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van Keulen LJM, Dolstra CH, Vries RBD, Bossers A, Jacobs JG, Baron T, Torres JM, Langeveld JPM. Change in the molecular properties of CH1641 prions after transmission to wild-type mice: Evidence for a single strain. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2024; 50:e12963. [PMID: 38353056 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
AIM CH1641 was discovered in 1970 as a scrapie isolate that was unlike all other classical strains of scrapie isolated so far. We performed bio-assays of CH1641 in mice in order to further characterise this specific isolate. METHODS We inoculated the original CH1641 isolate into ovine and bovine prion protein (PrP) transgenic mice as well as wild-type mice. In addition, we performed cross- and back passages between the various mouse lines to examine if one identical prion strain was isolated in all mouse lines or whether multiple prion strains exist in CH1641. RESULTS We report the first successful transmission of CH1641 to wild-type RIII mice and via RIII mice to wild-type VM mice. Unexpectedly, analysis of the protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres ) in wild-type mice showed a classical scrapie banding pattern differing from the banding pattern of the original CH1641 isolate. Cross- and back passages of CH1641 between the various mouse lines confirmed that the same prion strain had been isolated in all mouse lines. CONCLUSIONS The CH1641 isolate consists of a single prion strain but its molecular banding pattern of PrPres differs between wild-type mice and PrP transgenic mice. Consequently, molecular banding patterns of PrPres should be used with caution in strain typing since they do not solely depend on the properties of the prion strain but also on the host prion protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucien J M van Keulen
- Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Wageningen University and Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Corry H Dolstra
- Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Wageningen University and Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Ruth Bossers-de Vries
- Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Wageningen University and Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Alex Bossers
- Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Wageningen University and Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Jorg G Jacobs
- Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Wageningen University and Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Thierry Baron
- Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation de l'environnement et du travail (Anses), Laboratoire de Lyon, Unité Maladies Neurodégénératives, Lyon, France
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Spain
| | - Jan P M Langeveld
- Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Wageningen University and Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
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2
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Vanni I, Iacobone F, D’Agostino C, Giovannelli M, Pirisinu L, Altmeppen HC, Castilla J, Torres JM, Agrimi U, Nonno R. An optimized Western blot assay provides a comprehensive assessment of the physiological endoproteolytic processing of the prion protein. J Biol Chem 2022; 299:102823. [PMID: 36565989 PMCID: PMC9867980 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The prion protein (PrPC) is subjected to several conserved endoproteolytic events producing bioactive fragments that are of increasing interest for their physiological functions and their implication in the pathogenesis of prion diseases and other neurodegenerative diseases. However, systematic and comprehensive investigations on the full spectrum of PrPC proteoforms have been hampered by the lack of methods able to identify all PrPC-derived proteoforms. Building on previous knowledge of PrPC endoproteolytic processing, we thus developed an optimized Western blot assay able to obtain the maximum information about PrPC constitutive processing and the relative abundance of PrPC proteoforms in a complex biological sample. This approach led to the concurrent identification of the whole spectrum of known endoproteolytic-derived PrPC proteoforms in brain homogenates, including C-terminal, N-terminal and, most importantly, shed PrPC-derived fragments. Endoproteolytic processing of PrPC was remarkably similar in the brain of widely used wild type and transgenic rodent models, with α-cleavage-derived C1 representing the most abundant proteoform and ADAM10-mediated shedding being an unexpectedly prominent proteolytic event. Interestingly, the relative amount of shed PrPC was higher in WT mice than in most other models. Our results indicate that constitutive endoproteolytic processing of PrPC is not affected by PrPC overexpression or host factors other than PrPC but can be impacted by PrPC primary structure. Finally, this method represents a crucial step in gaining insight into pathophysiological roles, biomarker suitability, and therapeutic potential of shed PrPC and for a comprehensive appraisal of PrPC proteoforms in therapies, drug screening, or in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
| | - Floriana Iacobone
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D’Agostino
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Giovannelli
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Joaquin Castilla
- Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA) - CIC BioGUNE & IKERBasque, Bizkaia, Spain,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA-CSIC), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
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3
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Schmitz M, Canaslan S, Espinosa JC, Fernández-Borges N, Villar-Piqué A, Llorens F, Varges D, Maass F, Torres JM, Hermann P, Zerr I. Validation of Plasma and CSF Neurofilament Light Chain as an Early Marker for Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Mol Neurobiol 2022; 59:1-9. [PMID: 35716271 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-022-02891-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Biomarkers are becoming increasingly important for the differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. Previous observations indicated neurofilament light chain (NfL) as a potential blood-based biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). Here, we investigated the stability, inter-assay/intra-assay variation and the regulation of NfL levels in CSF and plasma in a large cohort of sCJD patients by using a single-molecule array (SIMOA). We defined cutoffs for an accurate diagnosis and measured plasma NfL level in prion-infected mice models at different time points to identify the potential dynamics throughout the disease. Our analyses confirmed CSF and plasma NfL as stable and consistent marker for sCJD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed an AUC of 0.92-0.93 to distinguish sCJD from control groups. Newly defined cutoffs revealed good diagnostic accuracies of CSF and plasma NfL, indicated by a sensitivity of 80-83.5% and a specificity of 87.4-91%. Studies on two humanized prion-infected mice lines (Tg340-PRNP 129MM and Tg361-PRNP 129VV) revealed increased plasma NfL levels in a late pre-clinical or very early clinical stage between 120-150 days post-inoculation. In conclusion, our work supports the potential use of CSF and plasma NfL as a very early biomarker in sCJD diagnostic with good diagnostic accuracies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Schmitz
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, National Reference Center for TSE and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Sezgi Canaslan
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, National Reference Center for TSE and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Juan Carlos Espinosa
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal-Instituto Nacional de Investigación Y Tecnología Agraria Y Alimentaria-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CISA-INIA-CSIC), 28130, Madrid, Spain
| | - Natalia Fernández-Borges
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal-Instituto Nacional de Investigación Y Tecnología Agraria Y Alimentaria-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CISA-INIA-CSIC), 28130, Madrid, Spain
| | - Anna Villar-Piqué
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, National Reference Center for TSE and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany.,CIBERNED (Network Center for Biomedical Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases), Institute Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Franc Llorens
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, National Reference Center for TSE and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany.,CIBERNED (Network Center for Biomedical Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases), Institute Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Daniela Varges
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, National Reference Center for TSE and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Fabian Maass
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal-Instituto Nacional de Investigación Y Tecnología Agraria Y Alimentaria-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CISA-INIA-CSIC), 28130, Madrid, Spain
| | - Peter Hermann
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, National Reference Center for TSE and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, National Reference Center for TSE and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany
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4
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Bistaffa E, Marín-Moreno A, Espinosa JC, De Luca CMG, Cazzaniga FA, Portaleone SM, Celauro L, Legname G, Giaccone G, Torres JM, Moda F. PMCA-generated prions from the olfactory mucosa of patients with Fatal Familial Insomnia cause prion disease in mice. eLife 2021; 10:65311. [PMID: 33851575 PMCID: PMC8064759 DOI: 10.7554/elife.65311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) is a genetic prion disease caused by the D178N mutation in the prion protein gene (PRNP) in coupling phase with methionine at PRNP 129. In 2017, we have shown that the olfactory mucosa (OM) collected from FFI patients contained traces of PrPSc detectable by Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (PMCA). Methods: In this work, we have challenged PMCA-generated products obtained from OM and brain homogenate of FFI patients in BvPrP-Tg407 transgenic mice expressing the bank vole prion protein to test their ability to induce prion pathology. Results: All inoculated mice developed mild spongiform changes, astroglial activation, and PrPSc deposition mainly affecting the thalamus. However, their neuropathological alterations were different from those found in the brain of BvPrP-Tg407 mice injected with raw FFI brain homogenate. Conclusions: Although with some experimental constraints, we show that PrPSc present in OM of FFI patients is potentially infectious. Funding: This work was supported in part by the Italian Ministry of Health (GR-2013-02355724 and Ricerca Corrente), MJFF, ALZ, Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Weston Brain Institute (BAND2015), and Euronanomed III (SPEEDY) to FM; by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (grant AGL2016-78054-R [AEI/FEDER, UE]) to JMT and JCE; AM-M was supported by a fellowship from the INIA (FPI-SGIT-2015-02).
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Affiliation(s)
- Edoardo Bistaffa
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milan, Italy
| | - Alba Marín-Moreno
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Espinosa
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Chiara Maria Giulia De Luca
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milan, Italy.,Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Department of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Trieste, Italy
| | - Federico Angelo Cazzaniga
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Maria Portaleone
- ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Department of Health Sciences, Otolaryngology Unit, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Luigi Celauro
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Department of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Trieste, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Department of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Prion Biology, Trieste, Italy
| | - Giorgio Giaccone
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milan, Italy
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fabio Moda
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Division of Neurology 5 and Neuropathology, Milan, Italy
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5
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Cali I, Espinosa JC, Nemani SK, Marin-Moreno A, Camacho MV, Aslam R, Kitamoto T, Appleby BS, Torres JM, Gambetti P. Two distinct conformers of PrP D type 1 of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with codon 129VV genotype faithfully propagate in vivo. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2021; 9:55. [PMID: 33766126 PMCID: PMC7995586 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-021-01132-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Current classifications of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) identify five subtypes associated with different disease phenotypes. Most of these histopathological phenotypes (histotypes) co-distribute with distinct pairings of methionine (M)/valine (V) genotypes at codon 129 of the prion protein (PrP) gene and the type (1 or 2) of the disease-associated PrP (PrPD). Types 1 and 2 are defined by the molecular mass (~ 21 kDa and ~ 19 kDa, respectively) of the unglycosylated isoform of the proteinase K-resistant PrPD (resPrPD). We recently reported that the sCJDVV1 subtype (129VV homozygosity paired with PrPD type 1, T1) shows an electrophoretic profile where the resPrPD unglycosylated isoform is characterized by either one of two single bands of ~ 20 kDa (T120) and ~ 21 kDa (T121), or a doublet of ~ 21–20 kDa (T121−20). We also showed that T120 and T121 in sCJDVV have different conformational features but are associated with indistinguishable histotypes. The presence of three distinct molecular profiles of T1 is unique and raises the issue as to whether T120 and T121 represent distinct prion strains. To answer this question, brain homogenates from sCJDVV cases harboring each of the three resPrPD profiles, were inoculated to transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the human PrP-129M or PrP-129V genotypes. We found that T120 and T121 were faithfully replicated in Tg129V mice. Electrophoretic profile and incubation period of mice challenged with T121−20 resembled those of mice inoculated with T121 and T120, respectively. As in sCJDVV1, Tg129V mice challenged with T121 and T120 generated virtually undistinguishable histotypes. In Tg129M mice, T121 was not replicated while T120 and T121−20 generated a ~ 21–20 kDa doublet after lengthier incubation periods. On second passage, Tg129M mice incubation periods and regional PrP accumulation significantly differed in T120 and T121−20 challenged mice. Combined, these data indicate that T121 and T120 resPrPD represent distinct human prion strains associated with partially overlapping histotypes.
