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Wu YZ, Gao LP, Chen DD, Liang DL, Chen J, Xiao K, Hu C, Chen C, Shi Q, Dong XP. Spontaneous prion disease in homozygous and heterozygous transgenic mouse models of T188K genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Neurobiol Aging 2023; 131:156-169. [PMID: 37660403 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with T188K mutation (T188K gCJD) is the most frequent genetic prion disease in China. To explore the penetration of T188K mutation and the pathogenesis of T188K gCJD, we constructed 2 lines of transgenic mouse models: homozygous Tg188K+/+ mice containing T188K mutation in 2 alleles of human PRNP background and heterozygous Tg188K+/- mice containing 1 allele of T188K human PRNP and 1 allele of the wild-type mouse PRNP. Spontaneous neurological illnesses were identified in all Tg188K mice at their old ages (750-800 days old). About half of the Tg188K mice died prior to the final observation (930 days old). Extensive spongiosis, PrPSc deposit, and reactive gliosis of astrocytes and microglia are neuropathologically identified, showing time-dependent exacerbation. Proteinase K-resistant PrP was detected in the brain, muscle, and intestine tissues, and positive real-time quaking-induced conversion reactions were elicited by the brain and muscle tissues of Tg188K mice. Those data verify that the constructed Tg188K mice highly mimic the clinicopathology of human T188K gCJD, strongly indicating the pathogenicity of T188K mutated PrP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue-Zhang Wu
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Li-Ping Gao
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Dong-Dong Chen
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Dong-Lin Liang
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Jia Chen
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Kang Xiao
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Hu
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Cao Chen
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China; Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Qi Shi
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China; China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Xiao-Ping Dong
- National Key-Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Disease, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China; Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China; China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosafety, Shanghai, China.
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2
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Bruno R, Riccardi G, Iacobone F, Chiarotti F, Pirisinu L, Vanni I, Marcon S, D'Agostino C, Giovannelli M, Parchi P, Agrimi U, Nonno R, Di Bari MA. Strain-Dependent Morphology of Reactive Astrocytes in Human- and Animal-Vole-Adapted Prions. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13050757. [PMID: 37238627 DOI: 10.3390/biom13050757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Reactive astrogliosis is one of the pathological hallmarks of prion diseases. Recent studies highlighted the influence of several factors on the astrocyte phenotype in prion diseases, including the brain region involved, the genotype backgrounds of the host, and the prion strain. Elucidating the influence of prion strains on the astrocyte phenotype may provide crucial insights for developing therapeutic strategies. Here, we investigated the relationship between prion strains and astrocyte phenotype in six human- and animal-vole-adapted strains characterized by distinctive neuropathological features. In particular, we compared astrocyte morphology and astrocyte-associated PrPSc deposition among strains in the same brain region, the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MDTN). Astrogliosis was detected to some extent in the MDTN of all analyzed voles. However, we observed variability in the morphological appearance of astrocytes depending on the strain. Astrocytes displayed variability in thickness and length of cellular processes and cellular body size, suggesting strain-specific phenotypes of reactive astrocytes. Remarkably, four out of six strains displayed astrocyte-associated PrPSc deposition, which correlated with the size of astrocytes. Overall, these data show that the heterogeneous reactivity of astrocytes in prion diseases depends at least in part on the infecting prion strains and their specific interaction with astrocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalia Bruno
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Geraldina Riccardi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Floriana Iacobone
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia Chiarotti
- Reference Center for the Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Marcon
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D'Agostino
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Giovannelli
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Piero Parchi
- IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Angelo Di Bari
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Chaiamarit T, Verhelle A, Chassefeyre R, Shukla N, Novak SW, Andrade LR, Manor U, Encalada SE. Mutant Prion Protein Endoggresomes are Hubs for Local Axonal Organelle-Cytoskeletal Remodeling. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.19.533383. [PMID: 36993610 PMCID: PMC10055262 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.19.533383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Dystrophic axons comprising misfolded mutant prion protein (PrP) aggregates are a characteristic pathological feature in the prionopathies. These aggregates form inside endolysosomes -called endoggresomes-, within swellings that line up the length of axons of degenerating neurons. The pathways impaired by endoggresomes that result in failed axonal and consequently neuronal health, remain undefined. Here, we dissect the local subcellular impairments that occur within individual mutant PrP endoggresome swelling sites in axons. Quantitative high-resolution light and electron microscopy revealed the selective impairment of the acetylated vs tyrosinated microtubule cytoskeleton, while micro-domain image analysis of live organelle dynamics within swelling sites revealed deficits uniquely to the MT-based active transport system that translocates mitochondria and endosomes toward the synapse. Cytoskeletal and defective transport results in the retention of mitochondria, endosomes, and molecular motors at swelling sites, enhancing mitochondria-Rab7 late endosome contacts that induce mitochondrial fission via the activity of Rab7, and render mitochondria dysfunctional. Our findings point to mutant Pr Pendoggresome swelling sites as selective hubs of cytoskeletal deficits and organelle retention that drive the remodeling of organelles along axons. We propose that the dysfunction imparted locally within these axonal micro-domains spreads throughout the axon over time, leading to axonal dysfunction in prionopathies.
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Biochemical and Neuropathological Findings in a Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease Patient with the Rare Val180Ile-129Val Haplotype in the Prion Protein Gene. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231810210. [PMID: 36142123 PMCID: PMC9499355 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231810210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (gCJD) associated with the V180I mutation in the prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP) in phase with residue 129M is the most frequent cause of gCJD in East Asia, whereas it is quite uncommon in Caucasians. We report on a gCJD patient with the rare V180I-129V haplotype, showing an unusually long duration of the disease and a characteristic pathological PrP (PrPSc) glycotype. Family members carrying the mutation were fully asymptomatic, as commonly observed with this mutation. Neuropathological examination showed a lesion pattern corresponding to that commonly reported in Japanese V180I cases with vacuolization and gliosis of the cerebral cortexes, olfactory areas, hippocampus and amygdala. PrP was deposited with a punctate, synaptic-like pattern in the cerebral cortex, amygdala and olfactory tract. Western blot analyses of proteinase-K-resistant PrP showed the characteristic two-banding pattern of V180I gCJD, composed of mono- and un-glycosylated isoforms. In line with reports on other V180I cases in the literature, Real-Time Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) analyses did not demonstrate the presence of seeding activity in the cerebrospinal fluid and olfactory mucosa, suggesting that this haplotype also may result in a reduced seeding efficiency of the pathological PrP. Further studies are required to understand the origin, penetrance, disease phenotype and transmissibility of 180I-129V haplotype in Caucasians.
