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Caverzasi E, Henry RG, Vitali P, Lobach IV, Kornak J, Bastianello S, Dearmond SJ, Miller BL, Rosen HJ, Mandelli ML, Geschwind MD. Application of quantitative DTI metrics in sporadic CJD. Neuroimage Clin 2014; 4:426-35. [PMID: 24624328 PMCID: PMC3950558 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2014.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2013] [Revised: 12/13/2013] [Accepted: 01/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Diffusion Weighted Imaging is extremely important for the diagnosis of probable sporadic Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease, the most common human prion disease. Although visual assessment of DWI MRI is critical diagnostically, a more objective, quantifiable approach might more precisely identify the precise pattern of brain involvement. Furthermore, a quantitative, systematic tracking of MRI changes occurring over time might provide insights regarding the underlying histopathological mechanisms of human prion disease and provide information useful for clinical trials. The purposes of this study were: 1) to describe quantitatively the average cross-sectional pattern of reduced mean diffusivity, fractional anisotropy, atrophy and T1 relaxation in the gray matter (GM) in sporadic Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease, 2) to study changes in mean diffusivity and atrophy over time and 3) to explore their relationship with clinical scales. Twenty-six sporadic Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease and nine control subjects had MRIs on the same scanner; seven sCJD subjects had a second scan after approximately two months. Cortical and subcortical gray matter regions were parcellated with Freesurfer. Average cortical thickness (or subcortical volume), T1-relaxiation and mean diffusivity from co-registered diffusion maps were calculated in each region for each subject. Quantitatively on cross-sectional analysis, certain brain regions were preferentially affected by reduced mean diffusivity (parietal, temporal lobes, posterior cingulate, thalamus and deep nuclei), but with relative sparing of the frontal and occipital lobes. Serial imaging, surprisingly showed that mean diffusivity did not have a linear or unidirectional reduction over time, but tended to decrease initially and then reverse and increase towards normalization. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between worsening of patient clinical function (based on modified Barthel score) and increasing mean diffusivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Caverzasi
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA ; Department of Neuroradiology, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia. University of Pavia, Italy
| | - R G Henry
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA ; Graduate Group in Bioengineering, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA ; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - P Vitali
- Brain MRI 3T Mondino Research Center C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
| | - I V Lobach
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - J Kornak
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - S Bastianello
- Department of Neuroradiology, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia. University of Pavia, Italy
| | - S J Dearmond
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), USA ; Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), USA
| | - B L Miller
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF), USA
| | - H J Rosen
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF), USA
| | - M L Mandelli
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF), USA
| | - M D Geschwind
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF), USA
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Geschwind MD, Kuo AL, Wong KS, Haman A, Devereux G, Raudabaugh BJ, Johnson DY, Torres-Chae CC, Finley R, Garcia P, Thai JN, Cheng HQ, Neuhaus JM, Forner SA, Duncan JL, Possin KL, Dearmond SJ, Prusiner SB, Miller BL. Quinacrine treatment trial for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Neurology 2013; 81:2015-23. [PMID: 24122181 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182a9f3b4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether oral quinacrine increases survival in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). METHODS This NIH/National Institute on Aging-funded, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, stratified randomization treatment trial was conducted at the University of California, San Francisco from February 2005 through May 2009 (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00183092). Subjects were randomized (50:50) to quinacrine (300 mg daily) or placebo with inpatient evaluations at baseline, and planned for months 2, 6, and 12. Subjects returning for their month-2 visit were offered open-label quinacrine. The primary outcome was survival from randomization to month 2. RESULTS Of 425 patients referred, 69 subjects enrolled, 54 subjects were randomized to active drug or placebo, and 51 subjects with sCJD were included in survival analyses. Survival for the randomized portion of the trial (first 2 months) showed no significant difference between the 2 groups (log-rank statistic, p = 0.43; Cox proportional relative hazard = 1.43, quinacrine compared with placebo, 95% confidence interval = 0.58, 3.53). The quinacrine-treated group, however, declined less on 2 of 3 functional scales, the modified Rankin and Clinical Dementia Rating, than the placebo group during the first 2 months. CONCLUSION This interventional study provides Class I evidence that oral quinacrine at 300 mg per day does not improve 2-month survival of patients with sCJD, compared with placebo. Importantly, this study shows that double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized treatment trials are possible in prion disease. Furthermore, the quantitative data collected on the course of sCJD will be useful for future trials. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE This study provides Class I evidence that quinacrine does not improve survival for people with sCJD when given orally at a dose of 300 mg per day for 2 months.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Geschwind
- From the Departments of Neurology (M.D.G., A.L.K., K.S.W., A.H., G.D., B.J.R., D.Y.J., C.C.T.-C., R.F., P.G., J.N.T., H.Q.C., S.A.F., J.L.D., K.L.P., S.B.P., B.L.M.), Biostatistics (J.M.N.), Pathology (S.J.D.), and Clinical Pharmacy (R.F.), and Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (S.J.D., S.B.P.), University of California, San Francisco
