH, Gomes HR, Brucki SMD, Smid J, Nitrini R, Landemberger MC, Martins VR, Silva JL, Vieira TCRG. Second-Generation RT-QuIC Assay for the Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Patients in Brazil. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:929. [PMID: 32850757 PMCID: PMC7423993 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent development of IQ-CSF, the second generation of real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), for the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) represents a major diagnostic advance in the field. Highly accurate results have been reported with encouraging reproducibility among different centers. However, availability is still insufficient, and only a few research centers have access to the method in developing countries. In Brazil, we have had 603 suspected cases of CJD since 2005, when surveillance started. Of these, 404 were undiagnosed. This lack of diagnosis is due, among other factors, to the lack of a reference center for the diagnosis of these diseases in Brazil, resulting in some of these samples being sent abroad for analysis. The aim of this research study is to report the pilot use of IQ-CSF in a small cohort of Brazilian patients with possible or probable CJD, implementing a reference center in the country. We stored CSF samples from patients with possible, probable or genetic CJD (one case) during the time frame of December 2016 through June 2018. All CSF samples were processed according to standardized protocols without access to the clinical data. Eight patients presented to our team with rapidly progressive dementia and typical neurological signs of CJD. We used CSF samples from seven patients with other neurological conditions as negative controls. Five out of seven suspected cases had positive tests; two cases showed inconclusive results. Among controls, there was one false-positive (a CSF sample from a 5-year-old child with leukemia under treatment). The occurrence of a false positive in one of the negative control samples raises the possibility of the presence of interfering components in the CSF sample from patients with non-neurodegenerative pathologies. Our pilot results illustrate the feasibility of having CJD CSF samples tested in Brazilian centers and highlight the importance of interinstitutional collaboration to pursue a higher diagnostic accuracy in CJD in Brazil and Latin America.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bruno Batitucci Castrillo
- Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Pires Alvim
- Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Houat de Brito
- Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Helio R Gomes
- Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sônia M D Brucki
- Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jerusa Smid
- Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Nitrini
- Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Michele C Landemberger
- Tumor Biology and Biomarkers Group, International Research Center, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Vilma R Martins
- Tumor Biology and Biomarkers Group, International Research Center, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jerson L Silva
- National Center of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Jiri Jonas, Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, National Institute of Science and Technology for Structural Biology and Bioimaging, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tuane C R G Vieira
- National Center of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Jiri Jonas, Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, National Institute of Science and Technology for Structural Biology and Bioimaging, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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30
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Xiao K, Shi Q, Zhou W, Dong XP. Different post-mortem brain regions from three Chinese FFI patients induce different reactive profiles both in the first and second generation RT-QuIC assays. Prion 2020; 14:163-169. [PMID: 32573356 PMCID: PMC7518747 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2020.1782809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) is one of the most popular genetic prion disease (gPrD) in China. Unlike the other types of human prion diseases, FFI patients show distinctive neuropathological characteristics, such as less deposition of PrPSc, low tissue infectivity and severe neuron losses in some special brain regions. Compared with other gPrDs, the positive reactions of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) RT-QuIC of FFI patients were markedly low. However, the reactivities of RT-QuIC of the brain tissues, particularly different brain regions, of FFI cases are rarely described. In this study, three different brain regions from three FFI patients were subjected into two kinds of RT-QuIC assays using recombinant hamster PrP23-231 (rHaPrP23-231) and PrP90-231 (rHaPrP90-231) as the substrates, respectively. The results showed that the general RT-QuIC reactivities of the brains from FFI cases were significantly lower than that of sCJD. Analyses of the positive rates and the reactivities (lag time and rfu peak) of RT-QuIC identified that the homogenates of frontal lobe induced the most active reaction, followed by thalamus and callosum. The RT-QuIC reactivity in the tested brain sample was closely associated with the intensity of PK-resistant PrPSc. Moreover, we also verified that the sensitivity of the RT-QuIC of rHaPrP90-231 was much higher than that of rHaPrP23-231. Those data confirm that brain tissues of FFI patients are able to convert positive reactions in RT-QuIC and show regional-associated positive converting capacities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Xiao