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6
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Igel-Egalon A, Laferrière F, Tixador P, Moudjou M, Herzog L, Reine F, Torres JM, Laude H, Rezaei H, Béringue V. Crossing Species Barriers Relies on Structurally Distinct Prion Assemblies and Their Complementation. Mol Neurobiol 2020; 57:2572-2587. [PMID: 32239450 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-01897-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Prion replication results from the autocatalytic templated assisted conversion of the host-encoded prion protein PrPC into misfolded, polydisperse PrPSc conformers. Structurally distinct PrPSc conformers can give rise to multiple prion strains. Within and between prion strains, the biological activity (replicative efficacy and specific infectivity) of PrPSc assemblies is size dependent and thus reflects an intrinsic structural heterogeneity. The contribution of such PrPSc heterogeneity across species prion adaptation, which is believed to be based on fit adjustment between PrPSc template(s) and host PrPC, has not been explored. To define the structural-to-fitness PrPSc landscape, we measured the relative capacity of size-fractionated PrPSc assemblies from different prion strains to cross mounting species barriers in transgenic mice expressing foreign PrPC. In the absence of a transmission barrier, the relative efficacy of the isolated PrPSc assemblies to induce the disease is like the efficacy observed in the homotypic context. However, in the presence of a transmission barrier, size fractionation overtly delays and even abrogates prion pathogenesis in both the brain and spleen tissues, independently of the infectivity load of the isolated assemblies. Altering by serial dilution PrPSc assembly content of non-fractionated inocula aberrantly reduces their specific infectivity, solely in the presence of a transmission barrier. This suggests that synergy between structurally distinct PrPSc assemblies in the inoculum is requested for crossing the species barrier. Our data support a mechanism whereby overcoming prion species barrier requires complementation between structurally distinct PrPSc assemblies. This work provides key insight into the "quasispecies" concept applied to prions, which would not necessarily rely on prion substrains as constituent but on structural PrPSc heterogeneity within prion population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Florent Laferrière
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France.,Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, CNRS UMR5293, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Philippe Tixador
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Mohammed Moudjou
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Laetitia Herzog
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Fabienne Reine
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Hubert Laude
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Human Rezaei
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - Vincent Béringue
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UVSQ, VIM, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
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7
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Nonno R, Marin-Moreno A, Carlos Espinosa J, Fast C, Van Keulen L, Spiropoulos J, Lantier I, Andreoletti O, Pirisinu L, Di Bari MA, Aguilar-Calvo P, Sklaviadis T, Papasavva-Stylianou P, Acutis PL, Acin C, Bossers A, Jacobs JG, Vaccari G, D'Agostino C, Chiappini B, Lantier F, Groschup MH, Agrimi U, Maria Torres J, Langeveld JPM. Characterization of goat prions demonstrates geographical variation of scrapie strains in Europe and reveals the composite nature of prion strains. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19. [PMID: 31913327 PMCID: PMC6949283 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-57005-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is the only animal prion which has been recognized as a zoonotic agent so far. The identification of BSE in two goats raised the need to reliably identify BSE in small ruminants. However, our understanding of scrapie strain diversity in small ruminants remains ill-defined, thus limiting the accuracy of BSE surveillance and spreading fear that BSE might lurk unrecognized in goats. We investigated prion strain diversity in a large panel of European goats by a novel experimental approach that, instead of assessing the neuropathological profile after serial transmissions in a single animal model, was based on the direct interaction of prion isolates with several recipient rodent models expressing small ruminants or heterologous prion proteins. The findings show that the biological properties of scrapie isolates display different patterns of geographical distribution in Europe and suggest that goat BSE could be reliably discriminated from a wide range of biologically and geographically diverse goat prion isolates. Finally, most field prion isolates showed composite strain features, with discrete strain components or sub-strains being present in different proportions in individual goats or tissues. This has important implications for understanding the nature and evolution of scrapie strains and their transmissibility to other species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romolo Nonno
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy.
| | | | | | - Christine Fast
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, Germany
| | | | - John Spiropoulos
- Animal and Plant Health Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Isabelle Lantier
- INRA-Centre Val de Loire, Infectiologie et Santé Publique, Nouzilly, France
| | - Olivier Andreoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225- IHAP, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele A Di Bari
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Theodoros Sklaviadis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Pier Luigi Acutis
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, Italy
| | - Cristina Acin
- Centro de Encefalopatías y Enfermedades Transmisibles Emergentes, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Alex Bossers
- Wageningen BioVeterinary Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Jorge G Jacobs
- Wageningen BioVeterinary Research, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Gabriele Vaccari
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D'Agostino
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Chiappini
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Frederic Lantier
- INRA-Centre Val de Loire, Infectiologie et Santé Publique, Nouzilly, France
| | - Martin H Groschup
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, Germany
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
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8
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Serra F, Dudas S, Torres JM, Anderson R, Oevermann A, Espinosa JC, Czub S, Seuberlich T. Presumptive BSE cases with an aberrant prion protein phenotype in Switzerland, 2011: Lack of prion disease in experimentally inoculated cattle and bovine prion protein transgenic mice. Transbound Emerg Dis 2018; 65:1348-1356. [PMID: 29675959 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is caused by different prion strains that are discriminated by the molecular characteristics of the pathological prion protein. In 2011, Switzerland reported two presumptive cases of BSE in cattle with a prion protein phenotype different from previously described strains, and it was unclear whether these findings were related to a transmissible disease and have implications on animal and public health. In this study, brain tissues of these cases were inoculated into transgenic mice expressing the bovine prion protein (BoPrP-Tg110) and into cattle. Clinical and pathological investigations as well as molecular testing did not provide evidence for the presence of BSE in the Swiss cases after two passages in BoPrP-Tg110 mice and a challenge period of 3.5 years in cattle. This lack of disease transmission suggests that the Swiss 2011 cases were not affected by a prion disease and were unrelated to the feed-born BSE epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Serra
- Division of Neurological Sciences, NeuroCenter, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - S Dudas
- Lethbridge Laboratory, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - J M Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - R Anderson
- Lethbridge Laboratory, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - A Oevermann
- Division of Neurological Sciences, NeuroCenter, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - J C Espinosa
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - S Czub
- Lethbridge Laboratory, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - T Seuberlich
- Division of Neurological Sciences, NeuroCenter, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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9
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Llorens F, Thüne K, Martí E, Kanata E, Dafou D, Díaz-Lucena D, Vivancos A, Shomroni O, Zafar S, Schmitz M, Michel U, Fernández-Borges N, Andréoletti O, del Río JA, Díez J, Fischer A, Bonn S, Sklaviadis T, Torres JM, Ferrer I, Zerr I. Regional and subtype-dependent miRNA signatures in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are accompanied by alterations in miRNA silencing machinery and biogenesis. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1006802. [PMID: 29357384 PMCID: PMC5794191 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Revised: 02/01/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs) are contributing factors to neurodegeneration. Alterations in miRNA signatures have been reported in several neurodegenerative dementias, but data in prion diseases are restricted to ex vivo and animal models. The present study identified significant miRNA expression pattern alterations in the frontal cortex and cerebellum of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) patients. These changes display a highly regional and disease subtype-dependent regulation that correlates with brain pathology. We demonstrate that selected miRNAs are enriched in sCJD isolated Argonaute(Ago)-binding complexes in disease, indicating their incorporation into RNA-induced silencing complexes, and further suggesting their contribution to disease-associated gene expression changes. Alterations in the miRNA-mRNA regulatory machinery and perturbed levels of miRNA biogenesis key components in sCJD brain samples reported here further implicate miRNAs in sCJD gene expression (de)regulation. We also show that a subset of sCJD-altered miRNAs are commonly changed in Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and fatal familial insomnia, suggesting potential common mechanisms underlying these neurodegenerative processes. Additionally, we report no correlation between brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) miRNA-profiles in sCJD, indicating that CSF-miRNA profiles do not faithfully mirror miRNA alterations detected in brain tissue of human prion diseases. Finally, utilizing a sCJD MM1 mouse model, we analyzed the miRNA deregulation patterns observed in sCJD in a temporal manner. While fourteen sCJD-related miRNAs were validated at clinical stages, only two of those were changed at early symptomatic phase, suggesting that the miRNAs altered in sCJD may contribute to later pathogenic processes. Altogether, the present work identifies alterations in the miRNA network, biogenesis and miRNA-mRNA silencing machinery in sCJD, whereby contributions to disease mechanisms deserve further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franc Llorens
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Katrin Thüne
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Translational Studies and Biomarkers, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Eirini Kanata
- Prion Diseases Research Group, School of Health Sciences, Department Of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Dimitra Dafou
- Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Daniela Díaz-Lucena
- Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana Vivancos
- Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Orr Shomroni
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Computational Systems Biology, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Saima Zafar
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Translational Studies and Biomarkers, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Matthias Schmitz
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Translational Studies and Biomarkers, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Uwe Michel
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Olivier Andréoletti
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique/Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire, Toulouse, France
| | - José Antonio del Río
- Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
- Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology, Catalonian Institute for Bioengineering (IBEC), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juana Díez
- Molecular Virology group, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Andre Fischer
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Epigenetics and Systems Medicine in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Bonn
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Computational Systems Biology, Göttingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tuebingen, Germany
- Center for Molecular Neurobiology University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Theodoros Sklaviadis
- Prion Diseases Research Group, School of Health Sciences, Department Of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Isidre Ferrer
- Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
- Senior consultant, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Translational Studies and Biomarkers, Göttingen, Germany
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10