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Lu D, Giles K, Li Z, Rao S, Dolghih E, Gever JR, Geva M, Elepano ML, Oehler A, Bryant C, Renslo AR, Jacobson MP, Dearmond SJ, Silber BM, Prusiner SB. Biaryl amides and hydrazones as therapeutics for prion disease in transgenic mice. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2013; 347:325-38. [PMID: 23965382 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.113.205799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The only small-molecule compound demonstrated to substantially extend survival in prion-infected mice is a biaryl hydrazone termed "Compd B" (4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde,2-[4-(5-oxazolyl)phenyl]hydrazone). However, the hydrazone moiety of Compd B results in toxic metabolites, making it a poor candidate for further drug development. We developed a pharmacophore model based on diverse antiprion compounds identified by high-throughput screening; based on this model, we generated biaryl amide analogs of Compd B. Medicinal chemistry optimization led to multiple compounds with increased potency, increased brain concentrations, and greater metabolic stability, indicating that they could be promising candidates for antiprion therapy. Replacing the pyridyl ring of Compd B with a phenyl group containing an electron-donating substituent increased potency, while adding an aryl group to the oxazole moiety increased metabolic stability. To test the efficacy of Compd B, we applied bioluminescence imaging (BLI), which was previously shown to detect prion disease onset in live mice earlier than clinical signs. In our studies, Compd B showed good efficacy in two lines of transgenic mice infected with the mouse-adapted Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) strain of prions, but not in transgenic mice infected with human prions. The BLI system successfully predicted the efficacies in all cases long before extension in survival could be observed. Our studies suggest that this BLI system has good potential to be applied in future antiprion drug efficacy studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duo Lu
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (D.L., K.G., Z.L., S.R., J.R.G., M.G., M.L.E., S.J.D., B.M.S., S.B.P.), Department of Neurology (K.G., Z.L., S.R., J.R.G., B.M.S., S.B.P.), Department of Pathology (A.O., S.J.D.), Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry (E.D., C.B., A.R.R., M.P.J.), Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (B.M.S.), and Small Molecule Discovery Center (C.B., A.R.R.), University of California, San Francisco, California
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Nazor Friberg K, Hung G, Wancewicz E, Giles K, Black C, Freier S, Bennett F, Dearmond SJ, Freyman Y, Lessard P, Ghaemmaghami S, Prusiner SB. Intracerebral Infusion of Antisense Oligonucleotides Into Prion-infected Mice. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids 2012; 1:e9. [PMID: 23344724 PMCID: PMC3381600 DOI: 10.1038/mtna.2011.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Mice deficient for the cellular prion protein (PrPC) do not develop prion disease; accordingly, gene-based strategies to diminish PrPC expression are of interest. We synthesized a series of chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) targeted against mouse Prnp messenger RNA (mRNA) and identified those that were most effective in decreasing PrPC expression. Those ASOs were also evaluated in scrapie-infected cultured cells (ScN2a) for their efficacy in diminishing the levels of the disease-causing prion protein (PrPSc). When the optimal ASO was infused intracerebrally into FVB mice over a 14-day period beginning 1 day after infection with the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) strain of mouse prions, a prolongation of the incubation period of almost 2 months was observed. Whether ASOs can be used to develop an effective therapy for patients dying of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease remains to be established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karah Nazor Friberg
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
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San Sebastian W, Richardson RM, Kells AP, Lamarre C, Bringas J, Pivirotto P, Salegio EA, Dearmond SJ, Forsayeth J, Bankiewicz KS. Safety and tolerability of magnetic resonance imaging-guided convection-enhanced delivery of AAV2-hAADC with a novel delivery platform in nonhuman primate striatum. Hum Gene Ther 2012; 23:210-7. [PMID: 22017504 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2011.162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Degeneration of nigrostriatal neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD) causes progressive loss of aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), the enzyme that converts levodopa (l-DOPA) into dopamine in the striatum. Because loss of this enzyme appears to be a major driver of progressive impairment of response to the mainstay drug, l-DOPA, one promising approach has been to use gene therapy to restore AADC activity in the human putamen and thereby restore normal l-DOPA response in patients with PD. An open-label phase I clinical trial of this approach in patients with PD provided encouraging signs of improvement in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale scores and reductions in antiparkinsonian medications. However, such improvement was modest compared with the results previously reported in parkinsonian rhesus macaques. The reason for this discrepancy may have been that the relatively small volume of vector infused in the clinical study restricted the distribution of AADC expression, such that only about 20% of the postcommissural putamen was covered, as revealed by l-[3-(18)F]-α-methyltyrosine-positron emission tomography. To achieve more quantitative distribution of vector, we have developed a visual guidance system for parenchymal infusion of AAV2. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the combined magnetic resonance imaging-guided delivery system with AAV2-hAADC under conditions that approximate the intended clinical protocol. Our data indicate that this approach directed accurate cannula placement and effective vector distribution without inducing any untoward effects in nonhuman primates infused with a high dose of AAV2-hAADC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Waldy San Sebastian
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco , San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