- State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases (Zhejiang University), National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, China
| | - Qi Shi
- State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases (Zhejiang University), National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, China
| | - Wei Zhou
- State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases (Zhejiang University), National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Ping Dong
- State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases (Zhejiang University), National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, China.,Center for Global Public Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, China.,Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Science , Wuhan, China.,China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences , Beijing, China
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Pathogenic Prion Protein Isoforms Are Not Present in Cerebral Organoids Generated from Asymptomatic Donors Carrying the E200K Mutation Associated with Familial Prion Disease. Pathogens 2020; 9:pathogens9060482. [PMID: 32570796 PMCID: PMC7350378 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9060482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cerebral organoids (COs) are a self-organizing three-dimensional brain tissue mimicking the human cerebral cortex. COs are a promising new system for modelling pathological features of neurological disorders, including prion diseases. COs expressing normal prion protein (PrPC) are susceptible to prion infection when exposed to the disease isoforms of PrP (PrPD). This causes the COs to develop aspects of prion disease pathology considered hallmarks of disease, including the production of detergent-insoluble, protease-resistant misfolded PrPD species capable of seeding the production of more misfolded species. To determine whether COs can model aspects of familial prion diseases, we produced COs from donor fibroblasts carrying the E200K mutation, the most common cause of human familial prion disease. The mature E200K COs were assessed for the hallmarks of prion disease. We found that up to 12 months post-differentiation, E200K COs harbored no PrPD as confirmed by the absence of detergent-insoluble, protease-resistant, and seeding-active PrP species. Our results suggest that the presence of the E200K mutation within the prion gene is insufficient to cause disease in neuronal tissue. Therefore, other factors, such as further genetic modifiers or aging processes, may influence the onset of misfolding.
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Ward A, Hollister JR, McNally K, Ritchie DL, Zanusso G, Priola SA. Transmission characteristics of heterozygous cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with variable abnormal prion protein allotypes. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2020; 8:83. [PMID: 32517816 PMCID: PMC7285538 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-020-00958-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
In the human prion disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), different CJD neuropathological subtypes are defined by the presence in normal prion protein (PrPC) of a methionine or valine at residue 129, by the molecular mass of the infectious prion protein PrPSc, by the pattern of PrPSc deposition, and by the distribution of spongiform change in the brain. Heterozygous cases of CJD potentially add another layer of complexity to defining CJD subtypes since PrPSc can have either a methionine (PrPSc-M129) or valine (PrPSc-V129) at residue 129. We have recently demonstrated that the relative amount of PrPSc-M129 versus PrPSc-V129, i.e. the PrPSc allotype ratio, varies between heterozygous CJD cases. In order to determine if differences in PrPSc allotype correlated with different disease phenotypes, we have inoculated 10 cases of heterozygous CJD (7 sporadic and 3 iatrogenic) into two transgenic mouse lines overexpressing PrPC with a methionine at codon 129. In one case, brain-region specific differences in PrPSc allotype appeared to correlate with differences in prion disease transmission and phenotype. In the other 9 cases inoculated, the presence of PrPSc-V129 was associated with plaque formation but differences in PrPSc allotype did not consistently correlate with disease incubation time or neuropathology. Thus, while the PrPSc allotype ratio may contribute to diverse prion phenotypes within a single brain, it does not appear to be a primary determinative factor of disease phenotype.