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Llorens F, Thüne K, Tahir W, Kanata E, Diaz-Lucena D, Xanthopoulos K, Kovatsi E, Pleschka C, Garcia-Esparcia P, Schmitz M, Ozbay D, Correia S, Correia Â, Milosevic I, Andréoletti O, Fernández-Borges N, Vorberg IM, Glatzel M, Sklaviadis T, Torres JM, Krasemann S, Sánchez-Valle R, Ferrer I, Zerr I. YKL-40 in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid of neurodegenerative dementias. Mol Neurodegener 2017; 12:83. [PMID: 29126445 PMCID: PMC5681777 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-017-0226-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND YKL-40 (also known as Chitinase 3-like 1) is a glycoprotein produced by inflammatory, cancer and stem cells. Its physiological role is not completely understood but YKL-40 is elevated in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in several neurological and neurodegenerative diseases associated with inflammatory processes. Yet the precise characterization of YKL-40 in dementia cases is missing. METHODS In the present study, we comparatively analysed YKL-40 levels in the brain and CSF samples from neurodegenerative dementias of different aetiologies characterized by the presence of cortical pathology and disease-specific neuroinflammatory signatures. RESULTS YKL-40 was normally expressed in fibrillar astrocytes in the white matter. Additionally YKL-40 was highly and widely expressed in reactive protoplasmic cortical and perivascular astrocytes, and fibrillar astrocytes in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). Elevated YKL-40 levels were also detected in Alzheimer's disease (AD) but not in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). In AD, YKL-40-positive astrocytes were commonly found in clusters, often around β-amyloid plaques, and surrounding vessels with β-amyloid angiopathy; they were also distributed randomly in the cerebral cortex and white matter. YKL-40 overexpression appeared as a pre-clinical event as demonstrated in experimental models of prion diseases and AD pathology. CSF YKL-40 levels were measured in a cohort of 288 individuals, including neurological controls (NC) and patients diagnosed with different types of dementia. Compared to NC, increased YKL-40 levels were detected in sCJD (p < 0.001, AUC = 0.92) and AD (p < 0.001, AUC = 0.77) but not in vascular dementia (VaD) (p > 0.05, AUC = 0.71) or in DLB/Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) (p > 0.05, AUC = 0.70). Further, two independent patient cohorts were used to validate the increased CSF YKL-40 levels in sCJD. Additionally, increased YKL-40 levels were found in genetic prion diseases associated with the PRNP-D178N (Fatal Familial Insomnia) and PRNP-E200K mutations. CONCLUSIONS Our results unequivocally demonstrate that in neurodegenerative dementias, YKL-40 is a disease-specific marker of neuroinflammation showing its highest levels in prion diseases. Therefore, YKL-40 quantification might have a potential for application in the evaluation of therapeutic intervention in dementias with a neuroinflammatory component.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franc Llorens
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Health, Feixa Llarga s/n, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Katrin Thüne
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Health, Feixa Llarga s/n, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Waqas Tahir
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Eirini Kanata
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Daniela Diaz-Lucena
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Health, Feixa Llarga s/n, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Konstantinos Xanthopoulos
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Present address: Unit of Lymphoid Malignancies, Division of Experimental Oncology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Eleni Kovatsi
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Paula Garcia-Esparcia
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Health, Feixa Llarga s/n, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Matthias Schmitz
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Duru Ozbay
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Susana Correia
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ângela Correia
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Olivier Andréoletti
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique/Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire, Toulouse, France
| | | | - Ina M. Vorberg
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
| | - Markus Glatzel
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Theodoros Sklaviadis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Susanne Krasemann
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Raquel Sánchez-Valle
- Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Cognitive Disorders Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital Clínic, Institut d’Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Isidro Ferrer
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Health, Feixa Llarga s/n, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, University Medical School, Göttingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany
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11
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Huor A, Douet JY, Lacroux C, Lugan S, Tillier C, Aron N, Cassard H, Arnold M, Torres JM, Ironside JW, Andréoletti O. Infectivity in bone marrow from sporadic CJD patients. J Pathol 2017; 243:273-278. [PMID: 28791720 DOI: 10.1002/path.4954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Revised: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Prion infectivity was recently identified in the blood of both sporadic and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) patients. In variant CJD (vCJD), the widespread distribution of prions in peripheral tissues of both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients is likely to explain the occurrence of the observed prionaemia. However, in sporadic CJD (sCJD), prion infectivity is described to be located principally in the central nervous system. In this study, we investigated the presence of prion infectivity in bone marrow collected after death in patients affected with different sCJD agents. Bioassays in transgenic mice expressing the human prion protein revealed the presence of unexpectedly high levels of infectivity in the bone marrow from seven out of eight sCJD cases. These findings may explain the presence of blood-borne infectivity in sCJD patients. They also suggest that the distribution of prion infectivity in peripheral tissues in sCJD patients could be wider than currently believed, with potential implications for the iatrogenic transmission risk of this disease. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvina Huor
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
| | - Jean Yves Douet
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
| | - Caroline Lacroux
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
| | - Séverine Lugan
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
| | - Cécile Tillier
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
| | - Naima Aron
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
| | - Hervé Cassard
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
| | - Mark Arnold
- Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, UK
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA/INIA), Valdeolmos-, Madrid, Spain
| | - James W Ironside
- National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Research & Surveillance Unit, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
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12
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Llorens F, Thüne K, Sikorska B, Schmitz M, Tahir W, Fernández-Borges N, Cramm M, Gotzmann N, Carmona M, Streichenberger N, Michel U, Zafar S, Schuetz AL, Rajput A, Andréoletti O, Bonn S, Fischer A, Liberski PP, Torres JM, Ferrer I, Zerr I. Altered Ca 2+ homeostasis induces Calpain-Cathepsin axis activation in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2017; 5:35. [PMID: 28449707 PMCID: PMC5408381 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-017-0431-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is the most prevalent form of human prion disease and it is characterized by the presence of neuronal loss, spongiform degeneration, chronic inflammation and the accumulation of misfolded and pathogenic prion protein (PrPSc). The molecular mechanisms underlying these alterations are largely unknown, but the presence of intracellular neuronal calcium (Ca2+) overload, a general feature in models of prion diseases, is suggested to play a key role in prion pathogenesis. Here we describe the presence of massive regulation of Ca2+ responsive genes in sCJD brain tissue, accompanied by two Ca2+-dependent processes: endoplasmic reticulum stress and the activation of the cysteine proteases Calpains 1/2. Pathogenic Calpain proteins activation in sCJD is linked to the cleavage of their cellular substrates, impaired autophagy and lysosomal damage, which is partially reversed by Calpain inhibition in a cellular prion model. Additionally, Calpain 1 treatment enhances seeding activity of PrPSc in a prion conversion assay. Neuronal lysosomal impairment caused by Calpain over activation leads to the release of the lysosomal protease Cathepsin S that in sCJD mainly localises in axons, although massive Cathepsin S overexpression is detected in microglial cells. Alterations in Ca2+ homeostasis and activation of Calpain-Cathepsin axis already occur at pre-clinical stages of the disease as detected in a humanized sCJD mouse model. Altogether our work indicates that unbalanced Calpain-Cathepsin activation is a relevant contributor to the pathogenesis of sCJD at multiple molecular levels and a potential target for therapeutic intervention.
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13
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de Rezende MB, Herrera HM, Carvalho CME, Carvalho Anjos EA, Ramos CAN, de Araújo FR, Torres JM, de Oliveira CE. Detection of Leishmania spp. in Bats from an Area of Brazil Endemic for Visceral Leishmaniasis. Transbound Emerg Dis 2017; 64:e36-e42. [PMID: 28233434 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The multihost parasites Leishmania spp. infect a broad range of wild mammalian species including bats. Several species of bats have adapted to a variety of food resources and shelters in urban areas. This study aimed to detect Leishmania spp. DNA in bats present in forest fragments located in metropolitan areas endemic for leishmaniasis in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. Blood samples were obtained from 80 individuals, including eight species of Phyllostomidae and one species of Vespertilionidae. Thirty of the 80 bats were positive for Leishmania spp. using conventional PCR, all belonging to the family Phyllostomidae. Eighteen samples tested by real-time PCR (qPCR) using specific primers for the kDNA of Leishmania infantum were positive. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report detecting Leishmania spp. in Platyrrhinus incarum in addition to being the first reported detection of L. infantum in the bat species Phyllostomus discolor, Platyrrhinus lineatus, Artibeus planirostris and Artibeus lituratus. Our results show that bats can host Leishmania spp. in areas endemic for leishmaniasis, which must be taken into account in disease control operations by public health authorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- M B de Rezende
- Universidade Católica Dom Bosco - UCDB, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - H M Herrera
- Universidade Católica Dom Bosco - UCDB, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - C M E Carvalho
- Universidade Católica Dom Bosco - UCDB, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - E A Carvalho Anjos
- Universidade Católica Dom Bosco - UCDB, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.,Bolsista CAPES - Proc. Number 1218-13-1, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - C A N Ramos
- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | | | - J M Torres
- Universidade Católica Dom Bosco - UCDB, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - C E de Oliveira
- Universidade Católica Dom Bosco - UCDB, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
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14
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García-Covarrubias L, Ventura E, Soto V, González E, García A, Aguilar JC, Torres JM, Hinojosa H, Fragoso P, De Los Santos J, Ortuño D, San Cristóbal P, Díliz H. Lack of Association Between Elevated Urinary Levels of Interleukin-10 and Interferon Gamma With the Presence of Inflammation in Kidney Transplant Recipients. Transplant Proc 2016; 48:583-7. [PMID: 27110008 DOI: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2016.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION A lot of evidence has demonstrated the importance of different cytokines in acute renal rejection. Previous studies have examined the presence or absence of interleukin (IL)-10 in related immunopathologic rejection grafts as well as other interleukins. Studies in human transplantation show elevated levels of IL-10 and gamma interferon (INF-γ) in inflammation and rejection. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to demonstrate the lack of association of elevated urinary levels of IL-10 and IFN in the presence of active inflammation. METHODS An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in transplant recipients at 12 months of follow-up after renal transplantation. In those who were held biopsy after renal transplantation at one year follow-up, or allograft dysfunction, we also measured IL-10 and INF-γ in the urine. The following were considered as variables: age, body mass index (BMI), gender, transplant type, creatinine, chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration equation, (CKD-EPI), modification of diet in renal disease study equation (MDRD), Banff classification, and levels of IL-10 and INF-γ. Statistical analysis was performed calculating a sample size of 25 patients, with an alpha bias of 0.05%, yielding measures of central tendency and determining no association between levels of IL-10 and INF-γ with the presence of rejection using SPSS 21.0 program. RESULTS A total of 50 patients, 34 (68%) males, 16 (32%) females, with an average 31.7 ± 9.9 years, weight of 64.91 ± 13.84 kg, size 1.60 ± 0.10 m and 24.97 ± 4.07 BMI were included,39 (78%) living donor and 11 (22%) cadaveric. Twenty-six (52%) showed inflammation in the biopsy and 24 (48%) showed none. Mean creatinine was 1.81 ± 1.5, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 55.27 ± 22.46, 65.76 ± 26.7. (MDRD and CKD-EPI, respectively). No statistical difference was found in the levels of IL-10 and IFN-γ using analysis of variance. (ANOVA; P = .467 and P = .063, respectively) Based on Banff, the inflammation on biopsy score was 2.78 ± 2.84. There was statistical significance (P < .05) with respect to the Cr and eGFR by different equations. There were no significant interactions between cytokine levels and more than 1 factor. (as indicated by P < .2). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS No significant differences were observed in the level of interleukins in patients with and without inflammation, denoting an adequate immunosuppression in most of these patients. Determination of inflammatory cytokines in urine could be used as a determinant of a good immunosuppression status, rather than as an early marker of rejection.