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Rabinovici GD, Rosen HJ, Alkalay A, Kornak J, Furst AJ, Agarwal N, Mormino EC, O'Neil JP, Janabi M, Karydas A, Growdon ME, Jang JY, Huang EJ, Dearmond SJ, Trojanowski JQ, Grinberg LT, Gorno-Tempini ML, Seeley WW, Miller BL, Jagust WJ. Amyloid vs FDG-PET in the differential diagnosis of AD and FTLD. Neurology 2011; 77:2034-42. [PMID: 22131541 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0b013e31823b9c5e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 213] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To compare the diagnostic performance of PET with the amyloid ligand Pittsburgh compound B (PiB-PET) to fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) in discriminating between Alzheimer disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). METHODS Patients meeting clinical criteria for AD (n = 62) and FTLD (n = 45) underwent PiB and FDG-PET. PiB scans were classified as positive or negative by 2 visual raters blinded to clinical diagnosis, and using a quantitative threshold derived from controls (n = 25). FDG scans were visually rated as consistent with AD or FTLD, and quantitatively classified based on the region of lowest metabolism relative to controls. RESULTS PiB visual reads had a higher sensitivity for AD (89.5% average between raters) than FDG visual reads (77.5%) with similar specificity (PiB 83%, FDG 84%). When scans were classified quantitatively, PiB had higher sensitivity (89% vs 73%) while FDG had higher specificity (83% vs 98%). On receiver operating characteristic analysis, areas under the curve for PiB (0.888) and FDG (0.910) were similar. Interrater agreement was higher for PiB (κ = 0.96) than FDG (κ = 0.72), as was agreement between visual and quantitative classification (PiB κ = 0.88-0.92; FDG κ = 0.64-0.68). In patients with known histopathology, overall classification accuracy (2 visual and 1 quantitative classification per patient) was 97% for PiB (n = 12 patients) and 87% for FDG (n = 10). CONCLUSIONS PiB and FDG showed similar accuracy in discriminating AD and FTLD. PiB was more sensitive when interpreted qualitatively or quantitatively. FDG was more specific, but only when scans were classified quantitatively. PiB slightly outperformed FDG in patients with known histopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- G D Rabinovici
- UCSF Memory & Aging Center, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
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Westaway D, Genovesi S, Daude N, Brown R, Lau A, Lee I, Mays CE, Coomaraswamy J, Canine B, Pitstick R, Herbst A, Yang J, Ko KWS, Schmitt-Ulms G, Dearmond SJ, McKenzie D, Hood L, Carlson GA. Down-regulation of Shadoo in prion infections traces a pre-clinical event inversely related to PrP(Sc) accumulation. PLoS Pathog 2011; 7:e1002391. [PMID: 22114562 PMCID: PMC3219720 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [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: 06/13/2011] [Accepted: 10/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
During prion infections of the central nervous system (CNS) the cellular prion protein, PrP(C), is templated to a conformationally distinct form, PrP(Sc). Recent studies have demonstrated that the Sprn gene encodes a GPI-linked glycoprotein Shadoo (Sho), which localizes to a similar membrane environment as PrP(C) and is reduced in the brains of rodents with terminal prion disease. Here, analyses of prion-infected mice revealed that down-regulation of Sho protein was not related to Sprn mRNA abundance at any stage in prion infection. Down-regulation was robust upon propagation of a variety of prion strains in Prnp(a) and Prnp(b) mice, with the exception of the mouse-adapted BSE strain 301 V. In addition, Sho encoded by a TgSprn transgene was down-regulated to the same extent as endogenous Sho. Reduced Sho levels were not seen in a tauopathy, in chemically induced spongiform degeneration or in transgenic mice expressing the extracellular ADan amyloid peptide of familial Danish dementia. Insofar as prion-infected Prnp hemizygous mice exhibited accumulation of PrP(Sc) and down-regulation of Sho hundreds of days prior to onset of neurologic symptoms, Sho depletion can be excluded as an important trigger for clinical disease or as a simple consequence of neuronal damage. These studies instead define a disease-specific effect, and we hypothesize that membrane-associated Sho comprises a bystander substrate for processes degrading PrP(Sc). Thus, while protease-resistant PrP detected by in vitro digestion allows post mortem diagnosis, decreased levels of endogenous Sho may trace an early response to PrP(Sc) accumulation that operates in the CNS in vivo. This cellular response may offer new insights into the homeostatic mechanisms involved in detection and clearance of the misfolded proteins that drive prion disease pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Westaway
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Rohrer JD, Geser F, Zhou J, Gennatas ED, Sidhu M, Trojanowski JQ, Dearmond SJ, Miller BL, Seeley WW. TDP-43 subtypes are associated with distinct atrophy patterns in frontotemporal dementia. Neurology 2011; 75:2204-11. [PMID: 21172843 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0b013e318202038c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We sought to describe the antemortem clinical and neuroimaging features among patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 immunoreactive inclusions (FTLD-TDP). METHODS Subjects were recruited from a consecutive series of patients with a primary neuropathologic diagnosis of FTLD-TDP and antemortem MRI. Twenty-eight patients met entry criteria: 9 with type 1, 5 with type 2, and 10 with type 3 FTLD-TDP. Four patients had too sparse FTLD-TDP pathology to be subtyped. Clinical, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging features of these cases were reviewed. Voxel-based morphometry was used to assess regional gray matter atrophy in relation to a group of 50 cognitively normal control subjects. RESULTS Clinical diagnosis varied between the groups: semantic dementia was only associated with type 1 pathology, whereas progressive nonfluent aphasia and corticobasal syndrome were only associated with type 3. Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and frontotemporal dementia with motor neuron disease were seen in type 2 or type 3 pathology. The neuroimaging analysis revealed distinct patterns of atrophy between the pathologic subtypes: type 1 was associated with asymmetric anterior temporal lobe atrophy (either left- or right-predominant) with involvement also of the orbitofrontal lobes and insulae; type 2 with relatively symmetric atrophy of the medial temporal, medial prefrontal, and orbitofrontal-insular cortices; and type 3 with asymmetric atrophy (either left- or right-predominant) involving more dorsal areas including frontal, temporal, and inferior parietal cortices as well as striatum and thalamus. No significant atrophy was seen among patients with too sparse pathology to be subtyped. CONCLUSIONS FTLD-TDP subtypes have distinct clinical and neuroimaging features, highlighting the relevance of FTLD-TDP subtyping to clinicopathologic correlation.