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Block AJ, Bartz JC. Prion strains: shining new light on old concepts. Cell Tissue Res 2022; 392:113-133. [PMID: 35796874 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03665-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Prion diseases are a group of inevitably fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting numerous mammalian species, including humans. The existence of heritable phenotypes of disease in the natural host suggested that prions exist as distinct strains. Transmission of sheep scrapie to rodent models accelerated prion research, resulting in the isolation and characterization of numerous strains with distinct characteristics. These strains are grouped into categories based on the incubation period of disease in different strains of mice and also by how stable the strain properties were upon serial passage. These classical studies defined the host and agent parameters that affected strain properties, and, prior to the advent of the prion hypothesis, strain properties were hypothesized to be the result of mutations in a nucleic acid genome of a conventional pathogen. The development of the prion hypothesis challenged the paradigm of infectious agents, and, initially, the existence of strains was difficult to reconcile with a protein-only agent. In the decades since, much evidence has revealed how a protein-only infectious agent can perform complex biological functions. The prevailing hypothesis is that strain-specific conformations of PrPSc encode prion strain diversity. This hypothesis can provide a mechanism to explain the observed strain-specific differences in incubation period of disease, biochemical properties of PrPSc, tissue tropism, and subcellular patterns of pathology. This hypothesis also explains how prion strains mutate, evolve, and adapt to new species. These concepts are applicable to prion-like diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, where evidence of strain diversity is beginning to emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa J Block
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA
| | - Jason C Bartz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA.
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Pirisinu L, Di Bari MA, D’Agostino C, Vanni I, Riccardi G, Marcon S, Vaccari G, Chiappini B, Benestad SL, Agrimi U, Nonno R. A single amino acid residue in bank vole prion protein drives permissiveness to Nor98/atypical scrapie and the emergence of multiple strain variants. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010646. [PMID: 35731839 PMCID: PMC9255773 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are infectious agents that replicate through the autocatalytic misfolding of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into infectious aggregates (PrPSc) causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases in humans and animals. Prions exist as strains, which are encoded by conformational variants of PrPSc. The transmissibility of prions depends on the PrPC sequence of the recipient host and on the incoming prion strain, so that some animal prion strains are more contagious than others or are transmissible to new species, including humans. Nor98/atypical scrapie (AS) is a prion disease of sheep and goats reported in several countries worldwide. At variance with classical scrapie (CS), AS is considered poorly contagious and is supposed to be spontaneous in origin. The zoonotic potential of AS, its strain variability and the relationships with the more contagious CS strains remain largely unknown. We characterized AS isolates from sheep and goats by transmission in ovinised transgenic mice (tg338) and in two genetic lines of bank voles, carrying either methionine (BvM) or isoleucine (BvI) at PrP residue 109. All AS isolates induced the same pathological phenotype in tg338 mice, thus proving that they encoded the same strain, irrespective of their geographical origin or source species. In bank voles, we found that the M109I polymorphism dictates the susceptibility to AS. BvI were susceptible and faithfully reproduced the AS strain, while the transmission in BvM was highly inefficient and was characterized by a conformational change towards a CS-like prion strain. Sub-passaging experiments revealed that the main strain component of AS is accompanied by minor CS-like strain components, which can be positively selected during replication in both AS-resistant or AS-susceptible animals. These findings add new clues for a better comprehension of strain selection dynamics in prion infections and have wider implications for understanding the origin of contagious prion strains, such as CS. Prions are transmissible agents responsible for fatal neurodegenerative diseases in humans and animals. Prions exist as strains, exhibiting distinct disease phenotypes and transmission properties. Some prion diseases occur sporadically with a supposedly spontaneous origin, while others are contagious and give rise to epidemics, mainly in animals. We investigated the strain properties of Nor98/atypical scrapie (AS), a sporadic prion disease of small ruminants. We found that AS was faithfully reproduced not only in a homologous context, i.e. ovinised transgenic mice, but also in an unrelated animal species, the bank vole. A natural polymorphism of the bank vole prion protein, coding for methionine (BvM) or for isoleucine (BvI) at codon 109, dictated the susceptibility of voles to AS, with BvI being highly susceptible to AS and BvM rather resistant. Most importantly, the M109I polymorphism mediated the emergence of AS-derived mutant prion strains resembling classical scrapie (CS), a contagious prion disease. Finally, by sub-passages in bank voles, we found that the main strain component of AS is accompanied by minor CS-like strain components, which can be positively selected during replication in both AS-resistant or AS-susceptible vole lines. These findings allow a better understanding of strain selection dynamics and suggest a link between sporadic and contagious prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Angelo Di Bari
- 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
| | - Ilaria Vanni
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Geraldina Riccardi
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Marcon
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Gabriele Vaccari
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Chiappini
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - 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
- * E-mail:
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Further Characterization of Glycoform-Selective Prions of Variably Protease-Sensitive Prionopathy. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10050513. [PMID: 33922765 PMCID: PMC8146342 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10050513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion is an infectious protein (PrPSc) that is derived from a cellular glycoprotein (PrPC) through a conformational transition and associated with a group of prion diseases in animals and humans. Characterization of proteinase K (PK)-resistant PrPSc by western blotting has been critical to diagnosis and understanding of prion diseases including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease in humans. However, formation as well as biochemical and biological properties of the glycoform-selective PrPSc in variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) remain poorly understood. Here we reveal that formation of the ladder-like PrPSc in VPSPr is a PK-dependent two-step process, which is enhanced by basic pH. Two sets of PrPSc fragments can be identified with antibodies directed against an intermediate or a C-terminal domain of the protein. Moreover, antibodies directed against specific PrP glycoforms reveal faster electrophoretic migrations of PrP fragments mono-glycosylated at residue 181 and 197 in VPSPr than those in sporadic CJD (sCJD). Finally, RT-QuIC assay indicates that PrPSc-seeding activity is lower and its lag time is longer in VPSPr than in sCJD. Our results suggest that the glycoform-selective PrPSc in VPSPr is associated with altered glycosylation, resulting in different PK-truncation and aggregation seeding activity compared to PrPSc in sCJD.