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Affiliation(s)
- L García-Covarrubias
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico; Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico City, Mexico.
| | - E Ventura
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - V Soto
- Department of Pathology, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - E González
- Laboratory of Immunology, Unit of Experimental Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - A García
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - J C Aguilar
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - J M Torres
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - H Hinojosa
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico; Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - P Fragoso
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - J De Los Santos
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - D Ortuño
- Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - P San Cristóbal
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - H Díliz
- Department of Transplantation, Mexico's General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico
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15
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Tahir W, Zafar S, Llorens F, Arora AS, Thüne K, Schmitz M, Gotzmann N, Kruse N, Mollenhauer B, Torres JM, Andréoletti O, Ferrer I, Zerr I. Molecular Alterations in the Cerebellum of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Subtypes with DJ-1 as a Key Regulator of Oxidative Stress. Mol Neurobiol 2016; 55:517-537. [PMID: 27975168 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-016-0294-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 11/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Cerebellar damage and granular and Purkinje cell loss in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) highlight a critical involvement of the cerebellum during symptomatic progression of the disease. In this project, global proteomic alterations in the cerebellum of brain from the two most prevalent subtypes (MM1 and VV2) of sCJD were studied. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) coupled mass spectrometric identification revealed 40 proteins in MM1 and 43 proteins in VV2 subtype to be differentially expressed. Of those, 12 proteins showed common differential expression in their expression between two subtypes. Differentially expressed proteins mainly belonged to (i) cell cycle, gene expression and cell death; (ii) cellular stress response/oxidative stress (OS) and (iii) signal transduction and synaptic functions, related molecular functions. We verified 10 differentially expressed proteins at transcriptional and translational level as well. Interestingly, protein deglycase DJ-1 (an antioxidative protein) showed an increase in its messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in both MM1 and VV2 subtypes but protein expression only in VV2 subtype in cerebellum of sCJD patients. Nuclear translocalization of DJ-1 confirmed its expressional alteration due to OS in sCJD. Downstream experiments showed the activation of nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2)/antioxidative response element (ARE) pathway. DJ-1 protein concentration was significantly increased during the clinical phase in cerebrospinal fluid of sCJD patients and also at presymptomatic and symptomatic stages in cerebellum of humanized PrP transgenic mice inoculated with sCJD (MM1 and VV2) brain. These results suggest the implication of oxidative stress during the pathophysiology of sCJD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Waqas Tahir
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG) and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Str., 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Saima Zafar
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG) and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Str., 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany.
| | - Franc Llorens
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG) and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Str., 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Amandeep Singh Arora
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG) and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Str., 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Katrin Thüne
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG) and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Str., 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Matthias Schmitz
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG) and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Str., 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Nadine Gotzmann
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG) and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Str., 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Niels Kruse
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Brit Mollenhauer
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Carretera de Algete a El Casar Km. 8,1 S/N, 28130, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Olivier Andréoletti
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique/Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire, Toulouse, France
| | - Isidre Ferrer
- Institute of Neuropathology, Hospitalet de Llobregat, IDIBELL-University Hospital Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Network Center for Biomedical Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Ministry of Health, Institute Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG) and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Str., 40, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
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Notari S, Xiao X, Espinosa JC, Cohen Y, Qing L, Aguilar-Calvo P, Kofskey D, Cali I, Cracco L, Kong Q, Torres JM, Zou W, Gambetti P. Transmission characteristics of variably protease-sensitive prionopathy. Emerg Infect Dis 2016; 20:2006-14. [PMID: 25418590 PMCID: PMC4257788 DOI: 10.3201/eid2012.140548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This disease is transmissible and thus an authentic prion disease. Variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr), a recently identified and seemingly sporadic human prion disease, is distinct from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) but shares features of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS). However, contrary to exclusively inherited GSS, no prion protein (PrP) gene variations have been detected in VPSPr, suggesting that VPSPr might be the long-sought sporadic form of GSS. The VPSPr atypical features raised the issue of transmissibility, a prototypical property of prion diseases. We inoculated VPSPr brain homogenate into transgenic mice expressing various levels of human PrP (PrPC). On first passage, 54% of challenged mice showed histopathologic lesions, and 34% harbored abnormal PrP similar to that of VPSPr. Surprisingly, no prion disease was detected on second passage. We concluded that VPSPr is transmissible; thus, it is an authentic prion disease. However, we speculate that normal human PrPC is not an efficient conversion substrate (or mouse brain not a favorable environment) and therefore cannot sustain replication beyond the first passage.
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Carulla P, Llorens F, Matamoros-Angles A, Aguilar-Calvo P, Espinosa JC, Gavín R, Ferrer I, Legname G, Torres JM, del Río JA. Involvement of PrP(C) in kainate-induced excitotoxicity in several mouse strains. Sci Rep 2015; 5:11971. [PMID: 26155834 PMCID: PMC4648388 DOI: 10.1038/srep11971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) has been associated with a plethora of cellular functions ranging from cell cycle to neuroprotection. Mice lacking PrP(C) show an increased susceptibility to epileptic seizures; the protein, then, is neuroprotective. However, lack of experimental reproducibility has led to considering the possibility that other factors besides PrP(C) deletion, such as the genetic background of mice or the presence of so-called "Prnp flanking genes", might contribute to the reported susceptibility. Here, we performed a comparative analysis of seizure-susceptibility using characterized Prnp(+/+) and Prnp(0/0) mice of B6129, B6.129, 129/Ola or FVB/N genetic backgrounds. Our study indicates that PrP(C) plays a role in neuroprotection in KA-treated cells and mice. For this function, PrP(C) should contain the aa32-93 region and needs to be linked to the membrane. In addition, some unidentified "Prnp-flanking genes" play a role parallel to PrP(C) in the KA-mediated responses in B6129 and B6.129 Prnp(0/0) mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Carulla
- 1] Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology, Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [2] Department of Cell Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [3] Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Franc Llorens
- 1] Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology, Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [2] Department of Cell Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [3] Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain [4] German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Robert-Koch Str. 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andreu Matamoros-Angles
- 1] Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology, Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [2] Department of Cell Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [3] Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Juan Carlos Espinosa
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rosalina Gavín
- 1] Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology, Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [2] Department of Cell Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [3] Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Isidre Ferrer
- 1] Institut de Neuropatologia, IDIBELL-Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain [2] Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Laboratory of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - José A del Río
- 1] Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology, Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Parc Científic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [2] Department of Cell Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain [3] Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
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18
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Simon D, Herva ME, Benitez MJ, Garrido JJ, Rojo AI, Cuadrado A, Torres JM, Wandosell F. Dysfunction of the PI3K-Akt-GSK-3 pathway is a common feature in cell culture and in vivo models of prion disease. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2014; 40:311-26. [PMID: 23741998 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2012] [Accepted: 06/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, also called prion diseases, are characterized by the cerebral accumulation of misfolded prion protein (PrP(SC) ) and subsequent neurodegeneration. However, despite considerable research effort, the molecular mechanisms underlying prion-induced neurodegeneration are poorly understood. Here, we explore the hypothesis that prions induce dysfunction of the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3 signalling pathway. METHODS We employed two parallel approaches. Using cell cultures derived from mouse primary neurones and from a human neuronal cell line, we identified common elements that were modified by the neurotoxic fragment of PrP(106-126) . These studies were then complemented by comparative analyses in a mouse model of prion infection. RESULTS The presence of a polymerized fragment of the prion protein (PrP(106-126) ) or of a prion strain altered PI3K-mediated signalling, as evidenced by Akt inhibition and GSK-3 activation. PI3K activation by the addition of insulin or the expression of a constitutively active Akt mutant restored normal levels of Akt and GSK-3 activity. These changes were correlated with a reduction in caspase activity and an increase in neuronal survival. Moreover, we found that activation of caspase 3, Erk and GSK-3 are common features of PrP(106-126) -mediated neurotoxicity in cellular systems and prion infection in the mouse cerebellum, while activation of caspase 12 and JNK was observed in cellular models. CONCLUSIONS Our findings in cell culture and in vivo models of prion disease demonstrate marked alterations to the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3 pathway and suggest that two additional pathways contribute to PrP-induced neurotoxicity as responsible of JNK and caspase 12 activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Simon
- Centro de Biología Molecular 'Severo Ochoa', CSIC-UAM, and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Unv. Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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19
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Douet JY, Zafar S, Perret-Liaudet A, Lacroux C, Lugan S, Aron N, Cassard H, Ponto C, Corbière F, Torres JM, Zerr I, Andreoletti O. Detection of infectivity in blood of persons with variant and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2014; 20:114-7. [PMID: 24377668 PMCID: PMC3884712 DOI: 10.3201/eid2001.130353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We report the presence of infectivity in erythrocytes, leukocytes, and plasma of 1 person with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and in the plasma of 2 in 4 persons whose tests were positive for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The measured infectivity levels were comparable to those reported in various animals with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
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20
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Marco-Salazar P, Márquez M, Fondevila D, Rabanal RM, Torres JM, Pumarola M, Vidal E. Mapping of neurotrophins and their receptors in the adult mouse brain and their role in the pathogenesis of a transgenic murine model of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. J Comp Pathol 2013; 150:449-62. [PMID: 24456748 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2013.11.209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Revised: 09/30/2013] [Accepted: 11/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Neurotrophins are a family of growth factors that act on neuronal cells. The neurotrophins include nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin (NT)-3, -4 and -5. The action of neurotrophins depends on two transmembrane-receptor signalling systems: (1) the tropomyosin-related kinase (Trk) family of tyrosine kinase receptors (Trk A, Trk B and Trk C) and (2) the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)). The interaction between neurotrophic factors and their receptors may be involved in the mechanisms that regulate the differential susceptibility of neuronal populations in neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of neurotrophins in the pathogenesis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) using a transgenic mouse overexpressing bovine prnp (BoTg 110). Histochemistry for Lycopersicum esculentum agglutinin, haematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemistry for the abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrP(d)), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), NGF, BDNF, NT-3 and the receptors Trk A, Trk B, Trk C and p75(NTR) was performed. The lesions and the immunolabelling patterns were assessed semiquantitatively in different areas of the brain. No significant differences in the immunolabelling of neurotrophins and their receptors were observed between BSE-inoculated and control animals, except for p75(NTR), which showed increased expression correlating with the distribution of lesions, PrP(d) deposition and gliosis in the BSE-inoculated mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Marco-Salazar
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Márquez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
| | - D Fondevila
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
| | - R M Rabanal
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
| | - J M Torres
- CISA-INIA, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - M Pumarola
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
| | - E Vidal
- Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
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21
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Comoy EE, Mikol J, Ruchoux MM, Durand V, Luccantoni-Freire S, Dehen C, Correia E, Casalone C, Richt JA, Greenlee JJ, Torres JM, Brown P, Deslys JP. Evaluation of the zoonotic potential of transmissible mink encephalopathy. Pathogens 2013; 2:520-32. [PMID: 25437205 PMCID: PMC4235697 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens2030520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2013] [Revised: 07/28/2013] [Accepted: 07/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful transmission of Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy (TME) to cattle supports the bovine hypothesis for the still controversial origin of TME outbreaks. Human and primate susceptibility to classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (c-BSE) and the transmissibility of L-type BSE to macaques indicate a low cattle-to-primate species barrier. We therefore evaluated the zoonotic potential of cattle-adapted TME. In less than two years, this strain induced in cynomolgus macaques a neurological disease similar to L-BSE but distinct from c-BSE. TME derived from another donor species (raccoon) induced a similar disease with even shorter incubation periods. L-BSE and cattle-adapted TME were also transmissible to transgenic mice expressing human prion protein (PrP). Secondary transmissions to transgenic mice expressing bovine PrP maintained the features of the three tested bovine strains (cattle TME, c-BSE and L-BSE) regardless of intermediate host. Thus, TME is the third animal prion strain transmissible to both macaques and humanized transgenic mice, suggesting zoonotic potentials that should be considered in the risk analysis of animal prion diseases for human health. Moreover, the similarities between TME and L-BSE are highly suggestive of a link between these strains, and therefore the possible presence of L-BSE for many decades prior to its identification in USA and Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel E Comoy
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Jacqueline Mikol
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Marie-Madeleine Ruchoux
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Valérie Durand
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Sophie Luccantoni-Freire
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Capucine Dehen
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Evelyne Correia
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Cristina Casalone
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy.
| | - Juergen A Richt
- Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, K224B Mosier Hall, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-5601 USA.
| | - Justin J Greenlee
- National Animal Disease Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 1920 Dayton Ave, Ames, Iowa 50010 USA.