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Affiliation(s)
- J D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, UK
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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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Dearmond SJ, Bajsarowicz K. PrPSc accumulation in neuronal plasma membranes links Notch-1 activation to dendritic degeneration in prion diseases. Mol Neurodegener 2010; 5:6. [PMID: 20205843 PMCID: PMC2825502 DOI: 10.1186/1750-1326-5-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 07/24/2009] [Accepted: 01/21/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are disorders of protein conformation in which PrPC, the normal cellular conformer, is converted to an abnormal, protease-resistant conformer rPrPSc. Approximately 80% of rPrPSc accumulates in neuronal plasma membranes where it changes their physical properties and profoundly affects membrane functions. In this review we explain how rPrPSc is transported along axons to presynaptic boutons and how we envision the conversion of PrPC to rPrPSc in the postsynaptic membrane. This information is a prerequisite to the second half of this review in which we present evidence that rPrPSc accumulation in synaptic regions links Notch-1 signaling with the dendritic degeneration. The hypothesis that the Notch-1 intracellular domain, NICD, is involved in prion disease was tested by treating prion-infected mice with the γ-secretase inhibitor (GSI) LY411575, with quinacrine (Qa), and with the combination of GSI + Qa. Surprisingly, treatment with GSI alone markedly decreased NICD but did not prevent dendritic degeneration. Qa alone produced near normal dendritic trees. The combined GSI + Qa treatment resulted in a richer dendritic tree than in controls. We speculate that treatment with GSI alone inhibited both stimulators and inhibitors of dendritic growth. With the combined GSI + Qa treatment, Qa modulated the effect of GSI perhaps by destabilizing membrane rafts. GSI + Qa decreased PrPSc in the neocortex and the hippocampus by 95%, but only by 50% in the thalamus where disease was begun by intrathalamic inoculation of prions. The results of this study indicate that GSI + Qa work synergistically to prevent dendrite degeneration and to block formation of PrPSc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Dearmond
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, 1855 Folsom Street MCB 269, San Francisco, CA 94143-0803, USA.
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Abstract
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a clinical syndrome characterized by progressive decline in social conduct and a focal pattern of frontal and temporal lobe damage. Its biological basis is still poorly understood but the focality of the brain degeneration provides a powerful model to study the cognitive and anatomical basis of social cognition. Here, we present Dr. A, a patient with a rare hereditary bone disease (hereditary multiple exostoses) and FTD (pathologically characterized as Pick's disease), who presented with a profound behavioral disturbance characterized by acquired sociopathy. We conducted a detailed genetic, pathological, neuroimaging and cognitive study, including a battery of tests designed to investigate Dr. A's abilities to understand emotional cues and to infer mental states and intentions to others (theory of mind). Dr. A's genetic profile suggests the possibility that a mutation causing hereditary multiple exostoses, Ext2, may play a role in the pattern of neurodegeneration in frontotemporal dementia since knockout mice deficient in the Ext gene family member, Ext1, show severe CNS defects including loss of olfactory bulbs and abnormally small cerebral cortex. Dr. A showed significant impairment in emotion comprehension, second order theory of mind, attribution of intentions, and empathy despite preserved general cognitive abilities. Voxel-based morphometry on structural MRI images showed significant atrophy in the medial and right orbital frontal and anterior temporal regions with sparing of dorsolateral frontal cortex. This case demonstrates that social and emotional dysfunction in FTD can be dissociated from preserved performance on classic executive functioning tasks. The specific pattern of anatomical damage shown by VBM emphasizes the importance of the network including the superior medial frontal gyrus as well as temporal polar areas, in regulation of social cognition and theory of mind. This case provides new evidence regarding the neural basis of social cognition and suggests a possible genetic link between bone disease and FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Narvid
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
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12
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Hwang D, Lee IY, Yoo H, Gehlenborg N, Cho JH, Petritis B, Baxter D, Pitstick R, Young R, Spicer D, Price ND, Hohmann JG, Dearmond SJ, Carlson GA, Hood LE. A systems approach to prion disease. Mol Syst Biol 2009; 5:252. [PMID: 19308092 PMCID: PMC2671916 DOI: 10.1038/msb.2009.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 211] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [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: 11/27/2008] [Accepted: 01/20/2009] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Prions cause transmissible neurodegenerative diseases and replicate by conformational conversion of normal benign forms of prion protein (PrPC) to disease-causing PrPSc isoforms. A systems approach to disease postulates that disease arises from perturbation of biological networks in the relevant organ. We tracked global gene expression in the brains of eight distinct mouse strain–prion strain combinations throughout the progression of the disease to capture the effects of prion strain, host genetics, and PrP concentration on disease incubation time. Subtractive analyses exploiting various aspects of prion biology and infection identified a core of 333 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that appeared central to prion disease. DEGs were mapped into functional pathways and networks reflecting defined neuropathological events and PrPSc replication and accumulation, enabling the identification of novel modules and modules that may be involved in genetic effects on incubation time and in prion strain specificity. Our systems analysis provides a comprehensive basis for developing models for prion replication and disease, and suggests some possible therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daehee Hwang
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
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13
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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14