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33
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Burke CM, Mark KMK, Kun J, Beauchemin KS, Supattapone S. Emergence of prions selectively resistant to combination drug therapy. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008581. [PMID: 32421750 PMCID: PMC7259791 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are unorthodox infectious agents that replicate by templating misfolded conformations of a host-encoded glycoprotein, collectively termed PrPSc. Prion diseases are invariably fatal and currently incurable, but oral drugs that can prolong incubation times in prion-infected mice have been developed. Here, we tested the efficacy of combination therapy with two such drugs, IND24 and Anle138b, in scrapie-infected mice. The results indicate that combination therapy was no more effective than either IND24 or Anle138b monotherapy in prolonging scrapie incubation times. Moreover, combination therapy induced the formation of a new prion strain that is specifically resistant to the combination regimen but susceptible to Anle138b. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a pathogen with specific resistance to combination therapy despite being susceptible to monotherapy. Our findings also suggest that combination therapy may be a less effective strategy for treating prions than conventional pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra M. Burke
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Kenneth M. K. Mark
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Judit Kun
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Kathryn S. Beauchemin
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Surachai Supattapone
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
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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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35
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Mok TH, Mead S. Preclinical biomarkers of prion infection and neurodegeneration. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 61:82-88. [PMID: 32109717 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Therapeutic strategies and study designs for neurodegenerative diseases have started to explore the potential of preventive treatment in healthy people, emphasising characterisation of biomarkers capable of indicating proximity to clinical onset. This need is even more pressing for individuals at risk of prion disease given its rarity which virtually precludes the probability of recruiting enough numbers for well powered preventive trials based on clinical endpoints. Experimental mouse inoculation studies have revealed a rapid exponential rise in infectious titres followed by a relative plateau of considerable duration before clinical onset. This clinically silent incubation period represents a potential window of opportunity for the adaptation of ultrasensitive prion seeding assays to define the onset of prion infection, and for neurodegenerative biomarker discovery through similarly sensitive digital immunoassay platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tze How Mok
- National Prion Clinic, Box 98, National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom; MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London W1W 7FF, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Mead
- National Prion Clinic, Box 98, National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom; MRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Diseases, Courtauld Building, 33 Cleveland Street, London W1W 7FF, United Kingdom.
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36
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Salvesen Ø, Espenes A, Reiten MR, Vuong TT, Malachin G, Tran L, Andréoletti O, Olsaker I, Benestad SL, Tranulis MA, Ersdal C. Goats naturally devoid of PrP C are resistant to scrapie. Vet Res 2020; 51:1. [PMID: 31924264 PMCID: PMC6954626 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-019-0731-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are progressive and fatal, neurodegenerative disorders described in humans and animals. According to the "protein-only" hypothesis, the normal host-encoded prion protein (PrPC) is converted into a pathological and infectious form (PrPSc) in these diseases. Transgenic knockout models have shown that PrPC is a prerequisite for the development of prion disease. In Norwegian dairy goats, a mutation (Ter) in the prion protein gene (PRNP) effectively blocks PrPC synthesis. We inoculated 12 goats (4 PRNP+/+, 4 PRNP+/Ter, and 4 PRNPTer/Ter) intracerebrally with goat scrapie prions. The mean incubation time until clinical signs of prion disease was 601 days post-inoculation (dpi) in PRNP+/+ goats and 773 dpi in PRNP+/Ter goats. PrPSc and vacuolation were similarly distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) of both groups and observed in all brain regions and segments of the spinal cord. Generally, accumulation of PrPSc was limited in peripheral organs, but all PRNP+/+ goats and 1 of 4 PRNP+/Ter goats were positive in head lymph nodes. The four PRNPTer/Ter goats remained healthy, without clinical signs of prion disease, and were euthanized 1260 dpi. As expected, no accumulation of PrPSc was observed in the CNS or peripheral tissues of this group, as assessed by immunohistochemistry, enzyme immunoassay, and real-time quaking-induced conversion. Our study shows for the first time that animals devoid of PrPC due to a natural mutation do not propagate prions and are resistant to scrapie. Clinical onset of disease is delayed in heterozygous goats expressing about 50% of PrPC levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Øyvind Salvesen
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Sandnes, Norway
| | - Arild Espenes
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Malin R. Reiten
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Giulia Malachin
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Linh Tran
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Ingrid Olsaker
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Michael A. Tranulis