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Paul Brown
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Jean-Philippe Deslys
- CEA, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Route du Panorama, BP6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
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22
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Torres JM, Cox NJ, Philipson LH. Genome wide association studies for diabetes: perspective on results and challenges. Pediatr Diabetes 2013; 14:90-6. [PMID: 23350725 DOI: 10.1111/pedi.12015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2012] [Revised: 12/03/2012] [Accepted: 12/03/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent results of genome wide association study (GWAS) for diabetes genes, while reaching impressive technical milestones and implicating new findings for research, have been uniformly disappointing in terms of immediate clinical utility. The relative risk associated with any of the newly reported genetic loci, or even considering all of them together, is far less than simply that which can be obtained by taking a history and a physical exam. For type 2 diabetes (T2D), GWAS have implicated novel pathways, supported previously known associations, and highlighted the importance of the beta cell and insulin secretion. Monogenic forms of diabetes, on the other hand, continue to yield interesting insights into genes controlling human beta cell function but most cases of monogenic diabetes are simply not diagnosed. Here, we briefly review recent results related to type 1, type 2 and maturity onset diabetes of youth (MODY) diabetes and suggest that future studies emphasizing quantitative traits are likely to yield even more insights.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Torres
- Departments of Human Genetics, Medicine and Pediatrics, The University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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23
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Sánchez P, Torres JM, Castro B, Del Moral RG, de Dios Luna J, Ortega E. Steroid 5α-reductase in adult rat brain after neonatal dihydrotestosterone administration. Neurochem Res 2012; 38:557-63. [PMID: 23229791 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-012-0948-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2012] [Revised: 10/22/2012] [Accepted: 12/01/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Testosterone (T) is known to play an important masculinizing role in the developing brain of rat, including the regulation of 5α-reductase (5α-R) isozymes. However, the effects of dihydrotesterone (DHT), a more potent androgen than T, have not been elucidated. In this study, DHT was administered from day 5 through day 20 of postnatal life (period of postnatal sexual differentiation of the central nervous system) at doses of: 12 mg/kg/d on days 5, 6, 7, 8, 19, and 20; 15 mg/kg/d on days 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, and 18; and 18 mg/kg/d on days 13, 14, and 15. In adulthood, quantitative RT-PCR was used to measure mRNA levels of 5α-R1 and 5α-R2 isozymes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of male and female rats with varied androgenic status. Under our study conditions, neonatal DHT administration influenced on adult PFC 5α-R isozymes levels and their regulation pattern by androgens, and this pattern was the inverse of that reported in adult neonatally T-treated rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Sánchez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, University of Granada, Avda. de Madrid s/n, 18012, Granada, Spain
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Vidal E, Tortosa R, Marco P, Fondevila D, Rabanal RM, Torres JM, Pumarola M. Late stage cathepsin C, CXCL13 and Ki-67 overexpression correlate with regional neuropathology in a BSE transgenic murine model. J Comp Pathol 2012; 148:22-32. [PMID: 22789860 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2012.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2012] [Revised: 04/02/2012] [Accepted: 05/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
A DNA microarray-based gene expression analysis study was performed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) transgenic mice. Several genes were found to be overexpressed including the lysosomal enzyme cathepsin C, the chemokine CXCL13 and a number of genes related to cellular proliferation. The brains from terminal stage, BSE inoculated, 'bovinized', transgenic mice were subjected to immunohistochemistry with antibodies against these two proteins and Ki-67, a cell proliferation marker, to assess the biological relevance of the gene expression changes. Differential expression of cathepsin C and CXCL13 proteins and increased expression of Ki-67 was observed. These changes were localized to areas of deposition of PrP(res) and spongiform change and to areas showing an astroglial and microglial response. These findings suggest that these proteins are involved in the mechanisms leading to the establishment of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Vidal
- Priocat Laboratory, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain.
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25
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Padilla D, Béringue V, Espinosa JC, Andreoletti O, Jaumain E, Reine F, Herzog L, Gutierrez-Adan A, Pintado B, Laude H, Torres JM. Sheep and goat BSE propagate more efficiently than cattle BSE in human PrP transgenic mice. PLoS Pathog 2011; 7:e1001319. [PMID: 21445238 PMCID: PMC3060172 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1001319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2010] [Accepted: 02/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A new variant of Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (vCJD) was identified in humans and linked to the consumption of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)-infected meat products. Recycling of ruminant tissue in meat and bone meal (MBM) has been proposed as origin of the BSE epidemic. During this epidemic, sheep and goats have been exposed to BSE-contaminated MBM. It is well known that sheep can be experimentally infected with BSE and two field BSE-like cases have been reported in goats. In this work we evaluated the human susceptibility to small ruminants-passaged BSE prions by inoculating two different transgenic mouse lines expressing the methionine (Met) allele of human PrP at codon 129 (tg650 and tg340) with several sheep and goat BSE isolates and compared their transmission characteristics with those of cattle BSE. While the molecular and neuropathological transmission features were undistinguishable and similar to those obtained after transmission of vCJD in both transgenic mouse lines, sheep and goat BSE isolates showed higher transmission efficiency on serial passaging compared to cattle BSE. We found that this higher transmission efficiency was strongly influenced by the ovine PrP sequence, rather than by other host species-specific factors. Although extrapolation of results from prion transmission studies by using transgenic mice has to be done very carefully, especially when human susceptibility to prions is analyzed, our results clearly indicate that Met129 homozygous individuals might be susceptible to a sheep or goat BSE agent at a higher degree than to cattle BSE, and that these agents might transmit with molecular and neuropathological properties indistinguishable from those of vCJD. Our results suggest that the possibility of a small ruminant BSE prion as vCJD causal agent could not be ruled out, and that the risk for humans of a potential goat and/or sheep BSE agent should not be underestimated. Prion diseases, also referred as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by proteinaceous infectious particles denominated “prions.” Prion diseases acquired their first real public relevance with the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) (“mad cow disease”) in the United Kingdom in the 80s and its link with the appearance of a new, variant form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Recycling of ruminant tissues in meat and bone meal has been proposed as origin of the BSE epidemic. During this episode, sheep and goats have also been exposed to BSE-contaminated meal, so transmission to this species may have occurred. We analyzed the human susceptibility to sheep and goat passaged-BSE prions by using transgenic mice expressing human prion protein (PrP). When different sheep and goat BSE isolates were inoculated in these transgenic mice, higher susceptibility than that observed for cattle BSE was detected and the disease manifestation was similar to that observed in mice inoculated with the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Our findings suggest that humans are at least equally, and might be even more, susceptible to a sheep or goat BSE agent compared to a cattle BSE one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Padilla
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Vincent Béringue
- INRA, UR892, Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | | | - Olivier Andreoletti
- UMR INRA-ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Emilie Jaumain
- INRA, UR892, Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Fabienne Reine
- INRA, UR892, Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Laetitia Herzog
- INRA, UR892, Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | | | - Belen Pintado
- Departamento de Reproducción Animal-INIA, Madrid, Spain
| | - Hubert Laude
- INRA, UR892, Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
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Osorio A, Ortega E, de Haro T, Torres JM, Sánchez P, Ruiz-Requena E. Lipid profiles and oxidative stress parameters in male and female hemodialysis patients. Mol Cell Biochem 2011; 353:59-63. [PMID: 21547454 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-011-0774-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2010] [Accepted: 02/24/2011] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
To study atherogenesis markers in patients with stage 5D chronic kidney disease (CKD-5D) on hemodialysis to determine which parameters are modified and whether their behavior differ between male and female patients of similar age. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, total proteins, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, autoantibodies against oxidized low-density lipoproteins-cholesterol, homocysteine (Hcy), folate, and vitamin B12 were measured in male and female controls and CKD-5D patients on hemodialysis for >6 months. The CKD-5D patients had significantly lower cholesterol, LDL-c and ox-LDL levels and significantly higher ox-LDL-AB and Hcy levels versus their respective controls. The reduction in ox-LDL in CKD patients does not imply a lower risk of atherosclerosis. In fact, the risk may be higher due to a greater capture of ox-LDL by macrophage scavenger receptors, which are increased in these patients. Elevated Hcy levels may also be a risk factor for atherosclerosis in male and female CKD-5D patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Osorio
- Unit of Vascular Surgery, Hospital Virgen de la Luz, Cuenca, Spain
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Zou WQ, Puoti G, Xiao X, Yuan J, Qing L, Cali I, Shimoji M, Langeveld JPM, Castellani R, Notari S, Crain B, Schmidt RE, Geschwind M, Dearmond SJ, Cairns NJ, Dickson D, Honig L, Torres JM, Mastrianni J, Capellari S, Giaccone G, Belay ED, Schonberger LB, Cohen M, Perry G, Kong Q, Parchi P, Tagliavini F, Gambetti P. Variably protease-sensitive prionopathy: a new sporadic disease of the prion protein. Ann Neurol 2010; 68:162-72. [PMID: 20695009 DOI: 10.1002/ana.22094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 157] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The objective of the study is to report 2 new genotypic forms of protease-sensitive prionopathy (PSPr), a novel prion disease described in 2008, in 11 subjects all homozygous for valine at codon 129 of the prion protein (PrP) gene (129VV). The 2 new PSPr forms affect individuals who are either homozygous for methionine (129MM) or heterozygous for methionine/valine (129MV). METHODS Fifteen affected subjects with 129MM, 129MV, and 129VV underwent comparative evaluation at the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center for clinical, histopathologic, immunohistochemical, genotypical, and PrP characteristics. RESULTS Disease duration (between 22 and 45 months) was significantly different in the 129VV and 129MV subjects. Most other phenotypic features along with the PrP electrophoretic profile were similar but distinguishable in the 3 129 genotypes. A major difference laid in the sensitivity to protease digestion of the disease-associated PrP, which was high in 129VV but much lower, or altogether lacking, in 129MV and 129MM. This difference prompted the substitution of the original designation with "variably protease-sensitive prionopathy" (VPSPr). None of the subjects had mutations in the PrP gene coding region. INTERPRETATION Because all 3 129 genotypes are involved, and are associated with distinguishable phenotypes, VPSPr becomes the second sporadic prion protein disease with this feature after Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, originally reported in 1920. However, the characteristics of the abnormal prion protein suggest that VPSPr is different from typical prion diseases, and perhaps more akin to subtypes of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Quan Zou
- Department of Pathology, National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
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Johnson WL, Kim SA, Geiss R, Flannery CM, Soles CL, Wang C, Stafford CM, Wu WL, Torres JM, Vogt BD, Heyliger PR. Elastic constants and dimensions of imprinted polymeric nanolines determined from Brillouin light scattering. Nanotechnology 2010; 21:75703. [PMID: 20081293 DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/21/7/075703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Elastic constants and cross-sectional dimensions of imprinted nanolines of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) on silicon substrates are determined nondestructively from finite-element inversion analysis of dispersion curves of hypersonic acoustic modes of these nanolines measured with Brillouin light scattering. The results for the cross-sectional dimensions, under the simplifying assumption of vertical sides and a semicircular top, are found to be consistent with dimensions determined from critical-dimension small-angle x-ray scattering measurements. The elastic constants C(11) and C(44) are found to be, respectively, 11.6% and 3.1% lower than their corresponding values for bulk PMMA. This result is consistent with the dimensional dependence of the quasi-static Young's modulus determined from buckling measurements on PMMA films with lower molecular weights. This study provides the first evidence of size-dependent effects on hypersonic elastic properties of polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- W L Johnson
- Materials Reliability Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
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29
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Espinosa JC, Herva ME, Andréoletti O, Padilla D, Lacroux C, Cassard H, Lantier I, Castilla J, Torres JM. Transgenic mice expressing porcine prion protein resistant to classical scrapie but susceptible to sheep bovine spongiform encephalopathy and atypical scrapie. Emerg Infect Dis 2009; 15:1214-21. [PMID: 19751582 PMCID: PMC2815954 DOI: 10.3201/eid1508.081218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Atypical scrapie strain phenotypes may shift when transmitted to a new host. How susceptible pigs are to infection with sheep prions is unknown. We show, through transmission experiments in transgenic mice expressing porcine prion protein (PrP), that the susceptibility of this mouse model to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) can be enhanced after its passage in ARQ sheep, indicating that the pathogenicity of the BSE agent is modified after passage in sheep. Transgenic mice expressing porcine PrP were, nevertheless, completely resistant to infection with a broad panel of classical scrapie isolates from different sheep PrP genotypes and with different biochemical characteristics. The atypical (Nor98 like) isolate (SC-PS152) was the only scrapie isolate capable of transmission in these mice, although with a marked transmission barrier. Unexpectedly, the atypical scrapie agent appeared to undergo a strain phenotype shift upon transmission to porcine-PrP transgenic mice and acquired new strain properties, suggesting that atypical scrapie agent may exhibit different phenotypes depending on the host cellular PrP or other genetic factors.