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Safar JG, Lessard P, Tamgüney G, Freyman Y, Deering C, Letessier F, Dearmond SJ, Prusiner SB. Transmission and detection of prions in feces. J Infect Dis 2008; 198:81-9. [PMID: 18505383 DOI: 10.1086/588193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids and in scrapie in sheep, prions appear to be transmitted horizontally. Oral exposure to prion-tainted blood, urine, saliva, and feces has been suggested as the mode of transmission of CWD and scrapie among herbivores susceptible to these prion diseases. To explore the transmission of prions through feces, uninoculated Syrian hamsters (SHas) were cohabitated with or exposed to the bedding of SHas orally infected with Sc237 prions. Incubation times of 140 days and a rate of prion infection of 80%-100% among exposed animals suggested transmission by feces, probably via coprophagy. We measured the disease-causing isoform of the prion protein (PrP(Sc)) in feces by use of the conformation-dependent immunoassay, and we titrated the irradiated feces intracerebrally in transgenic mice that overexpressed SHa prion protein (SHaPrP). Fecal samples collected from infected SHas in the first 7 days after oral challenge harbored 60 ng/g PrP(Sc) and prion titers of approximately 10(6.6) ID(50)/g. Excretion of infectious prions continued at lower levels throughout the asymptomatic phase of the incubation period, most likely by the shedding of prions from infected Peyer patches. Our findings suggest that horizontal transmission of disease among herbivores may occur through the consumption of feces or foodstuff tainted with prions from feces of CWD-infected cervids and scrapie-infected sheep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiri G Safar
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, USA
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15
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Rabinovici GD, Seeley WW, Kim EJ, Gorno-Tempini ML, Rascovsky K, Pagliaro TA, Allison SC, Halabi C, Kramer JH, Johnson JK, Weiner MW, Forman MS, Trojanowski JQ, Dearmond SJ, Miller BL, Rosen HJ. Distinct MRI atrophy patterns in autopsy-proven Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 2007; 22:474-88. [PMID: 18166607 PMCID: PMC2443731 DOI: 10.1177/1533317507308779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 194] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [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] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
To better define the anatomic distinctions between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), we retrospectively applied voxel-based morphometry to the earliest magnetic resonance imaging scans of autopsy-proven AD (N = 11), FTLD (N = 18), and controls (N = 40). Compared with controls, AD patients showed gray matter reductions in posterior temporoparietal and occipital cortex; FTLD patients showed atrophy in medial prefrontal and medial temporal cortex, insula, hippocampus, and amygdala; and patients with both disorders showed atrophy in dorsolateral and orbital prefrontal cortex and lateral temporal cortex (P(FWE-corr) < .05). Compared with FTLD, AD patients had decreased gray matter in posterior parietal and occipital cortex, whereas FTLD patients had selective atrophy in anterior cingulate, frontal insula, subcallosal gyrus, and striatum (P < .001, uncorrected). These findings suggest that AD and FTLD are anatomically distinct, with degeneration of a posterior parietal network in AD and degeneration of a paralimbic fronto-insular-striatal network in FTLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- G D Rabinovici
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disease that erodes uniquely human aspects of social behavior and emotion. The illness features a characteristic pattern of early injury to anterior cingulate and frontoinsular cortex. These regions, though often considered ancient in phylogeny, are the exclusive homes to the von Economo neuron (VEN), a large bipolar projection neuron found only in great apes and humans. Despite progress toward understanding the genetic and molecular bases of FTD, no class of selectively vulnerable neurons has been identified. METHODS Using unbiased stereology, we quantified anterior cingulate VENs and neighboring Layer 5 neurons in FTD (n = 7), Alzheimer's disease (n = 5), and age-matched nonneurological control subjects (n = 7). Neuronal morphology and immunohistochemical staining patterns provided further information about VEN susceptibility. RESULTS FTD was associated with early, severe, and selective VEN losses, including a 74% reduction in VENs per section compared with control subjects. VEN dropout was not attributable to general neuronal loss and was seen across FTD pathological subtypes. Surviving VENs were often dysmorphic, with pathological tau protein accumulation in Pick's disease. In contrast, patients with Alzheimer's disease showed normal VEN counts and morphology despite extensive local neurofibrillary pathology. INTERPRETATION VEN loss links FTD to its signature regional pattern. The findings suggest a new framework for understanding how evolution may have rendered the human brain vulnerable to specific forms of degenerative illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- William W Seeley
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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17
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Peretz D, Supattapone S, Giles K, Vergara J, Freyman Y, Lessard P, Safar JG, Glidden DV, McCulloch C, Nguyen HOB, Scott M, Dearmond SJ, Prusiner SB. Inactivation of prions by acidic sodium dodecyl sulfate. J Virol 2007; 80:322-31. [PMID: 16352557 PMCID: PMC1317507 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.80.1.322-331.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Prompted by the discovery that prions become protease-sensitive after exposure to branched polyamine dendrimers in acetic acid (AcOH) (S. Supattapone, H. Wille, L. Uyechi, J. Safar, P. Tremblay, F. C. Szoka, F. E. Cohen, S. B. Prusiner, and M. R. Scott, J. Virol. 75:3453-3461, 2001), we investigated the inactivation of prions by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in weak acid. As judged by sensitivity to proteolytic digestion, the disease-causing prion protein (PrPSc) was denatured at room temperature by SDS at pH values of < or =4.5 or > or =10. Exposure of Sc237 prions in Syrian hamster brain homogenates to 1% SDS and 0.5% AcOH at room temperature resulted in a reduction of prion titer by a factor of ca. 10(7); however, all of the bioassay hamsters eventually developed prion disease. When various concentrations of SDS and AcOH were tested, the duration and temperature of exposure acted synergistically to inactivate both hamster Sc237 prions and human sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) prions. The inactivation of prions in brain homogenates and those bound to stainless steel wires was evaluated by using bioassays in transgenic mice. sCJD prions were more than 100,000 times more resistant to inactivation than Sc237 prions, demonstrating that inactivation procedures validated on rodent prions cannot be extrapolated to inactivation of human prions. Some procedures that significantly reduced prion titers in brain homogenates had a limited effect on prions bound to the surface of stainless steel wires. Using acidic SDS combined with autoclaving for 15 min, human sCJD prions bound to stainless steel wires were eliminated. Our findings form the basis for a noncorrosive system that is suitable for inactivating prions on surgical instruments, as well as on other medical and dental equipment.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Peretz