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Cecilie Ersdal
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Sandnes, Norway
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37
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Hwang S, Greenlee JJ, Nicholson EM. Role of donor genotype in RT-QuIC seeding activity of chronic wasting disease prions using human and bank vole substrates. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0227487. [PMID: 31910440 PMCID: PMC6946595 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids. This fatal neurodegenerative disease is caused by misfolding of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) to pathogenic conformers (PrPSc), and the pathogenic forms accumulate in the brain and other tissues. Real-time Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) can be used for the detection of prions and for prion strain discrimination in a variety of biological tissues from humans and animals. In this study, we evaluated how either PrPSc from cervids of different genotypes or PrPSc from different sources of CWD influence the fibril formation of recombinant bank vole (BV) or human prion proteins using RT-QuIC. We found that reaction mixtures seeded with PrPSc from different genotypes of white-tailed deer or reindeer brains have similar conversion efficiency with both substrates. Also, we observed similar results when assays were seeded with different sources of CWD. Thus, we conclude that the genotypes of all sources of CWD used in this study do not influence the level of conversion of PrPC to PrPSc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyoun Hwang
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Justin J. Greenlee
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Eric M. Nicholson
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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38
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Kaelber N, Bett C, Asher DM, Gregori L. Quaking-induced conversion of prion protein on a thermal mixer accelerates detection in brains infected with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0225904. [PMID: 31830760 PMCID: PMC6908438 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Detection of misfolded prion protein, PrPTSE, in biological samples is important to develop antemortem tests for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay detects PrPTSE but requires dedicated equipment and relatively long incubation times when applied to samples containing extremely low levels of PrPTSE. It was shown that a microplate shaker with heated top (Thermomixer-C) accelerated amplification of PrPTSE in brain suspensions of 263K scrapie and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). We expanded the investigation to include TSE agents previously untested, including chronic wasting disease (CWD), macaque-adapted variant CJD (vCJD) and human vCJD, and we further characterized the assays conducted at 42°C and 55°C. PrPTSE from all brains containing the TSE agents were successfully amplified using a truncated hamster recombinant protein except for human vCJD which required truncated bank vole recombinant protein. We compared assays conducted at 42°C on Thermomixer-C, Thermomixer-R (without heated top) and on a fluorimeter used for RT-QuIC. QuIC on Thermomixer-R achieved in only 18 hours assay sensitivity similar to that of RT-QuIC read at 60 hours (or 48 hours with sCJD). QuIC on Thermomixer-C required 24 hours to complete and the endpoint titers of some TSEs were 10-fold lower than those obtained with RT-QuIC and Thermomixer-R. Conversely, at 55°C, the reactions with sCJD and CWD on Thermomixer-C achieved the same sensitivity as with RT-QuIC but in shorter times. Human vCJD samples tested at higher temperatures gave rise to high reactivity in wells containing normal control samples. Similarly, reactions on Thermomixer-R were unsuitable at 55°C. The main disadvantage of Thermomixers is that they cannot track formation of PrP fibrils in real time, a feature useful in some applications. The main advantages of Thermomixers are that they need shorter reaction times to detect PrPTSE, are easier to use, involve more robust equipment, and are relatively affordable. Improvements to QuIC using thermal mixers may help develop accessible antemortem TSE tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Kaelber
- Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Cyrus Bett
- Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - David M. Asher
- Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Luisa Gregori
- Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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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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Manne S, Kondru N, Jin H, Anantharam V, Huang X, Kanthasamy A, Kanthasamy AG. α-Synuclein real-time quaking-induced conversion in the submandibular glands of Parkinson's disease patients. Mov Disord 2019; 35:268-278. [PMID: 31758740 DOI: 10.1002/mds.27907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Identification of a peripheral biomarker is a major roadblock in the diagnosis of PD. Immunohistological identification of p-serine 129 α-synuclein in the submandibular gland tissues of PD patients has been recently reported. OBJECTIVE We report on a proof-of-principle study for using an ultra-sensitive and specific, real-time quaking-induced conversion assay to detect pathological α-synuclein in the submandibular gland tissues of PD patients. METHODS The α-synuclein real-time quaking-induced conversion assay was used to detect and quantify pathological α-synuclein levels in PD, incidental Lewy body disease, and control submandibular gland tissues as well as in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections. RESULTS We determined the quantitative seeding kinetics of pathological α-synuclein present in submandibular gland tissues from autopsied subjects using the α-synuclein real-time quaking-induced conversion assay. A total of 32 cases comprising 13 PD, 3 incidental Lewy body disease, and 16 controls showed 100% sensitivity