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Costa C, Tortosa R, Vidal E, Padilla D, Torres JM, Ferrer I, Pumarola M, Bassols A. Central nervous system extracellular matrix changes in a transgenic mouse model of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Vet J 2009; 182:306-14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2008.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2007] [Revised: 06/05/2008] [Accepted: 07/10/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Guardado R, Asensi V, Torres JM, Pérez F, Blanco A, Maradona JA, Cartón JA. Post-surgical enterococcal meningitis: Clinical and epidemiological study of 20 cases. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009; 38:584-8. [PMID: 16857599 DOI: 10.1080/00365540600606416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Enterococcal post-surgical meningitis is an uncommon disease. 20 episodes of nosocomial post-surgical enterococcal meningitis diagnosed between 1994 and 2003 were retrospectively studied. During the period of study 20 cases of post-surgical enterococcal meningitis (60% female, mean age 55+/-18 y, range 16-78 y) were reviewed. The mean time between admission at the hospital and surgery was 26 (SD = 15) d (range 7-61 d). The most frequent underlying diseases were: intracerebral haemorrhage (55%), brain neoplasms (25%), head trauma (15%) and hydrocephalus (5%). 11 patients had previously received antibiotic treatment. The isolates identified were Enterococcus faecalis (n = 18) (90%), E. faecium (1) and E. durans (1). 11 patients had polymicrobial infections. The treatment most frequently used was vancomycin alone or with other antibiotics (11). In 5 patients intrathecal vancomycin (20 mg/d) was also added. The mortality rate was not different in intrathecally treated patients. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) devices were removed in 8 patients. Four patients died due to the infection. Mortality was significantly associated with lack of removal of the CSF devices (p = 0.04). Enterococcal spp. are a cause of nosocomial meningitis associated with neurosurgical procedures and the presence of neurological devices.
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Maluquer de Motes C, Cano MJ, Torres JM, Pumarola M, Girones R. Detection and survival of prion agents in aquatic environments. Water Res 2008; 42:2465-2472. [PMID: 18321558 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2008.01.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2007] [Revised: 12/07/2007] [Accepted: 01/29/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Environmental contamination is considered a potential mechanism of transmission of prion diseases. Sheep scrapie and cervid chronic wasting diseases (CWD) epizootics are thought to be maintained by natural horizontal transmission through the environment. Here, we describe a method for the detection of prion proteins (PrPres) in aquatic environments. The procedure is based on a glycine buffer-mediated extraction, sonication, and an ultracentrifugation step. The detection limit of the method was estimated to be over 5-10 microg of infected tissue. In order to determine the inactivation of these agents, we spiked infected brain tissue in urban sewage, seawater and a buffered solution (final concentrations of 0.1-0.2% brain in matrix), and studied the decay of BSE- and scrapie-associated PrPres over time (up to 265 days). Densitometric data from Western blots were plotted in logarithmic scale against time. Reduction of PrPres titer in sewage was quantified in one logarithm after 13.5 days for BSE, 27.9 days for mouse-passaged scrapie and 32.6 days for sheep scrapie. In the buffered solution, a logarithm of BSE-associated PrPres also disappeared earlier than that of scrapie (113.9 and 214.3 days, respectively). By means of the covariance analysis, these differences in the inactivation patterns were shown to be statistically significant. According to the data, prions may be stable for extended periods of time in buffered solutions like PBS, but would show limited survival in aquatic environmental matrices.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Maluquer de Motes
- Department of Microbiology, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
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Sánchez P, Torres JM, Gavete P, Ortega E. Effects of swim stress on mRNA and protein levels of steroid 5α-reductase isozymes in prefrontal cortex of adult male rats. Neurochem Int 2008; 52:426-31. [PMID: 17826869 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2007.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2007] [Revised: 07/23/2007] [Accepted: 07/28/2007] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The metabolite of progesterone, allopregnanolone, is among the most potent known ligands of the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor complex (GABA(A)-R) in the central nervous system. This neuroactive steroid is markedly increased in an animal model of acute stress. Allopregnanolone is synthesized from progesterone by steroidogenic enzymes 5alpha-reductase (5alpha-R) and 3alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3alpha-HSD), with the former being the rate-limiting enzyme in this reaction sequence. In this paper, a quantitative RT-PCR method coupled to laser-induced fluorescence capillary electrophoresis (LIF-CE) and Western blot were used to measure both mRNA and protein levels of 5alpha-R type 1 (5alpha-R1) and 5alpha-R type 2 (5alpha-R2) isozymes in prefrontal cortex of male rats after acute swim stress situations. Our results demonstrate that both 5alpha-R isozymes are significantly higher in prefrontal cortex of male rats after acute swim stress in comparison with control rats. These data may open up a new research line that could improve our understanding of the role of 5alpha-R isozymes in processes that accompany stress situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Sánchez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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Groschup MH, Lacroux C, Buschmann A, Lühken G, Mathey J, Eiden M, Lugan S, Hoffmann C, Espinosa JC, Baron T, Torres JM, Erhardt G, Andreoletti O. Classic scrapie in sheep with the ARR/ARR prion genotype in Germany and France. Emerg Infect Dis 2007; 13:1201-7. [PMID: 17953092 PMCID: PMC2828083 DOI: 10.3201/eid1308.070077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We report 2 natural scrapie cases in sheep carrying the ARR/ARR prion genotype, which is believed to confer resistance against classic scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. In the past, natural scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infections have essentially not been diagnosed in sheep homozygous for the A136R154R171 haplotype of the prion protein. This genotype was therefore assumed to confer resistance to BSE and classic scrapie under natural exposure conditions. Hence, to exclude prions from the human food chain, massive breeding efforts have been undertaken in the European Union to amplify this gene. We report the identification of 2 natural scrapie cases in ARR/ARR sheep that have biochemical and transmission characteristics similar to cases of classic scrapie, although the abnormally folded prion protein (PrPSc) was associated with a lower proteinase-K resistance. PrPSc was clearly distinct from BSE prions passaged in sheep and from atypical scrapie prions. These findings strongly support the idea that scrapie prions are a mosaic of agents, which harbor different biologic properties, rather than a unique entity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin H Groschup
- Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Insel Riems, Germany.