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 513 Parnassus Ave., HSE-774, San Francisco, CA 94143-0518, USA
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18
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Scott MR, Peretz D, Nguyen HOB, Dearmond SJ, Prusiner SB. Transmission barriers for bovine, ovine, and human prions in transgenic mice. J Virol 2005; 79:5259-71. [PMID: 15827140 PMCID: PMC1082721 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.9.5259-5271.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2004] [Accepted: 11/23/2004] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Transgenic (Tg) mice expressing full-length bovine prion protein (BoPrP) serially propagate bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions without posing a transmission barrier. These mice also posed no transmission barrier for Suffolk sheep scrapie prions, suggesting that cattle may be highly susceptible to some sheep scrapie strains. Tg(BoPrP) mice were also found to be susceptible to prions from humans with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD); on second passage in Tg(BoPrP) mice, the incubation times shortened by 30 to 40 days. In contrast, Tg(BoPrP) mice were not susceptible to sporadic, familial, or iatrogenic CJD prions. While the conformational stabilities of bovine-derived and Tg(BoPrP)-passaged BSE prions were similar, the stability of sheep scrapie prions was higher than that found for the BSE prions but lower if the scrapie prions were passaged in Tg(BoPrP) mice. Our findings suggest that BSE prions did not arise from a sheep scrapie strain like the one described here; rather, BSE prions may have arisen spontaneously in a cow or by passage of a scrapie strain that maintains its stability upon passage in cattle. It may be possible to distinguish BSE prions from scrapie strains in sheep by combining conformational stability studies with studies using novel Tg mice expressing a chimeric mouse-BoPrP gene. Single-amino-acid substitutions in chimeric PrP transgenes produced profound changes in incubation times that allowed us to distinguish prions causing BSE from those causing scrapie.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Scott
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, 94143-0518, USA
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19
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Safar JG, Geschwind MD, Deering C, Didorenko S, Sattavat M, Sanchez H, Serban A, Vey M, Baron H, Giles K, Miller BL, Dearmond SJ, Prusiner SB. Diagnosis of human prion disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005; 102:3501-6. [PMID: 15741275 PMCID: PMC552933 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0409651102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 232] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [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] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
With the discovery of the prion protein (PrP), immunodiagnostic procedures were applied to diagnose Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Before development of the conformation-dependent immunoassay (CDI), all immunoassays for the disease-causing PrP isoform (PrPSc) used limited proteolysis to digest the precursor cellular PrP (PrPC). Because the CDI is the only immunoassay that measures both the protease-resistant and protease-sensitive forms of PrPSc, we used the CDI to diagnose human prion disease. The CDI gave a positive signal for PrPSc in all 10-24 brain regions (100%) examined from 28 CJD patients. A subset of 18 brain regions from 8 patients with sporadic CJD (sCJD) was examined by histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and the CDI. Three of the 18 regions (17%) were consistently positive by histology and 4 of 18 (22%) by IHC for the 8 sCJD patients. In contrast, the CDI was positive in all 18 regions (100%) for all 8 sCJD patients. In both gray and white matter, approximately 90% of the total PrPSc was protease-sensitive and, thus, would have been degraded by procedures using proteases to eliminate PrPC. Our findings argue that the CDI should be used to establish or rule out the diagnosis of prion disease when a small number of samples is available as is the case with brain biopsy. Moreover, IHC should not be used as the standard against which all other immunodiagnostic techniques are compared because an immunoassay, such as the CDI, is substantially more sensitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiri G Safar
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
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Keet CA, Fox CK, Margeta M, Marco E, Shane AL, Dearmond SJ, Strober JB, Miller SP. Infant botulism, type F, presenting at 54 hours of life. Pediatr Neurol 2005; 32:193-6. [PMID: 15730901 DOI: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2004.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2004] [Accepted: 09/08/2004] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
We report a case of botulism in a 54-hour-old infant with rapidly progressive fulminant paralysis and rapid spontaneous recovery atypical for infant botulism. Clostridium baratii and type F botulinum neurotoxin were isolated from the patient's stool. This unique presentation with rapid recovery is consistent with pharmacokinetics of type F botulinum neurotoxin. Interestingly, a muscle biopsy also revealed pathologic changes early in the disease course. This article reports the youngest known case of infant botulism and only the third reported case of this disease caused by type F neurotoxin. Botulism should be considered in patients of any age with subacute or acute neuromuscular weakness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne A Keet
- University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, 521 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143-0663, USA
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Abstract
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a spongiform encephalopathy affecting 1 individual per million population per year. We report on a previously healthy 43-year-old patient who presented with the simultaneous onset of a movement disorder, encephalopathy, cognitive decline, and dilated cardiomyopathy, and was found to have spongiform encephalopathy on brain biopsy. Although her neurological features could be explained by Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the etiology of the dilated cardiomyopathy could not be established. Finally, special staining of the endomyocardial biopsy specimen revealed the presence of abnormal prion, possibly infectious scrapie prion. As an exhaustive search for familial, ischemic, infectious, autoimmune, toxic, and metabolic causes of dilated cardiomyopathy was unrevealing, the presence of abnormal prion in the cardiac muscle suggested the possibility of prion-induced dilated cardiomyopathy in our patient.