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Baiardi S, Rossi M, Capellari S, Parchi P. Recent advances in the histo-molecular pathology of human prion disease. Brain Pathol 2019; 29:278-300. [PMID: 30588685 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.12695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are progressive neurodegenerative disorders affecting humans and other mammalian species. The term prion, originally put forward to propose the concept that a protein could be infectious, refers to PrPSc , a misfolded isoform of the cellular prion protein (PrPC ) that represents the pathogenetic hallmark of these disorders. The discovery that other proteins characterized by misfolding and seeded aggregation can spread from cell to cell, similarly to PrPSc , has increased interest in prion diseases. Among neurodegenerative disorders, however, prion diseases distinguish themselves for the broader phenotypic spectrum, the fastest disease progression and the existence of infectious forms that can be transmitted through the exposure to diseased tissues via ingestion, injection or transplantation. The main clinicopathological phenotypes of human prion disease include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, by far the most common, fatal insomnia, variably protease-sensitive prionopathy, and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease. However, clinicopathological manifestations extend even beyond those predicted by this classification. Because of their transmissibility, the phenotypic diversity of prion diseases can also be propagated into syngenic hosts as prion strains with distinct characteristics, such as incubation period, pattern of PrPSc distribution and regional severity of histopathological changes in the brain. Increasing evidence indicates that different PrPSc conformers, forming distinct ordered aggregates, encipher the phenotypic variants related to prion strains. In this review, we summarize the most recent advances concerning the histo-molecular pathology of human prion disease focusing on the phenotypic spectrum of the disease including co-pathologies, the characterization of prion strains by experimental transmission and their correlation with the physicochemical properties of PrPSc aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Baiardi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marcello Rossi
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sabina Capellari
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Piero Parchi
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Cali I, Mikhail F, Qin K, Gregory C, Solanki A, Martinez MC, Zhao L, Appleby B, Gambetti P, Norstrom E, Mastrianni JA. Impaired transmissibility of atypical prions from genetic CJD G114V. NEUROLOGY-GENETICS 2018; 4:e253. [PMID: 30109268 PMCID: PMC6089695 DOI: 10.1212/nxg.0000000000000253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Objective To describe the clinicopathologic, molecular, and transmissible characteristics of genetic prion disease in a young man carrying the PRNP-G114V variant. Methods We performed genetic, histologic, and molecular studies, combined with in vivo transmission studies and in vitro replication studies, to characterize this genetic prion disease. Results A 24-year-old American man of Polish descent developed progressive dementia, aphasia, and ataxia, leading to his death 5 years later. Histologic features included widespread spongiform degeneration, gliosis, and infrequent PrP plaque-like deposits within the cerebellum and putamen, best classifying this as a Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) subtype. Molecular typing of proteinase K-resistant PrP (resPrPSc) revealed a mixture of type 1 (∼21 kDa) and type 2 (∼19 kDa) conformations with only 2, rather than the usual 3, PrPSc glycoforms. Brain homogenates from the proband failed to transmit prion disease to transgenic Tg(HuPrP) mice that overexpress human PrP and are typically susceptible to sporadic and genetic forms of CJD. When subjected to protein misfolding cyclic amplification, the PrPSc type 2 (∼19 kDa) was selectively amplified. Conclusions The features of genetic CJDG114V suggest that residue 114 within the highly conserved palindromic region (113-AGAAAAGA-120) plays an important role in prion conformation and propagation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Fadi Mikhail
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Kefeng Qin
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Crystal Gregory
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Ani Solanki
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Manuel Camacho Martinez
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Lili Zhao
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Brian Appleby
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - Eric Norstrom
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
| | - James A Mastrianni
- Department of Pathology (I.C., M.C.M., P.G.), Case Western University, Cleveland, OH; Department of Neurology (K.Q., F.M., C.G., A.S., L.Z., J.A.M.), University of Chicago; and Department of Biological Sciences (E.N.), DePaul University, Chicago, IL
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10
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Ke PC, Sani MA, Ding F, Kakinen A, Javed I, Separovic F, Davis TP, Mezzenga R. Implications of peptide assemblies in amyloid diseases. Chem Soc Rev 2017; 46:6492-6531. [PMID: 28702523 PMCID: PMC5902192 DOI: 10.1039/c7cs00372b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 231] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative disorders and type 2 diabetes are global epidemics compromising the quality of life of millions worldwide, with profound social and economic implications. Despite the significant differences in pathology - much of which are poorly understood - these diseases are commonly characterized by the presence of cross-β amyloid fibrils as well as the loss of neuronal or pancreatic β-cells. In this review, we document research progress on the molecular and mesoscopic self-assembly of amyloid-beta, alpha synuclein, human islet amyloid polypeptide and prions, the peptides and proteins associated with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes and prion diseases. In addition, we discuss the toxicities of these amyloid proteins based on their self-assembly as well as their interactions with membranes, metal ions, small molecules and engineered nanoparticles. Through this presentation we show the remarkable similarities and differences in the structural transitions of the amyloid proteins through primary and secondary nucleation, the common evolution from disordered monomers to alpha-helices and then to β-sheets when the proteins encounter the cell membrane, and, the consensus (with a few exceptions) that off-pathway oligomers, rather than amyloid fibrils, are the toxic species regardless of the pathogenic protein sequence or physicochemical properties. In addition, we highlight the crucial role of molecular self-assembly in eliciting the biological and pathological consequences of the amyloid proteins within the context of their cellular environments and their spreading between cells and organs. Exploiting such structure-function-toxicity relationship may prove pivotal for the detection and mitigation of amyloid diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pu Chun Ke
- ARC Center of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Marc-Antonie Sani
- School of Chemistry, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Feng Ding
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
| | - Aleksandr Kakinen
- ARC Center of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Ibrahim Javed
- ARC Center of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Frances Separovic
- School of Chemistry, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Thomas P. Davis
- ARC Center of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Science & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, LFO, E23, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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11
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Dwivedi S, Purohit P, Misra R, Pareek P, Goel A, Khattri S, Pant KK, Misra S, Sharma P. Diseases and Molecular Diagnostics: A Step Closer to Precision Medicine. Indian J Clin Biochem 2017; 32:374-398. [PMID: 29062170 PMCID: PMC5634985 DOI: 10.1007/s12291-017-0688-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The current advent of molecular technologies together with a multidisciplinary interplay of several fields led to the development of genomics, which concentrates on the detection of pathogenic events at the genome level. The structural and functional genomics approaches have now pinpointed the technical challenge in the exploration of disease-related genes and the recognition of their structural alterations or elucidation of gene function. Various promising technologies and diagnostic applications of structural genomics are currently preparing a large database of disease-genes, genetic alterations etc., by mutation scanning and DNA chip technology. Further the functional genomics also exploring the expression genetics (hybridization-, PCR- and sequence-based technologies), two-hybrid technology, next generation sequencing with Bioinformatics and computational biology. Advances in microarray “chip” technology as microarrays have allowed the parallel analysis of gene expression patterns of thousands of genes simultaneously. Sequence information collected from the genomes of many individuals is leading to the rapid discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs. Further advances of genetic engineering have also revolutionized immunoassay biotechnology via engineering of antibody-encoding genes and the phage display technology. The Biotechnology plays an important role in the development of diagnostic assays in response to an outbreak or critical disease response need. However, there is also need to pinpoint various obstacles and issues related to the commercialization and widespread dispersal of genetic knowledge derived from the exploitation of the biotechnology industry and the development and marketing of diagnostic services. Implementation of genetic criteria for patient selection and individual assessment of the risks and benefits of treatment emerges as a major challenge to the pharmaceutical industry. Thus this field is revolutionizing current era and further it may open new vistas in the field of disease management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shailendra Dwivedi
- Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, 342005 India
| | - Purvi Purohit
- Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, 342005 India
| | - Radhieka Misra
- Era's Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow, 226003 India
| | - Puneet Pareek
- Department of Radio-Therapy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, 342005 India
| | - Apul Goel
- Department of Urology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, 226003 India
| | - Sanjay Khattri
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, King George Medical University, Lucknow, 226003 India
| | - Kamlesh Kumar Pant
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, King George Medical University, Lucknow, 226003 India
| | - Sanjeev Misra
- Department of Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, 342005 India
| | - Praveen Sharma
- Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, 342005 India
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12
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Fiorini M, Bongianni M, Monaco S, Zanusso G. Biochemical Characterization of Prions. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2017; 150:389-407. [PMID: 28838671 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2017.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Prion disease or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are characterized by the presence of the abnormal form of the prion protein (PrPSc). The pathological and transmissible properties of PrPSc are enciphered in its secondary and tertiary structures. Since it's well established that different strains of prions are linked to different conformations of PrPSc, biochemical characterization of prions seems a preliminary but reliable approach to detect, analyze, and compare prion strains. Experimental biochemical procedures might be helpful in distinguishing PrPSc physicochemical properties and include resistance to proteinase K (PK) digestion, insolubility in nonionic detergents, PK-resistance under denaturing conditions and sedimentation properties in sucrose gradients. This biochemical approach has been extensively applied in human prion disorders and subsequently expanded for PrPSc characterization in animals. In particular, in sporadic Creutzfedlt-Jakob disease (sCJD) PrPSc is characterized by two main glycotypes conventionally named Type 1 and Type 2, based on the apparent gel migration at 21 and 19kDa of the PrPSc PK-resistant fragment. An additional PrPSc type was identified in sCJD characterized by an unglycosylated dominant glycoform pattern and in 2010 a variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) was reported showing a PrPSc with an electrophoretic ladder like pattern. Additionally, the presence of PrPSc truncated fragments completes the electrophoretic characterization of different prion strains. By two-dimensional (2D) electrophoretic analysis additional PrPSc pattern was identified, since this procedure provides information about the isoelectric point and the different peptides length related to PK cleavage, as well as to glycosylation extent or GPI anchor presence. We here provide and extensive review on PrPSc biochemical analysis in human and animal prion disorders. Further, we show that PrPSc glycotypes observed in CJD share similarities with PrPSc in bovine spongiform encephalopathy forms (BSE).
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13
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Fernández-Fournier M, Perry DC, Tartaglia MC, de May M, Boxer A, Coppola G, Christine CW, Huang EJ, Seeley WW, Miller BL, DeArmond SJ, Grinberg LT, Geschwind MD. Precipitous Deterioration of Motor Function, Cognition, and Behavior. JAMA Neurol 2017; 74:591-596. [PMID: 28264087 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.6159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
A 72-year-old woman developed new-onset depression, sustained an unexplained fall, and started walking cautiously. After 1 year, her depression resolved but she developed a dry cough. One year later, she experienced a more rapid decline in her gait with parkinsonism, visual difficulties with restricted vertical gaze, slowed horizontal and vertical saccades, dysphagia, apathy, and progressive cognitive decline, which led to her death 2 years later. The differential diagnosis, neuroimaging, and pathological findings are discussed, as well as their public health implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireya Fernández-Fournier
- Department of Neurology, La Paz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain2Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - David C Perry
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Maria Carmela Tartaglia
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco3Department of Neurology, Tanz Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Mary de May
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Adam Boxer
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Giovanni Coppola
- Departments of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Chadwick W Christine
- Department of Neurology, Division of Movement Disorders, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Eric J Huang
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco and Pathology Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco
| | - William W Seeley
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco7Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Bruce L Miller
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Steven J DeArmond
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Lea T Grinberg
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco7Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Michael D Geschwind
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco
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Prion Strain Characterization of a Novel Subtype of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. J Virol 2017; 91:JVI.02390-16. [PMID: 28298604 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02390-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2007, we reported a patient with an atypical form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) heterozygous for methionine-valine (MV) at codon 129 who showed a novel pathological prion protein (PrPTSE) conformation with an atypical glycoform (AG) profile and intraneuronal PrP deposition. In the present study, we further characterize the conformational properties of this pathological prion protein (PrPTSE MVAG), showing that PrPTSE MVAG is composed of multiple conformers with biochemical properties distinct from those of PrPTSE type 1 and type 2 of MV sporadic CJD (sCJD). Experimental transmission of CJD-MVAG to bank voles and gene-targeted transgenic mice carrying the human prion protein gene (TgHu mice) showed unique transmission rates, survival times, neuropathological changes, PrPTSE deposition patterns, and PrPTSE glycotypes that are distinct from those of sCJD-MV1 and sCJD-MV2. These biochemical and experimental data suggest the presence of a novel prion strain in CJD-MVAGIMPORTANCE Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is caused by the misfolding of the cellular prion protein, which assumes two different major conformations (type 1 and type 2) and, together with the methionine/valine polymorphic codon 129 of the prion protein gene, contribute to the occurrence of distinct clinical-pathological phenotypes. Inoculation in laboratory rodents of brain tissues from the six possible combinations of pathological prion protein types with codon 129 genotypes results in the identification of 3 or 4 strains of prions. We report on the identification of a novel strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease isolated from a patient who carried an abnormally glycosylated pathological prion protein. This novel strain has unique biochemical characteristics, does not transmit to humanized transgenic mice, and shows exclusive transmission properties in bank voles. The identification of a novel human prion strain improves our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and of possible mechanisms of prion transmission.