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Costa C, Tortosa R, Rodríguez A, Ferrer I, Torres JM, Bassols A, Pumarola M. Aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 4 overexpression in bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a transgenic murine model and in cattle field cases. Brain Res 2007; 1175:96-106. [PMID: 17868659 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2007.06.088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2007] [Revised: 06/20/2007] [Accepted: 06/20/2007] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Aquaporins (AQP) are a family of transmembrane proteins that act as water selective channels. AQP1 and AQP4 are widely expressed in the central nervous system where they play several roles. Overexpression of AQP has been reported in some human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, but information is scanty about their distribution in the central nervous system in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Double immunohistochemistry for AQP1, AQP4 and GFAP was developed in a transgenic mouse line overexpressing the bovine cellular prion protein (BoTg110), intracerebrally infected with cattle BSE. Western blot for AQP1 and AQP4, and immunohistochemistry for both AQP and GFAP were carried out in cases of BSE-diagnosed cattle as part of surveillance plan in Catalonia (Spain). A marked increase in AQP1 and AQP4 was observed in mice at the terminal stage of the disease, when they had a wide range of clinical signs, whereas no increase could be observed in the early stage before the onset of the clinical signs. In cattle which did not show evidence of clinical signs, both AQP already showed a great increase. The AQP overexpression correlated with GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes and PrPres deposition in both cases. The results of this study suggest that AQP overexpression in glial cells could lead to an imbalance in water and ion homeostasis which could contribute to triggering the typical histopathological changes of BSE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carme Costa
- Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
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36
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Tortosa R, Vidal E, Costa C, Alamillo E, Torres JM, Ferrer I, Pumarola M. Stress response in the central nervous system of a transgenic mouse model of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Vet J 2007; 178:126-9. [PMID: 17692544 DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2007.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2007] [Revised: 06/01/2007] [Accepted: 06/05/2007] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
An immunohistochemical study was performed to evaluate the stress-related proteins heat shock protein 25 (HSP25) and metallothionein 1+2 (MT1+2) in the brains of a murine model of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Transgenic mice (BoTg110) expressing the bovine cellular prion protein were intracerebrally inoculated with brainstem homogenate from BSE infected cattle. PrP(BSE) deposits were found in the brain as early as 150 days post-inoculation (dpi) and in mice sacrificed terminally at 290-320dpi. Glial proliferation and spongiform change were associated with an increase in glial immunostaining of MT1+2 and HSP25, respectively. These proteins are associated with oxidative stress and heavy metal metabolism, which may have a role in the pathogenesis of BSE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raül Tortosa
- Animal Medicine and Surgery Department, Veterinary Faculty, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
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37
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Bilheude JM, Brun A, Morel N, Díaz San Segundo F, Lecroix S, Espinosa JC, González L, Steele P, Grassi J, Andréoletti O, Torres JM. Discrimination of sheep susceptible and resistant to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies by an haplotype specific monoclonal antibody. J Virol Methods 2007; 145:169-72. [PMID: 17614145 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2007.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2007] [Revised: 05/17/2007] [Accepted: 05/21/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In the present report, the selective detection of sheep PrP haplotypes by monoclonal antibody 2A11 is described. It is showed that the substitution of glutamine by arginine but not by histidine at ovine PrP position 171 abolishes completely the recognition of either PrP(c) or PrP(d) by mAb 2A11, in such a way that the application of this antibody allows the unambiguous discrimination of R(171) homozygotes. On the basis of the high resistance to classical scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalophaty (BSE) infection associated to the R(171) PrP haplotype, animals bearing the ARR allele are currently selected within the scrapie national plan initiated in Great Britain. A 2A11-based immuno enzymatic test have been developed and evaluated using a panel of plasma and sera from sheep of different PrP genotypes and breeds. The test allows the efficient discrimination of R(171) homozygotes, R(171) heterozygotes and non-R(171) carriers, therefore offering a rapid, cheap and easy to use alternative method to select sheep for their resistance to scrapie.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Bilheude
- Bio-Rad, R&D TSE, 3 Bd Raymond Poincaré, 92430 Marnes La Coquette, France
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Gascón J, Torres JM, Jiménez M, Mejias T, Triviño L, Gobbi F, Quintó L, Puig J, Corachan M. Histoplasmosis infection in Spanish travelers to Latin America. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2006; 24:839-41. [PMID: 16315009 DOI: 10.1007/s10096-005-0050-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the study presented here was to assess the incidence of histoplasma infection in a cohort of 342 individuals in Spain who had traveled to Latin America for the first time. The histoplasmin skin test was positive in 20% of the travelers, and Central America posed a higher risk for infection than South America (p=0.013). Sleeping outdoors (p=0.031) and the duration of travel (p=0.016) were also identified as significant risk factors. Serological testing demonstrated poor overall sensitivity for detecting infection in the travelers, but for the symptomatic acute cases the results were improved. Histoplasmosis must be considered in patients presenting with fever (odds ratio=3.51 [1.52-8.12]) or cough (odds ratio=4.24 [1.32-13.58]) after visiting Latin America. The results of this study have public health implications and indicate the risks of acquiring histoplasmosis should be included in pre-travel counseling.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Gascón
- International Health Centre, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, c/ Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
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Sánchez P, Torres JM, Del Moral RG, Ortega E. Effects of testosterone on brain mRNA levels of steroid 5alpha-reductase isozymes in early postnatal life of rat. Neurochem Int 2006; 49:626-30. [PMID: 16828201 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2006.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2006] [Revised: 05/15/2006] [Accepted: 05/19/2006] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The enzyme 5alpha-reductase (5alpha-R) (EC 1.3.99.5) exists as two isoforms, 5alpha-R type 1 (5alpha-R1) and 5alpha-R type 2 (5alpha-R2), and both are present in the brain. 5alpha-R1 has been proposed as a constitutive enzyme that essentially plays a catabolic and neuron protective role whereas 5alpha-R2 has been associated with sexually dimorphic functions of the male. In this work, we studied the effects of testosterone (T), the masculinizing hormone of the central nervous system (CNS), on mRNA levels of both 5alpha-R isoforms in the prefrontal cortex of male and female rats during the postnatal sexual differentiation of the CNS in the rat, using one-step quantitative RT-PCR coupled with laser-induced fluorescence capillary electrophoresis (LIF-CE). We found an increase in 5alpha-R2 mRNA levels in both male and female rats after T treatment, while 5alpha-R1 mRNA levels were decreased in the same experimental conditions. Our results clearly indicated that T regulates the expression of both 5alpha-R1 and 5alpha-R2 genes in an opposite manner and independently of the sex. This could point to a crucial role of T in the sexual dimorphism for both 5alpha-R isozymes in the neonatal brain. These results open up a new research line that could improve understanding of the role of 5alpha-R isozymes in the physiology of the CNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Sánchez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Avda. de Madrid s/n 18012, Granada, Spain
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Andréoletti O, Morel N, Lacroux C, Rouillon V, Barc C, Tabouret G, Sarradin P, Berthon P, Bernardet P, Mathey J, Lugan S, Costes P, Corbière F, Espinosa JC, Torres JM, Grassi J, Schelcher F, Lantier F. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy agent in spleen from an ARR/ARR orally exposed sheep. J Gen Virol 2006; 87:1043-1046. [PMID: 16528056 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.81318-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Oral contamination with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent in susceptible PRNP genotype sheep results in widespread distribution of prion in the host. Because ARR homozygous sheep are considered to be resistant to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, they have been selected to eradicate scrapie from sheep flocks and to protect the human food chain from small ruminant BSE risk. However, results presented here show that several months after an oral challenge with BSE agent, healthy ARR/ARR sheep can accumulate significant amounts of PrP(Sc) in the spleen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Andréoletti
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Nathalie Morel
- CEA, Service de Pharmacologie et d'Immunologie, CEA/Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette cedex, France
| | - Caroline Lacroux
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Virginie Rouillon
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Céline Barc
- INRA, Pathologie Infectieuse et Immunologie, INRA Nouzilly, 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Guillaume Tabouret
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Pierre Sarradin
- INRA, Pathologie Infectieuse et Immunologie, INRA Nouzilly, 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Patricia Berthon
- INRA, Pathologie Infectieuse et Immunologie, INRA Nouzilly, 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Philippe Bernardet
- INRA, Pathologie Infectieuse et Immunologie, INRA Nouzilly, 37380 Nouzilly, France
| | - Jacinthe Mathey
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Séverine Lugan
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Pierrette Costes
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Fabien Corbière
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Juan-Carlos Espinosa
- CISA, Instituto National de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria, 28130 Valdeolmos, Spain
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- CISA, Instituto National de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria, 28130 Valdeolmos, Spain
| | - Jacques Grassi
- CEA, Service de Pharmacologie et d'Immunologie, CEA/Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette cedex, France
| | - François Schelcher
- UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Interactions Hôte-Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, 23 Chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse, France
| | - Frédéric Lantier
- INRA, Pathologie Infectieuse et Immunologie, INRA Nouzilly, 37380 Nouzilly, France
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Abstract
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is one of several diseases known collectively as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) and caused by prions, which are nonconventional infectious agents. The risk of human infection by exposure to a TSE agent is generally considered to be low, because of the species barrier. However, the prions causing BSE in cattle are able to cross the species barrier easily. The appearance of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) after human exposure to BSE prions has highlighted the possible impacts of this infection on human health. Today, a major concern is that the number of BSE cases in many European countries, including the emerging eastern European countries of the EU, is growing. A further concern now emerging is the possibility that BSE could spread to other livestock species, such as sheep or goats. This paper provides an overview of BSE transmission and its potential implications for public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos Espinosa
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, INIA, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Monica Morales
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, INIA, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Maria Eugenia Herva
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, INIA, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, INIA, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
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42
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Abstract
The enzyme 5alpha-reductase (5alpha-R) (EC 1.3.99.5) exists as two isoforms, 5alpha-R type 1 (5alpha-R1) and 5alpha-R type 2 (5alpha-R2). 5alpha-R1 has been associated with catabolic functions whereas 5alpha-R2 has been associated with sexually dimorphic functions of the male. We recently demonstrated that both 5alpha-R isozymes are present in the central nervous system (CNS) of the adult male rat and are regulated in an opposing way by androgens. This finding raises the question as to whether both isozymes play a role in the sexual dimorphism of the CNS, besides other functions. To test this hypothesis, it is essential to study the regulation of both isozymes by androgens in the female. In this work, we studied the effects of testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on mRNA levels of both 5alpha-R isoforms in the prefrontal cortex of the adult female rat by one-step quantitative RT-PCR coupled with laser-induced fluorescence capillary electrophoresis. Our results demonstrate for the first time that 5alpha-R2 mRNA is slightly regulated by T and DHT in females. Surprisingly, 5alpha-R1 mRNA is not regulated by T in the intact female, whereas it is very positively regulated by DHT, a more potent androgen than T. These data indicate the great sexual dimorphism in the CNS with respect to both 5alpha-R isozymes, and suggest a crucial role of DHT in the sexual dimorphism of the CNS in the female. These results open up a new research line that may lead to a better understanding of the physiology of the CNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Torres
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Avda. de Madrid s/n, 18012 Granada, Spain
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43