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Abstract
Synthetic prions were produced in our laboratory by using recombinant mouse prion protein (MoPrP) composed of residues 89-230. The first mouse synthetic prion strain (MoSP1) was inoculated into transgenic (Tg) 9949 mice expressing N-terminally truncated MoPrP(Delta23-88) and WT FVB mice expressing full-length MoPrP. On first and second passage in Tg9949 mice, MoSP1 prions caused disease in 516 +/- 27 and 258 +/- 25 days, respectively; numerous, large vacuoles were found in the brainstem and gray matter of the cerebellum. MoSP1 prions passaged in Tg9949 mice were inoculated into FVB mice; on first and second passage, the FVB mice exhibited incubation times of 154 +/- 4 and 130 +/- 3 days, respectively. In FVB mice, vacuolation was less intense but more widely distributed, with numerous lesions in the hippocampus and cerebellar white matter. This constellation of widespread neuropatho-logic changes was similar to that found in FVB mice inoculated with Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) prions, a strain derived from a sheep with scrapie. Conformational stability studies showed that the half-maximal GdnHCl (Gdn1/2) concentration for denaturation of MoSP1 prions passaged in Tg9949 mice was approximately 4.2 M; passage in FVB mice reduced the Gdn1/2 value to approximately 1.7 M. RML prions passaged in either Tg9949 or FVB mice exhibited Gdn1/2 values of approximately 1.8 M. The incubation times, neuropathological lesion profiles, and Gdn1/2 values indicate that MoSP1 prions differ from RML and many other prion strains derived from sheep with scrapie and cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Legname
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases , University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
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Abstract
A 59-year-old man with severe neck extensor weakness had findings diagnostic of nemaline myopathy on muscle biopsy. Review of the literature shows that dropped head occurs in nearly half of the patients with adult-onset nemaline myopathy. Other leading causes of dropped head syndrome are amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, and isolated neck extensor myopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Lomen-Hoerth
- Department of Neurology, University of California School of Medicine, 505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California 94143-0114, USA
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Diez M, Koistinaho J, Dearmond SJ, Groth D, Prusiner SB, Hökfelt T. Marked decrease of neuropeptide Y Y2 receptor binding sites in the hippocampus in murine prion disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1997; 94:13267-72. [PMID: 9371835 PMCID: PMC24298 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.94.24.13267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [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] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Using autoradiographic binding methodology with monoiodinated peptide YY together with the agonists neuropeptide Y (NPY) and NPY (13-36), as well as in situ hybridization with oligonucleotide probes complementary to the NPY Y2 receptor (Y2-R) mRNA, we have studied whether or not intracerebral prion inoculation affects Y2-Rs in male CD-1 mice. Monoiodinated peptide YY binding, mainly representing Y2-Rs, was down-regulated by 85% in the CA1 strata oriens and radiatum and by 50-65% in the CA3 stratum oriens 110-140 days postinoculation. In the CA3 stratum radiatum, where the mossy fibers from the dentate granule cells project, there was a significant decrease in PYY binding at 110-120 days. Y2-R mRNA, moderately expressed both in the CA1 and CA3 pyramidal cell layers and the granule cell layer in the dentate gyrus, showed a slight, but not significant, decrease in CA3 neurons 130 days postinoculation. The results indicate that the accumulation of the scrapie prion protein in the CA1-3 region strongly inhibits NPY binding at the Y2-Rs, which, however, is only marginally due to reduced Y2-R mRNA expression. The loss of the ability of NPY to bind to inhibitory Y2-Rs may cause dysfunction of hippocampal circuits and may contribute to the clinical symptoms in mouse scrapie.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Diez
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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25
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Abstract
The eight amino acid sequence, Asp-Tyr-Lys-Asp-Asp-Asp-Asp-Lys, representing the FLAG peptide, was inserted after codons 22 or 88 of the mouse (Mo) prion protein (PrP) gene. Inclusion of the FLAG sequence at these locations interfered neither with the cellular processing of PrPC nor its conversion into PrPSc. Inclusion of the FLAG epitope at residue 22 but not at residue 88 facilitated immunodetection of tagged PrP by anti-FLAG monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Inoculation of transgenic (Tg) mice expressing N-terminally tagged MoPrP with Mo prions resulted in abbreviated incubation times, indicating that the FLAG sequence was not deleterious to prion propagation. Immunopurification of FLAG-tagged MoPrPC in the brains of Tg mice was achieved using the calcium-dependent anti-FLAG M1 mAb and non-denaturing procedures. Although the function of PrPC remains unknown, our studies demonstrate that some modifications of PrPC do not inhibit the one biological activity that can be measured, i.e., conversion into PrPSc. Tagged PrP molecules may prove useful in the development of improved assays for prions as well as structural studies of the PrP isoforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- G C Telling