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15
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Pirisinu L, Di Bari MA, D'Agostino C, Marcon S, Riccardi G, Poleggi A, Cohen ML, Appleby BS, Gambetti P, Ghetti B, Agrimi U, Nonno R. Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease subtypes efficiently transmit in bank voles as genuine prion diseases. Sci Rep 2016; 6:20443. [PMID: 26841849 PMCID: PMC4740801 DOI: 10.1038/srep20443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder associated with mutations in the prion protein gene and accumulation of misfolded PrP with protease-resistant fragments (PrPres) of 6–8 kDa. With the exception of a few GSS cases characterized by co-accumulation of PrPres of 21 kDa, efforts to transmit GSS to rodents have been unsuccessful. As a result, GSS subtypes exclusively associated with 6–8 kDa PrPres have often been considered as non-transmissible proteinopathies rather than true prion diseases. We show that GSS with P102L, A117V and F198S mutations transmit efficiently and produce distinct pathological phenotypes in bank voles (M. glareolus), irrespective of the presence of 21 kDa PrPres in the inoculum, demonstrating that GSS is a genuine prion disease characterized by both transmissibility and strain variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele A Di Bari
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia D'Agostino
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Marcon
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Geraldina Riccardi
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Poleggi
- Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Mark L Cohen
- Department of Pathology, National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road Cleveland, Ohio, OH 44106, USA
| | - Brian S Appleby
- Department of Pathology, National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road Cleveland, Ohio, OH 44106, USA
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Department of Pathology, National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 2085 Adelbert Road Cleveland, Ohio, OH 44106, USA
| | - Bernardino Ghetti
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Umberto Agrimi
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Romolo Nonno
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
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16
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Moore RA, Head MW, Ironside JW, Ritchie DL, Zanusso G, Pyo Choi Y, Priola SA. The Distribution of Prion Protein Allotypes Differs Between Sporadic and Iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Patients. PLoS Pathog 2016; 12:e1005416. [PMID: 26840342 PMCID: PMC4740439 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2015] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is the most prevalent of the human prion diseases, which are fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative diseases caused by the infectious prion protein (PrPSc). The origin of sCJD is unknown, although the initiating event is thought to be the stochastic misfolding of endogenous prion protein (PrPC) into infectious PrPSc. By contrast, human growth hormone-associated cases of iatrogenic CJD (iCJD) in the United Kingdom (UK) are associated with exposure to an exogenous source of PrPSc. In both forms of CJD, heterozygosity at residue 129 for methionine (M) or valine (V) in the prion protein gene may affect disease phenotype, onset and progression. However, the relative contribution of each PrPC allotype to PrPSc in heterozygous cases of CJD is unknown. Using mass spectrometry, we determined that the relative abundance of PrPSc with M or V at residue 129 in brain specimens from MV cases of sCJD was highly variable. This result is consistent with PrPC containing an M or V at residue 129 having a similar propensity to misfold into PrPSc thus causing sCJD. By contrast, PrPSc with V at residue 129 predominated in the majority of the UK human growth hormone associated iCJD cases, consistent with exposure to infectious PrPSc containing V at residue 129. In both types of CJD, the PrPSc allotype ratio had no correlation with CJD type, age at clinical onset, or disease duration. Therefore, factors other than PrPSc allotype abundance must influence the clinical progression and phenotype of heterozygous cases of CJD. In Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), heterozygosity at residue 129 for methionine or valine in normal prion protein may affect disease phenotype, onset and progression. However, the relative contribution of each prion protein allotype to the infectious, disease associated form of prion protein (PrPSc) is unknown. Here we report the novel observation that in heterozygous cases of sporadic CJD the PrPSc allotype ratio is highly variable. This case-by-case variability is consistent with the origin of sporadic CJD being the spontaneous, but random, misfolding of either host prion protein allotype into infectious PrPSc. By contrast, in heterozygous cases of iatrogenic CJD in the United Kingdom resulting from exposure to contaminated human growth hormone, the PrPSc allotype ratio is much more homogeneous and consistent with exposure to infectious PrPSc containing valine at residue 129. Surprisingly, the PrPSc allotype ratio did not correlate with disease onset or duration in either disease type. Thus, factors other than PrPSc allotype ratio likely influence the clinical progression of heterozygous cases of CJD. Moreover, our results suggest that the ratio of methionine to valine in PrPSc may be a means of determining the origin of prion infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger A. Moore
- Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Mark W. Head
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - James W. Ironside
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Diane L. Ritchie
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Gianluigi Zanusso
- Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Young Pyo Choi
- Department of Neural Development and Disease, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, Republic of Korea
| | - Suzette A. Priola
- Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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17
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Zou WQ, Gambetti P, Xiao X, Yuan J, Langeveld J, Pirisinu L. Prions in variably protease-sensitive prionopathy: an update. Pathogens 2013; 2:457-71. [PMID: 25437202 PMCID: PMC4235694 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens2030457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Revised: 06/28/2013] [Accepted: 07/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Human prion diseases, including sporadic, familial, and acquired forms such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), are caused by prions in which an abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) derived from its normal cellular isoform (PrPC) is the only known component. The recently-identified variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) is characterized not only by an atypical clinical phenotype and neuropathology but also by the deposition in the brain of a peculiar PrPSc. Like other forms of human prion disease, the pathogenesis of VPSPr also currently remains unclear. However, the findings of the peculiar features of prions from VPSPr and of the possible association of VPSPr with a known genetic prion disease linked with a valine to isoleucine mutation at residue 180 of PrP reported recently, may be of great importance in enhancing our understanding of not only this atypical human prion disease in particular, but also other prion diseases in general. In this review, we highlight the physicochemical and biological properties of prions from VPSPr and discuss the pathogenesis of VPSPr including the origin and formation of the peculiar prions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Quan Zou
- Department of Pathology Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Department of Pathology Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
| | - Xiangzhu Xiao
- Department of Pathology Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
| | - Jue Yuan
- Department of Pathology Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
| | - Jan Langeveld
- Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen UR, Lelystad 8200 AB, the Netherlands.
| | - Laura Pirisinu
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299 00161, Rome, Italy.