and 94% specificity. Interestingly, both PD and incidental Lewy body disease tissues showed 100% concordance for elevated levels of pathological α-synuclein seeding activity compared to control tissues. End-point dilution kinetic analyses revealed that the submandibular gland had a wide dynamic range of pathological α-synuclein seeding activity. CONCLUSIONS Our results are the first to demonstrate the utility of using the real-time quaking-induced conversion assay on peripherally accessible submandibular gland tissues and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections to detect PD-related pathological changes with high sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, the detection of seeding activity from incidental Lewy body disease cases containing immunohistochemically undetected pathological α-synuclein demonstrates the α-synuclein real-time quaking-induced conversion assay's potential utility for identifying prodromal PD in submandibular gland tissues. © 2019 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sireesha Manne
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Naveen Kondru
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Huajun Jin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Vellareddy Anantharam
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Xuemei Huang
- Department of Neurology and Pharmacology, Neurosurgery, Radiology, and Kinesiology, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Arthi Kanthasamy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Anumantha G Kanthasamy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Parkinson's Disorder Research Program, Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
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41
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Metrick MA, do Carmo Ferreira N, Saijo E, Hughson AG, Kraus A, Orrú C, Miller MW, Zanusso G, Ghetti B, Vendruscolo M, Caughey B. Million-fold sensitivity enhancement in proteopathic seed amplification assays for biospecimens by Hofmeister ion comparisons. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:23029-23039. [PMID: 31641070 PMCID: PMC6859373 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1909322116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent work with prion diseases and synucleinopathies indicates that accurate diagnostic methods for protein-folding diseases can be based on the ultrasensitive, amplified measurement of pathological aggregates in biospecimens. A better understanding of the physicochemical factors that control the seeded polymerization of such aggregates, and their amplification in vitro, should allow improvements in existing assay platforms, as well as the development of new assays for other proteopathic aggregates. Here, we systematically investigated the effects of the ionic environment on the polymerization of tau, α-synuclein, and the prion protein (PrP) induced by aggregates in biospecimens. We screened salts of the Hofmeister series, a relative ordering of strongly and weakly hydrated salts that tend to precipitate or solubilize proteins. We found that sensitivities of tau-based assays for Alzheimer's seeds and PrP-based assays for prions were best in weakly hydrated anions. In contrast, we saw an inverse trend with different tau-based assays, improving detection sensitivity for progressive supranuclear palsy seeds by ≈106 Hofmeister analysis also improved detection of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease prions in human nasal brushings and chronic wasting disease prions in deer-ear homogenates. Our results demonstrate strong and divergent influences of ionic environments on the amplification and detection of proteopathic seeds as biomarkers for protein-folding diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Metrick
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Natalia do Carmo Ferreira
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840
| | - Eri Saijo
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840
| | - Andrew G Hughson
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840
| | - Allison Kraus
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840
| | - Christina Orrú
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840
| | - Michael W Miller
- Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Health Program, Fort Collins, CO 80521-1049
| | - Gianluigi Zanusso
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
| | - Bernardino Ghetti
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202
| | - Michele Vendruscolo
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840;
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42
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Raymond GJ, Zhao HT, Race B, Raymond LD, Williams K, Swayze EE, Graffam S, Le J, Caron T, Stathopoulos J, O'Keefe R, Lubke LL, Reidenbach AG, Kraus A, Schreiber SL, Mazur C, Cabin DE, Carroll JB, Minikel EV, Kordasiewicz H, Caughey B, Vallabh SM. Antisense oligonucleotides extend survival of prion-infected mice. JCI Insight 2019; 5:131175. [PMID: 31361599 PMCID: PMC6777807 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.131175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion disease is a fatal, incurable neurodegenerative disease of humans and other mammals caused by conversion of cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a self-propagating neurotoxic conformer (prions; PrPSc). Strong genetic proofs of concept support lowering PrP expression as a therapeutic strategy. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) can provide a practical route to lowering 1 target mRNA in the brain, but their development for prion disease has been hindered by 3 unresolved issues from prior work: uncertainty about mechanism of action, unclear potential for efficacy against established prion infection, and poor tolerability of drug delivery by osmotic pumps. Here, we test ASOs delivered by bolus intracerebroventricular injection to intracerebrally prion-infected WT mice. Prophylactic treatments given every 2–3 months extended survival times 61%–98%, and a single injection at 120 days after infection, near the onset of clinical signs, extended survival 55% (87 days). In contrast, a nontargeting control ASO was ineffective. Thus, PrP lowering is the mechanism of action of ASOs effective against prion disease in vivo, and infrequent — or even single — bolus injections of ASOs can slow prion neuropathogenesis and markedly extend survival, even when initiated near clinical signs. These findings should empower development of PrP-lowering therapy for prion disease. ASO-mediated prion protein suppression delays disease and extends survival, even in mice with established prion infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory J Raymond