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA
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Abstract
Mice homozygous for mutant alleles at the gray tremor (gt) locus develop a marked non-intention tremor beginning at 8 days of age. Most homozygous mice die by 3 months. Homozygotes exhibit intense vacuolation of the central nervous system gray matter and vacuolation and hypomyelination of some white matter tracts. Based on neuropathological similarities with scrapie, other investigators inoculated wild-type mice with gray tremor brain homogenates to test the hypothesis of transmissibility. Published reports indicated that spongiform encephalopathy (R. L. Sidman, H. C. Kinney, and H. O. Sweet, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:253-257, 1985) and disease, including hind limb paralysis in NFS mice (P. M. Hoffman, R. G. Rohwer, C. MacAuley, J. A. Bilello, J. W. Hartley, and H. C. Morse III, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:3866-3870, 1987), were transmitted by inoculation of gt/gt brain homogenates. In our hands, however, no NFS/NCr animals inoculated intracerebrally with gt/gt or +/+ brain preparations showed any signs of disease or pathological changes in the brain. Positive transmission by other investigators may reflect the microbiological status of their donor or recipient mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- G A Carlson
- McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana 59405, USA.
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Hsiao KK, Groth D, Scott M, Yang SL, Serban H, Rapp D, Foster D, Torchia M, Dearmond SJ, Prusiner SB. Serial transmission in rodents of neurodegeneration from transgenic mice expressing mutant prion protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1994; 91:9126-30. [PMID: 7916462 PMCID: PMC44760 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.91.19.9126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 219] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Two lines of transgenic (Tg) mice expressing high (H) levels of the mutant P101L prion protein (PrP) developed a neurologic illness and central nervous system pathology indistinguishable from experimental murine scrapie; these mice were designated Tg(MoPrP-P101L)H. Brain homogenates from Tg(MoPrP-P101L)H mice were inoculated intracerebrally into CD-1 Swiss mice, Syrian hamsters, and Tg196 mice, Tg mice expressing the MoPrP-P101L transgene at low levels. None of the CD-1 mice developed central nervous system dysfunction, whereas approximately 10% of hamsters and approximately 40% of the Tg196 mice manifested neurologic signs between 117 and 639 days after inoculation. Serial transmission of neurodegeneration in Tg196 mice and Syrian hamsters was initiated with brain extracts, producing incubation times of approximately 400 and approximately 75 days, respectively. Although the Tg(MoPrP-P101L)H mice appear to accumulate only low levels of infections prions in their brains, the serial transmission of disease to inoculated recipients argues that prion formation occurs de novo in the brains of these uninoculated animals. These Tg mouse studies, taken together with similar findings in humans dying of inherited prion diseases, provide additional evidence that prions lack a foreign nucleic acid.
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Affiliation(s)
- K K Hsiao
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco 94143
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Dearmond SJ. The molecular pathology of prion diseases. West J Med 1988; 149:594. [PMID: 18750492 PMCID: PMC1026541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
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Abstract
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) of humans and scrapie of animals are degenerative, transmissible neurologic diseases caused by prions. The only known macromolecules within prions are prion proteins (PrP). The cDNA encoding the hamster prion protein (PrP 27-30) has been cloned and sequenced (Oesch et al., 1985). Using that hamster PrP cDNA, we screened a human retina cDNA library and sequenced the cDNA clone with the longest hybridizing insert. This insert was found to contain a long open reading frame (ORF) encoding the human prion protein. Northern transfer analysis showed that a related poly(A)+RNA measuring approximately 2.5 kb is expressed in a variety of human neuroectodermal cell lines. Human PrP differed from hamster PrP at 27 of 253 amino acids and at 98 of 759 ORF nucleotides. Conservation of PrP amino acid sequence between hamster and human is nearly 90%, reflecting similar structural features and shared antigenicity of the two proteins (Bockman et al., 1985). The human PrP sequence contained a presumptive amino-terminal signal peptide of 22 amino acids, two hydrophobic segments of sufficient length to span membranes, and two possible sites for N-glycosylation. The conservation between the hamster and human prion proteins suggests that they may have an important role in cellular metabolism and may explain the similarities between scrapie and CJD.
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30
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Eng LF, Dearmond SJ. Immunocytochemical Studies of Astrocytes in Normal Development and Disease. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1982. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-008303-9.50009-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
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