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18
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Biochemical characterization of prion strains in bank voles. Pathogens 2013; 2:446-56. [PMID: 25437201 PMCID: PMC4235696 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens2030446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2013] [Revised: 06/25/2013] [Accepted: 06/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions exist as different strains exhibiting distinct disease phenotypes. Currently, the identification of prion strains is still based on biological strain typing in rodents. However, it has been shown that prion strains may be associated with distinct PrPSc biochemical types. Taking advantage of the availability of several prion strains adapted to a novel rodent model, the bank vole, we investigated if any prion strain was actually associated with distinctive PrPSc biochemical characteristics and if it was possible to univocally identify strains through PrPSc biochemical phenotypes. We selected six different vole-adapted strains (three human-derived and three animal-derived) and analyzed PrPSc from individual voles by epitope mapping of protease resistant core of PrPSc (PrPres) and by conformational stability and solubility assay. Overall, we discriminated five out of six prion strains, while two different scrapie strains showed identical PrPSc types. Our results suggest that the biochemical strain typing approach here proposed was highly discriminative, although by itself it did not allow us to identify all prion strains analyzed.
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20
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Xiao X, Yuan J, Haïk S, Cali I, Zhan Y, Moudjou M, Li B, Laplanche JL, Laude H, Langeveld J, Gambetti P, Kitamoto T, Kong Q, Brandel JP, Cobb BA, Petersen RB, Zou WQ. Glycoform-selective prion formation in sporadic and familial forms of prion disease. PLoS One 2013; 8:e58786. [PMID: 23527023 PMCID: PMC3602448 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2012] [Accepted: 02/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The four glycoforms of the cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) variably glycosylated at the two N-linked glycosylation sites are converted into their pathological forms (PrP(Sc)) in most cases of sporadic prion diseases. However, a prominent molecular characteristic of PrP(Sc) in the recently identified variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) is the absence of a diglycosylated form, also notable in familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD), which is linked to mutations in PrP either from Val to Ile at residue 180 (fCJD(V180I)) or from Thr to Ala at residue 183 (fCJD(T183A)). Here we report that fCJD(V180I), but not fCJD(T183A), exhibits a proteinase K (PK)-resistant PrP (PrP(res)) that is markedly similar to that observed in VPSPr, which exhibits a five-step ladder-like electrophoretic profile, a molecular hallmark of VPSPr. Remarkably, the absence of the diglycosylated PrP(res) species in both fCJD(V180I) and VPSPr is likewise attributable to the absence of PrP(res) glycosylated at the first N-linked glycosylation site at residue 181, as in fCJD(T183A). In contrast to fCJD(T183A), both VPSPr and fCJD(V180I) exhibit glycosylation at residue 181 on di- and monoglycosylated (mono181) PrP prior to PK-treatment. Furthermore, PrP(V180I) with a typical glycoform profile from cultured cells generates detectable PrP(res) that also contains the diglycosylated PrP in addition to mono- and unglycosylated forms upon PK-treatment. Taken together, our current in vivo and in vitro studies indicate that sporadic VPSPr and familial CJD(V180I) share a unique glycoform-selective prion formation pathway in which the conversion of diglycosylated and mono181 PrP(C) to PrP(Sc) is inhibited, probably by a dominant-negative effect, or by other co-factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangzhu Xiao
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jue Yuan
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Stéphane Haïk
- Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Centre de Recherche de l’Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (CRICM), UMRS 975, Equipe Maladies à Prions – Maladie d’Alzheimer; Inserm, U 975; CNRS, UMR 7225; and AP-HP, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Cellule Nationale de Référence des maladies de Creutzfeldt-Jakob, Paris, France
| | - Ignazio Cali
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Yian Zhan
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, The People’s Republic of China
| | - Mohammed Moudjou
- Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, UR892, INRA, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Baiya Li
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | | | - Hubert Laude
- Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires, UR892, INRA, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Jan Langeveld
- Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen UR, Lelystad, the Netherlands
| | - Pierluigi Gambetti
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Tetsuyuki Kitamoto
- Division of CJD Science and Technology, Department of Prion Research, Center for Translational and Advanced Animal Research on Human Diseases, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
| | - Qingzhong Kong
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jean-Philippe Brandel
- Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Centre de Recherche de l’Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (CRICM), UMRS 975, Equipe Maladies à Prions – Maladie d’Alzheimer; Inserm, U 975; CNRS, UMR 7225; and AP-HP, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Cellule Nationale de Référence des maladies de Creutzfeldt-Jakob, Paris, France
| | - Brian A. Cobb
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Robert B. Petersen
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Wen-Quan Zou
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, The People’s Republic of China
- National Center for Regenerative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- * E-mail:
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21
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Di Bari MA, Nonno R, Castilla J, D'Agostino C, Pirisinu L, Riccardi G, Conte M, Richt J, Kunkle R, Langeveld J, Vaccari G, Agrimi U. Chronic wasting disease in bank voles: characterisation of the shortest incubation time model for prion diseases. PLoS Pathog 2013; 9:e1003219. [PMID: 23505374 PMCID: PMC3591354 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2012] [Accepted: 01/12/2013] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In order to assess the susceptibility of bank voles to chronic wasting disease (CWD), we inoculated voles carrying isoleucine or methionine at codon 109 (Bv109I and Bv109M, respectively) with CWD isolates from elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer. Efficient transmission rate (100%) was observed with mean survival times ranging from 156 to 281 days post inoculation. Subsequent passages in Bv109I allowed us to isolate from all CWD sources the same vole-adapted CWD strain (Bv(109I)CWD), typified by unprecedented short incubation times of 25-28 days and survival times of ∼35 days. Neuropathological and molecular characterisation of Bv(109I)CWD showed that the classical features of mammalian prion diseases were all recapitulated in less than one month after intracerebral inoculation. Bv(109I)CWD was characterised by a mild and discrete distribution of spongiosis and relatively low levels of protease-resistant PrP(Sc) (PrP(res)) in the same brain regions. Despite the low PrP(res) levels and the short time lapse available for its accumulation, end-point titration revealed that brains from terminally-ill voles contained up to 10(8,4) i.c. ID50 infectious units per gram. Bv(109I)CWD was efficiently replicated by protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) and the infectivity faithfully generated in vitro, as demonstrated by the preservation of the peculiar Bv(109I)CWD strain features on re-isolation in Bv109I. Overall, we provide evidence that the same CWD strain was isolated in Bv109I from the three-cervid species. Bv(109I)CWD showed unique characteristics of "virulence", low PrP(res) accumulation and high infectivity, thus providing exceptional opportunities to improve basic knowledge of the relationship between PrP(Sc), neurodegeneration and infectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Angelo Di Bari