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | | | - Brent Race
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Lynne D Raymond
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Katie Williams
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Eric E Swayze
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Carlsbad, California, USA
| | - Samantha Graffam
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jason Le
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Tyler Caron
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Rhonda O'Keefe
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lori L Lubke
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | | | - Allison Kraus
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | | | - Curt Mazur
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Carlsbad, California, USA
| | | | | | - Eric Vallabh Minikel
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Prion Alliance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Byron Caughey
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Sonia M Vallabh
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Prion Alliance, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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43
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Piconi G, Peden AH, Barria MA, Green AJE. Epitope mapping of the protease resistant products of RT-QuIC does not allow the discrimination of sCJD subtypes. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218509. [PMID: 31206560 PMCID: PMC6576779 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a transmissible, rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease. The transmissible agent linked to sCJD is composed of the misfolded form of the host-encoded prion protein. The combination of histopathological and biochemical analyses has allowed the identification and sub-classification of six sCJD subtypes. This classification depends on the polymorphic variability of codon 129 of the prion protein gene and the PrPres isotype, and appears to be associated with neuropathological and clinical features. Currently, sCJD subtyping is only fully achievable post mortem. However, a rapid and non-invasive method for discriminating sCJD subtypes in vita would be invaluable for the clinical management of affected individuals, and for the selection of participants for clinical trials. The CSF analysis by Real Time Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) reaction is the most sensitive and specific ante mortem sCJD diagnostic test available to date, and it is used by a number of laboratories internationally. RT-QuIC takes advantage of the natural replication mechanisms of prions by template-induced misfolding, employing recombinant prion protein as reaction substrate. We asked whether epitope mapping, of the RT-QuIC reaction products obtained from seeding RT-QuIC with brain and CSF samples from each of the six molecular subtypes of sCJD could be employed to distinguish them and therefore achieve in vita sCJD molecular subtyping. We found that it is possible to distinguish the RT-QuIC products generated by sCJD biological samples from the ones generated by spontaneous conversion in the negative controls, but that different sCJD subtypes generate very similar, if not identical RT-QuIC reaction products. We concluded that whilst RT-QuIC has demonstrable diagnostic value it has limited prognostic value at this point in time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Piconi
- The National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Alexander H. Peden
- The National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Marcelo A. Barria
- The National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Alison J. E. Green
- The National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
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44
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Groveman BR, Foliaki ST, Orru CD, Zanusso G, Carroll JA, Race B, Haigh CL. Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease prion infection of human cerebral organoids. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2019; 7:90. [PMID: 31196223 PMCID: PMC6567389 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-019-0742-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
For the transmissible, neurogenerative family of prion diseases, few human models of infection exist and none represent structured neuronal tissue. Human cerebral organoids are self-organizing, three-dimensional brain tissues that can be grown from induced pluripotent stem cells. Organoids can model aspects of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's Disease and Down's Syndrome, reproducing tau hyperphosphorylation and amyloid plaque pathology. To determine whether organoids could be used to reproduce human prion infection and pathogenesis, we inoculated organoids with two sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease prion subtypes. Organoids showed uptake, followed by clearance, of the infectious inoculum. Subsequent re-emergence of prion self-seeding activity indicated de novo propagation. Organoid health assays, prion titer, prion protein electrophoretic mobility and immunohistochemistry demonstrated inoculum-specific differences. Our study shows, for the first time, that cerebral organoids can model aspects of human prion disease and thus offer a powerful system for investigating different human prion subtype pathologies and testing putative therapeutics.