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Pericuesta E, Ramírez MA, Villa-Diaz A, Relaño-Gines A, Maria Torres J, Nieto M, Pintado B, Gutiérrez-Adán A. The proximal promoter region of mTert is sufficient to regulate telomerase activity in ES cells and transgenic animals. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2006; 4:5. [PMID: 16457732 PMCID: PMC1402293 DOI: 10.1186/1477-7827-4-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2005] [Accepted: 02/03/2006] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The reverse transcriptase of telomerase (Tert) controls telomerase activity maintaining the end of linear chromosomes in eukaryotic cells. Telomerase function is highly active in undifferentiated multipotent stem cells, decreases with cell differentiation and is generally absent from most somatic cells in the adult. Its absence is responsible of telomeres shortening in such somatic cells. Using an in vivo transgenic model and an in vitro culture differentiation of adult stem cells, we examined the elements of the mouse Tert (mTert) promoter that control telomerase activity. RESULTS Three constructs comprising 1, 2 or 5 kb of the mTert promoter sequence coupled to the coding sequence of the green fluorescent protein (EGFP) were electroporated into embryonic stem (ES) cells. Transformed ES cells were able to mimic the expected mTert expression, which was associated to green fluorescence. One and 5 kb promoter produced the higher expression of EGFP, on ES cells. When ES cells were allowed to differentiate to embryoid bodies and to other cell types, they lost gradually the expression of mTert-EGFP as consequence of differentiation. No differences were found among the three constructs analyzed. We then generated transgenic mice with the three constructs. Expression of the reporter gene was monitored by reverse transcription-PCR analysis and EGFP visualization. The mRNA expression of the three constructs was lower than the endogenous mTert, but mimicked the endogenous mTert transcription pattern; however, no fluorescent expression of EGFP was detected in adult tissues. EGFP expression of the three constructs was visualized at the blastocysts stage and in new ES cells generated from them; in the germinal ring of E13 dpc foetuses; in ES-like colonies and in germinal stem cells generated from neonatal and adult testis cells; and in neuroesferes generated from E14 dpc foetuses' brain cells. CONCLUSION The 1 kb promoter upstream of the initiating ATG codon of mTert contains all the regulatory elements to control telomerase expression in ES cells during in vitro loss of pluripotency. The transgenic mouse lines generated represent an appropriate system to analyze the expression of mouse Tert gene under physiological condition and during establishment of stem cell lines generated from embryonic or adult tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Pericuesta
- Departamento de Reproducción Animal y Conservación de Recursos Zoogenéticos, INIA, Ctra. De La Coruña Km 5,9, Madrid 28040, Spain
| | - Miguel Angel Ramírez
- Departamento de Reproducción Animal y Conservación de Recursos Zoogenéticos, INIA, Ctra. De La Coruña Km 5,9, Madrid 28040, Spain
| | - Ana Villa-Diaz
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Ctra. de Valdeolmos a El Casar, Valdeolmos, 28130, Madrid, Spain
| | - Aroa Relaño-Gines
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Ctra. de Valdeolmos a El Casar, Valdeolmos, 28130, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Maria Torres
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Ctra. de Valdeolmos a El Casar, Valdeolmos, 28130, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Nieto
- Departamento de Biología Molecular y Celular. Centro Nacional de Biotecnología. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Belen Pintado
- Departamento de Reproducción Animal y Conservación de Recursos Zoogenéticos, INIA, Ctra. De La Coruña Km 5,9, Madrid 28040, Spain
| | - Alfonso Gutiérrez-Adán
- Departamento de Reproducción Animal y Conservación de Recursos Zoogenéticos, INIA, Ctra. De La Coruña Km 5,9, Madrid 28040, Spain
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44
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Castilla J, Gutiérrez-Adán A, Brun A, Pintado B, Salguero FJ, Parra B, Segundo FDS, Ramírez MA, Rábano A, Cano MJ, Torres JM. Transgenic mice expressing bovine PrP with a four extra repeat octapeptide insert mutation show a spontaneous, non-transmissible, neurodegenerative disease and an expedited course of BSE infection. FEBS Lett 2005; 579:6237-46. [PMID: 16253245 DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2005.09.099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2005] [Revised: 09/01/2005] [Accepted: 09/22/2005] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Transgenic (Tg) mice carrying four extra octapeptide repeats (OR) in the bovine PrP gene (10OR instead of 6) have been generated. In these mice, neuropathological changes were observed depending upon the level of transgene expression. These changes primarily involved a slowly advancing neurological disorder, characterized clinically by ataxia, and neuropathologically, by vacuolization in different brain areas, gliosis, and loss of cerebellar granule cells. Accumulation of insoluble bovine 10OR-PrP (bo10OR-PrP) was observed depending on the level of expression but no infectivity was found associated with this insoluble form. We also compared the behavior of bo6OR-PrP and bo10OR-PrP Tg mouse lines in response to BSE infection. BSE-inoculated bo10ORTg mice showed an altered course of BSE infection, reflected by reduced incubation times when compared to bo6ORTg mice expressing similar levels of the wild type 6OR-PrP. In BSE-inoculated mice, it was possible to detect PrP(res) in 100% of the animals. While insoluble bo10OR-PrP from non-inoculated bo10ORTg mice was non-infectious, brain homogenates from BSE-inoculated bo10ORTg mice were highly infectious in all the Tg mouse lines tested. This Tg mouse model constitutes a new way of understanding the pathobiology of bovine transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Its potential applications include the assessment of new therapies against prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Castilla
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, INIA, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
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45
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Castilla J, Brun A, Díaz-San Segundo F, Salguero FJ, Gutiérrez-Adán A, Pintado B, Ramírez MA, del Riego L, Torres JM. Vertical transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions evaluated in a transgenic mouse model. J Virol 2005; 79:8665-8. [PMID: 15956610 PMCID: PMC1143732 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.13.8665-8668.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In this work we show evidence of mother-to-offspring transmission in a transgenic mouse line expressing bovine PrP (boTg) experimentally infected by intracerebral administration of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions. PrP(res) was detected in brains of newborns from infected mothers only when mating was allowed near to the clinical stage of disease, when brain PrP(res) deposition could be detected by Western blot analysis. Attempts to detect infectivity in milk after intracerebral inoculation in boTg mice were unsuccessful, suggesting the involvement of other tissues as carriers of prion dissemination. The results shown here prove the ability of BSE prions to spread centrifugally from the central nervous system to peripheral tissues and to offspring in a mouse model. Also, these results may complement previous epidemiological data supporting the occurrence of vertical BSE transmission in cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Castilla
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Ctra. de Valdeolmes a El Casar, Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
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46
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Castilla J, Gutiérrez-Adán A, Brun A, Pintado B, Parra B, Ramírez MA, Salguero FJ, Díaz San Segundo F, Rábano A, Cano MJ, Torres JM. Different behavior toward bovine spongiform encephalopathy infection of bovine prion protein transgenic mice with one extra repeat octapeptide insert mutation. J Neurosci 2004; 24:2156-64. [PMID: 14999066 PMCID: PMC6730430 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3811-03.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, insert mutations within the repetitive octapeptide region of the prion protein gene (Prnp) are often associated with familial spongiform encephalopathies. In this study, transgenic mice expressing bovine PrP (boTg mice) bearing an additional octapeptide insertion to the wild type (seven octapeptide repeats instead of six) showed an altered course of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infection, reflected as reduced incubation times when compared with boTg mice expressing similar levels of the wild-type six-octapeptide protein. In both boTg mouse lines (bo6ORTg and bo7ORTg), incubation times were affected drastically depending on transgene expression levels and the inoculum used. In accordance with the lack of an interspecies barrier to BSE infection, we detected the typical signs of CNS spongiform degeneration by histopathological analysis and the presence of the bovine prion PrP(res) by Western blot or immunohistochemical analyses. When 7OR-PrP(res) was propagated in bo7ORTg mice, a similar earlier onset of clinical signs was observed compared with bo6ORTg mice. Proteins PrP(C) and PrP(res) containing seven octapeptides (7OR-PrP(C) and 7OR-PrP(res)) showed similar protease sensitivity and insolubility in nondenaturing detergents to homologous 6OR-PrP(C) and 6OR-PrP(res). In addition, bo7ORTg mice showed a higher sensitivity than bo6ORTg mice for detecting prion infection in specimens previously diagnosed as negative by conventional biochemical techniques. In the absence of clinical signs of disease, 7OR-PrP(res) could be detected as early as 120 d after inoculation by immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses. These findings may help us improve the current mouse bioassays and understand the role of the octapeptide repeat region in susceptibility to disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Castilla
- Center of Animal Health Investigation, National Institute of Agricultural Technology and Investigation, Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
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47
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Abstract
The liver is a multifunctional organ capable of steroid hormone catabolism. The steroid metabolizing enzyme activities have been identified in the liver and it has been demonstrated that neonatal testicular androgens irreversibly program several hepatic enzyme activities in the rat including 5alpha-reductase (5alpha-R). In this paper we have applied a quantitative RT-PCR method coupled to laser-induced fluorescence capillary electrophoresis (LIF-CE) to measure the mRNA levels of 5alpha-R type 1 isozyme (5alpha-R1) in the liver of female intact and ovariectomized rats. Both groups were treated with testosterone (T) to study the possible regulation of 5alpha-R1 by androgens in females and to allow comparison with our previous findings in the liver of male rats. Our results demonstrate that the 5alpha-R1 mRNA isozyme is higher in the liver of female rats than in males and that the regulation of 5alpha-R1 mRNA by T is different in the liver of female than in male rats. Finally, our results could point to hepatic 5alpha-Reductase participation in the female not only in the catabolism of steroids with delta4,5 double bond, but also in other physiological functions such as the production of 3alpha,5alpha-reduced metabolites of progesterone and deoxycorticosterone (DOC), potent allosteric modulators of GABA(A) receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Torres
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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48
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Abstract
RATIONALE Teenage drinking is a cause of growing concern in industrialized countries, where almost 35% of alcohol drinkers are under 16 years old. Increased anxiety, irritability and depression among adolescents may induce them to seek the anxiolytic and rewarding properties of alcohol. Allopregnanolone is rewarding in rodents, and therefore may contribute to the effects of alcohol. OBJECTIVE In this paper, we studied the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on the plasma levels of allopregnanolone in male adolescents. METHODS Blood samples were drawn from male adolescents who arrived at the Emergency Department of the Hospital. Two groups were studied: one study group was formed by adolescents who arrived with evident behavioral symptoms of acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) and the other by those arriving for mild trauma (contusions, sprains) after no consumption of alcohol (Controls). RESULTS Our results demonstrate that AAI significantly increases serum allopregnanolone levels in male adolescents. CONCLUSIONS Because alcohol and allopregnanolone positively modulate gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors, allopregnanolone may play a major role in the anxiolytic and rewarding effects of alcohol, either directly or by influencing the sensitivity of GABAA receptors to alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Torres
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Avda de Madrid s/n, 18012 Granada, Spain
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49
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González U, Seaton T, Bergus G, Torres JM, Jacobson J. Systemic antifungal therapy for tinea capitis in children #49. THE COCHRANE DATABASE OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS 2004. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd004685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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50
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Brun A, Castilla J, Parra B, Rodríguez F, Torres JM. [Involvement of the immunological system in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies]. Rev Neurol 2003; 37:648-53. [PMID: 14582023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We review the current knowledge relative to the role of different immune system components and their contribution the spread of prions throughout the infected organism. DEVELOPMENT During the last years research made on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies conducted to the assumption that changes in the structure of a determined protein (prion protein, PrP) may become self-propagative. The generally assumed finding of an abnormally folded protein as the causative agent, able to propagate in hosts different from it was originated, is changing our views of transmissible diseases. The concept of infection resulting from pathogen propagation within a susceptible host has been steadily linked to the ability of nucleic acids to replicate their own coded information. In the prionosis, term comprising all known prion disorders, the information seems to be coded within the own protein conformation. This phenomena, once again, challenges the well-established principles of molecular biology. CONCLUSIONS Propagation of prions uses strategies not previously recognized, and depends upon prion conformation and/or specific host restrictions. Thus, certain sheep and goat prion strains (scrapie) or human (variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) invade the brain after an initial interaction with the immune system of affected individuals. The involvement of the lymphoreticular system or, at least, certain host's immune competence seems to be a prerequisite for neuro-invasion after a natural infection or peripheral inoculation. On the other hand, proper identification of immune cell types involved may open the possibility for post exposure prophylaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Brun
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Valdeolmos, España.
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