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
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22
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Gelpi E, Soler Insa JM, Parchi P, Saverioni D, Yagüe J, Nos C, Martínez-Saez E, Ribalta T, Ferrer I, Sanchez-Valle R. Atypical neuropathological sCJD-MM phenotype with abundant white matter Kuru-type plaques sparing the cerebellar cortex. Neuropathology 2012; 33:204-8. [PMID: 22862687 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1789.2012.01341.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We describe an atypical neuropatholgical phenotype of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) in a 64-year-old man presenting with a 5-month history of rapidly progressive dementia, comprising behavioral disturbances, memory complaints, disorientation and language alterations. MRI showed diffuse atrophy and hyperintensities in parietal, occipital, temporal and frontal cortices and left caudate nucleus on T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images. No typical EEG alterations were observed. Repeated 14-3-3 assay was positive after a first negative test. Neuropathology showed classical CJD changes with small cortical foci of large confluent vacuoles and relatively well-preserved cerebellar cortex. The most striking feature was the presence of abundant Kuru-type plaques in both cerebral cortex and subcortical white matter. Sparse Kuru-type plaques were also seen in cerebellum, although only in white matter. Immunohistochemistry showed, in addition to unicentric plaques, diffuse synaptic and patchy perivacuolar, as well as plaque-like and periaxonal pathological prion protein deposits (PrP(res) ). Western blot studies demonstrated the co-occurrence of PrP(res) types 1 and 2 in frontal cortex and a relatively weak type 2 signal in cerebellum. PRNP genotyping revealed methionine homozygosity at codon 129 and excluded mutations. This case shows a previously undescribed combination of histopathological features which preclude its classification according to the current phenotypic and molecular sCJD classification. The observation demonstrates that Kuru-type amyloid plaques mainly involving the cerebral white matter may also occur in sCJD cases with short clinical course and the co-existence of PrP(res) types 1 and 2. This case further highlights the complexity of the correlations between histopathological phenotype and PrP(res) isotype in prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen Gelpi
- Neurological Tissue Bank of the Biobank-Hospital Clinic-IDIBAPS, Facultat de Medicina, Spain.
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23
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Haïk S, Brandel JP. Biochemical and strain properties of CJD prions: complexity versus simplicity. J Neurochem 2011; 119:251-61. [PMID: 21790605 DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2011.07399.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Prions, the agents responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are infectious proteins consisting primarily of scrapie prion protein (PrP(Sc)), a misfolded, β-sheet enriched and aggregated form of the host-encoded cellular prion protein (PrP(C)). Their propagation is based on an autocatalytic PrP conversion process. Despite the lack of a nucleic acid genome, different prion strains have been isolated from animal diseases. Increasing evidence supports the view that strain-specific properties may be enciphered within conformational variations of PrP(Sc). In humans, sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is the most frequent form of prion diseases and has demonstrated a wide phenotypic and molecular spectrum. In contrast, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), which results from oral exposure to the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a highly stereotyped disease, that, until now, has only occurred in patients who are methionine homozygous at codon 129 of the PrP gene. Recent research has provided consistent evidence of strain diversity in sCJD and also, unexpectedly enough, in vCJD. Here, we discuss the puzzling biochemical/pathological diversity of human prion disorders and the relationship of that diversity to the biological properties of the agent as demonstrated by strain typing in experimental models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphane Haïk
- Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (CRICM), UMRS 975, Equipe "Alzheimer's and Prion Diseases", Paris, France.
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24
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Kovacs GG, Seguin J, Quadrio I, Höftberger R, Kapás I, Streichenberger N, Biacabe AG, Meyronet D, Sciot R, Vandenberghe R, Majtenyi K, László L, Ströbel T, Budka H, Perret-Liaudet A. Genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease associated with the E200K mutation: characterization of a complex proteinopathy. Acta Neuropathol 2011; 121:39-57. [PMID: 20593190 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-010-0713-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2010] [Revised: 06/10/2010] [Accepted: 06/20/2010] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The E200K mutation is the most frequent prion protein gene (PRNP) mutation detected worldwide that is associated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and thought to have overlapping features with sporadic CJD, yet detailed neuropathological studies have not been reported. In addition to the prion protein, deposition of tau, α-synuclein, and amyloid-β has been reported in human prion disease. To describe the salient and concomitant neuropathological alterations, we performed a systematic clinical, neuropathological, and biochemical study of 39 individuals carrying the E200K PRNP mutation originating from different European countries. The most frequent clinical symptoms were dementia and ataxia followed by myoclonus and various combinations of further symptoms, including vertical gaze palsy and polyneuropathy. Neuropathological examination revealed relatively uniform anatomical pattern of tissue lesioning, predominating in the basal ganglia and thalamus, and also substantia nigra, while the deposition of disease-associated PrP was more influenced by the codon 129 constellation, including different or mixed types of PrP(res) detected by immunoblotting. Unique and prominent intraneuronal PrP deposition involving brainstem nuclei was also noted. Systematic examination of protein depositions revealed parenchymal amyloid-β in 53.8%, amyloid angiopathy (Aβ) in 23.1%, phospho-tau immunoreactive neuritic profiles in 92.3%, neurofibrillary degeneration in 38.4%, new types of tau pathology in 33.3%, and Lewy-type α-synuclein pathology in 15.4%. TDP-43 and FUS immunoreactive protein deposits were not observed. This is the first demonstration of intensified and combined neurodegeneration in a genetic prion disease due to a single point mutation, which might become an important model to decipher the molecular interplay between neurodegeneration-associated proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabor G Kovacs
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, and Austrian Reference Center for Human Prion Diseases, AKH 4J, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1097, Vienna, Austria.