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45
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Favole A, Mazza M, Vallino Costassa E, D'Angelo A, Lombardi G, Marconi P, Crociara P, Berrone E, Gallo M, Palmitessa C, Orrù CD, Caughey B, Acutis PL, Caramelli M, Casalone C, Corona C. Early and Pre-Clinical Detection of Prion Seeding Activity in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Goats using Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion Assay. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6173. [PMID: 30992522 PMCID: PMC6467873 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42449-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Since 2005, two cases of natural bovine spongiform encephalopathies (BSE) have been reported in goats. Furthermore, experimental transmissions of classical (C-BSE) and atypical (L-BSE) forms of BSE in goats were also reported. To minimize further spreading of prion diseases in small ruminants the development of a highly sensitive and specific test for ante-mortem detection of infected animals would be of great value. Recent studies reported high diagnostic value of a second generation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay across a wide spectrum of human prions. Here, we applied this improved QuIC (IQ-CSF) for highly efficient detection of TSEs prion protein in goat cerebrospinal fluid. IQ-CSF sensitivity and specificity were evaluated on CSF samples collected at disease endpoint from goats naturally and experimentally infected with scrapie or bovine isolates of C-BSE and L-BSE, respectively. Next, CSF samples collected from L-BSE infected goats during pre-symptomatic stage were also analysed. PrPL-BSE associated seeding activity was detected at early time points after experimental inoculation, with an average time of 439 days before clinical symptoms appeared. Taken together these data are indicative of the great potential of this in vitro prion amplification assay as ante-mortem TSE test for live and asymptomatic small ruminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Favole
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Maria Mazza
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Elena Vallino Costassa
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Antonio D'Angelo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Sezione Clinica Medica, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Turin, Italy
| | - Guerino Lombardi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Brescia, Italy
| | - Paola Marconi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Lazio e Toscana, Firenze, Italy
| | - Paola Crociara
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Elena Berrone
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Marina Gallo
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Claudia Palmitessa
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Christina D Orrù
- Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Byron Caughey
- Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Pier L Acutis
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Maria Caramelli
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Cristina Casalone
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
| | - Cristiano Corona
- National Reference Laboratory of TSEs (CEA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy.
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46
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Bourkas MEC, Arshad H, Al-Azzawi ZAM, Halgas O, Shikiya RA, Mehrabian M, Schmitt-Ulms G, Bartz JC, Watts JC. Engineering a murine cell line for the stable propagation of hamster prions. J Biol Chem 2019; 294:4911-4923. [PMID: 30705093 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.007135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions are infectious protein aggregates that cause several fatal neurodegenerative diseases. Prion research has been hindered by a lack of cellular paradigms for studying the replication of prions from different species. Although hamster prions have been widely used to study prion replication in animals and within in vitro amplification systems, they have proved challenging to propagate in cultured cells. Because the murine catecholaminergic cell line CAD5 is susceptible to a diverse range of mouse prion strains, we hypothesized that it might also be capable of propagating nonmouse prions. Here, using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering, we demonstrate that CAD5 cells lacking endogenous mouse PrP expression (CAD5-PrP-/- cells) can be chronically infected with hamster prions following stable expression of hamster PrP. When exposed to the 263K, HY, or 139H hamster prion strains, these cells stably propagated high levels of protease-resistant PrP. Hamster prion replication required absence of mouse PrP, and hamster PrP inhibited the propagation of mouse prions. Cellular homogenates from 263K-infected cells exhibited prion seeding activity in the RT-QuIC assay and were infectious to naïve cells expressing hamster PrP. Interestingly, murine N2a neuroblastoma cells ablated for endogenous PrP expression were susceptible to mouse prions, but not hamster prions upon expression of cognate PrP, suggesting that CAD5 cells either possess cellular factors that enhance or lack factors that restrict the diversity of prion strains that can be propagated. We conclude that transfected CAD5-PrP-/- cells may be a useful tool for assessing the biology of prion strains and dissecting the mechanism of prion replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E C Bourkas
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
| | - Hamza Arshad
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
| | - Zaid A M Al-Azzawi
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
| | - Ondrej Halgas
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
| | - Ronald A Shikiya
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, 68178
| | - Mohadeseh Mehrabian
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8, and
| | - Gerold Schmitt-Ulms
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8.,Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8, and
| | - Jason C Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, 68178
| | - Joel C Watts
- From the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8, .,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 0S8
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47
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Early preclinical detection of prions in the skin of prion-infected animals. Nat Commun 2019; 10:247. [PMID: 30651538 PMCID: PMC6335425 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08130-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A definitive pre-mortem diagnosis of prion disease depends on brain biopsy for prion detection currently and no validated alternative preclinical diagnostic tests have been reported to date. To determine the feasibility of using skin for preclinical diagnosis, here we report ultrasensitive serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) and real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays of skin samples from hamsters and humanized transgenic mice (Tg40h) at different time points after intracerebral inoculation with 263K and sCJDMM1 prions, respectively. sPMCA detects skin PrPSc as early as 2 weeks post inoculation (wpi) in hamsters and 4 wpi in Tg40h mice; RT-QuIC assay reveals earliest skin prion-seeding activity at 3 wpi in hamsters and 20 wpi in Tg40h mice. Unlike 263K-inoculated animals, mock-inoculated animals show detectable skin/brain PrPSc only after long cohabitation periods with scrapie-infected animals. Our study provides the proof-of-concept evidence that skin prions could be a biomarker for preclinical diagnosis of prion disease. There are currently no validated methods for the diagnosis of prion disease at the preclinical stage. Here the authors show that serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification and real-time quaking-induced conversion can be used to detect prions in the skin of prion-inoculated hamsters and humanized transgenic mice at early preclinical stages.
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48
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Hwang S, Greenlee JJ, Vance NM, Nicholson EM. Source genotype influence on cross species transmission of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies evaluated by RT-QuIC. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209106. [PMID: 30571737 PMCID: PMC6301698 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Scrapie is a naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of sheep and goats. This fatal neurodegenerative disease is caused by misfolding of the cellular prion protein to pathogenic β-rich conformers (PrPSc) that accumulate in higher order structures of the brain and other tissues. This conversion has been used for in vitro assays including serial protein misfolding amplification and real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC). RT-QuIC can be used for the detection of prions and for strain discrimination in a variety of biological tissues from humans and animals. In this study, we evaluated how PrPSc isolated from sheep of different genotypes after inoculation with the scrapie agent influence the fibril formation in vitro using RT-QuIC. We found that reaction mixtures seeded with PrPSc from genotype VRQ/VRQ sheep brains have better conversion efficiency with 132M elk substrate compared to reactions seeded with PrPSc from the brains of sheep with the ARQ/ARQ genotype no matter which strain of scrapie was used to seed the reactions. We also inoculated transgenic mice expressing 132M elk PRNP (Tg12) with the scrapie agent from different genotypes of sheep to compare with our RT-QuIC results. The bioassays support the data showing a significantly shorter incubation period for inoculum from VRQ/VRQ sheep when compared to inoculum from ARQ/ARQ sheep. Thus, we conclude that the genotype of both source and recipient can strongly influence transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyoun Hwang
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Justin J. Greenlee
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Natalie M. Vance
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Eric M. Nicholson
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Virus and Prion Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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49
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Hwang S, Tatum T, Lebepe-Mazur S, Nicholson EM. Preparation of lyophilized recombinant prion protein for TSE diagnosis by RT-QuIC. BMC Res Notes 2018; 11:895. [PMID: 30547851 PMCID: PMC6295004 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-018-3982-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases, often referred as prion diseases. TSEs result from the misfolding of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a pathogenic form (PrPSc) that accumulates in the brain and lymphatic tissue. Amplification based assays such as real-time quaking induced conversion allow us to assess the conversion of PrPC to PrPSc. Real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC) can be used for the detection of PrPSc in a variety of biological tissues from humans and animals. However, RT-QuIC requires a continuous supply of freshly purified prion protein and this necessity is not sustainable in a diagnostic laboratory setting. Results In this study, we developed a method to dry and preserve the prion protein for long term storage allowing for production of the protein and storage for extended time prior to use and room temperature shipping to appropriate diagnostic laboratory destinations facilitating widespread use of RT-QuIC as a diagnostic method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyoun Hwang
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, 50010, USA
| | - Trudy Tatum
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, 50010, USA
| | - Semakaleng Lebepe-Mazur
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, 50010, USA
| | - Eric M Nicholson
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, 50010, USA.
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50
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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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