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Rodríguez-Martínez AB, Garrido JM, Zarranz JJ, Arteagoitia JM, de Pancorbo MM, Atarés B, Bilbao MJ, Ferrer I, Juste RA. A novel form of human disease with a protease-sensitive prion protein and heterozygosity methionine/valine at codon 129: Case report. BMC Neurol 2010; 10:99. [PMID: 20973975 PMCID: PMC2987858 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2377-10-99] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2009] [Accepted: 10/25/2010] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder in humans included in the group of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies or prion diseases. The vast majority of sCJD cases are molecularly classified according to the abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) conformations along with polymorphism of codon 129 of the PRNP gene. Recently, a novel human disease, termed "protease-sensitive prionopathy", has been described. This disease shows a distinct clinical and neuropathological phenotype and it is associated to an abnormal prion protein more sensitive to protease digestion. CASE PRESENTATION We report the case of a 75-year-old-man who developed a clinical course and presented pathologic lesions compatible with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and biochemical findings reminiscent of "protease-sensitive prionopathy". Neuropathological examinations revealed spongiform change mainly affecting the cerebral cortex, putamen/globus pallidus and thalamus, accompanied by mild astrocytosis and microgliosis, with slight involvement of the cerebellum. Confluent vacuoles were absent. Diffuse synaptic PrP deposits in these regions were largely removed following proteinase treatment. PrP deposition, as revealed with 3F4 and 1E4 antibodies, was markedly sensitive to pre-treatment with proteinase K. Molecular analysis of PrPSc showed an abnormal prion protein more sensitive to proteinase K digestion, with a five-band pattern of 28, 24, 21, 19, and 16 kDa, and three aglycosylated isoforms of 19, 16 and 6 kDa. This PrPSc was estimated to be 80% susceptible to digestion while the pathogenic prion protein associated with classical forms of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were only 2% (type VV2) and 23% (type MM1) susceptible. No mutations in the PRNP gene were found and genotype for codon 129 was heterozygous methionine/valine. CONCLUSIONS A novel form of human disease with abnormal prion protein sensitive to protease and MV at codon 129 was described. Although clinical signs were compatible with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the molecular subtype with the abnormal prion protein isoforms showing enhanced protease sensitivity was reminiscent of the "protease-sensitive prionopathy". It remains to be established whether the differences found between the latter and this case are due to the polymorphism at codon 129. Different degrees of proteinase K susceptibility were easily determined with the chemical polymer detection system which could help to detect proteinase-susceptible pathologic prion protein in diseases other than the classical ones.
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Tunnell E, Wollman R, Mallik S, Cortes CJ, Dearmond SJ, Mastrianni JA. A novel PRNP-P105S mutation associated with atypical prion disease and a rare PrPSc conformation. Neurology 2008; 71:1431-8. [PMID: 18955686 DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000330237.94742.fa] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To define the clinicopathologic, genetic, and pathogenic prion protein (PrP(Sc)) characteristics associated with a novel mutation of the prion protein gene (PRNP). METHODS The coding segment of PRNP from the proband and family members was sequenced and the brain of the proband was histologically studied. The Western blot profile of the proteinase K (PK) resistant fraction of PrP(Sc), an approximation of its conformation, or "PrP(Sc)-type," was determined. RESULTS We detected a novel mutation at codon 105 of PRNP that results in a serine (S) substitution of proline (P) (P105S), in a young woman who developed progressive aphasia, behavioral changes, dementia, and parkinsonism, lasting 10 years to her death. Histopathologic findings included an intense focus of multicentric PrP-plaques within the hippocampus, punctate plaques scattered throughout the cerebellum, and intense spongiform degeneration focally within the putamen, suggesting a variant of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS). However, PrP(Sc)-typing revealed two PK-resistant PrP(Sc) fragments (approximately 21 and 26 kDa), a pattern not previously detected in GSS. CONCLUSIONS This mutation is the third sequence variation at codon 105 of PRNP. The unusual phenotype and PrP(Sc)-type distinguishes this genetic prion disease from typical Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome and other codon 105 substitutions, suggesting that, in addition to the loss of proline at this position, the PrP(Sc) conformation and phenotype is dependent on the specific amino acid substitution.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Tunnell
- Department of Neurology, University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, 5841 So. Maryland Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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Sim VL, Caughey B. Ultrastructures and strain comparison of under-glycosylated scrapie prion fibrils. Neurobiol Aging 2008; 30:2031-42. [PMID: 18394757 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2007] [Revised: 12/27/2007] [Accepted: 02/22/2008] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Prions, composed primarily of misfolded, often fibrillar, polymers of prion protein, have poorly understood structures. Heavy surface glycosylation may obscure visualization of their fibrillar cores, so we purified severely under-glycosylated prion protein fibrils from scrapie-infected transgenic mice expressing anchorless prion protein. Using electron and atomic force microscopy, we obtained dimensions and morphological information about prion protein core protofilaments which variably intertwined to form scrapie fibrils. Occasional isolated protofilaments were observed, suggesting that the lateral association of protofilaments is neither essential nor invariant in prion protein polymerization. Strain comparisons suggested basic structural differences; ME7 and 22L fibrils contained thinner protofilaments, 22L fibrils preferred left-handed twists, and 22L fibril periodicities averaged 106nm per half-turn, compared with 64 and 66nm for RML and ME7 fibrils, respectively. The strains displayed overlapping fibril morphologies, providing evidence that prion fibril morphology is influenced, but not dictated, by strain-dependent differences in protofilament structure. These measurements of the amyloid core of scrapie fibrils should aid development of models of prion structure and strain determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerie L Sim
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, United States.
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