scholarly journals Prion Infectivity Plateaus and Conversion to Symptomatic Disease Originate from Falling Precursor Levels and Increased Levels of Oligomeric PrPScSpecies

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (24) ◽  
pp. 12418-12426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Mays ◽  
Jacques van der Merwe ◽  
Chae Kim ◽  
Tracy Haldiman ◽  
Debbie McKenzie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Proteins ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Clinical Disease ◽  
Brain Diseases ◽  
Disease Symptoms ◽  
Symptomatic Disease ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Biophysical Techniques ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Oligomeric Forms

ABSTRACTIn lethal prion neurodegenerative diseases, misfolded prion proteins (PrPSc) replicate by redirecting the folding of the cellular prion glycoprotein (PrPC). Infections of different durations can have a subclinical phase with constant levels of infectious particles, but the mechanisms underlying this plateau and a subsequent exit to overt clinical disease are unknown. Using tandem biophysical techniques, we show that attenuated accumulation of infectious particles in presymptomatic disease is preceded by a progressive fall in PrPClevel, which constricts replication rate and thereby causes the plateau effect. Furthermore, disease symptoms occurred at the threshold associated with increasing levels of small, relatively less protease-resistant oligomeric prion particles (oPrPSc). Although a hypothetical lethal isoform of PrP cannot be excluded, our data argue that diminishing residual PrPClevels and continuously increasing levels of oPrPScare crucial determinants in the transition from presymptomatic to symptomatic prion disease.IMPORTANCEPrions are infectious agents that cause lethal brain diseases; they arise from misfolding of a cell surface protein, PrPCto a form called PrPSc. Prion infections can have long latencies even though there is no protective immune response. Accumulation of infectious prion particles has been suggested to always reach the same plateau in the brain during latent periods, with clinical disease only occurring when hypothetical toxic forms (called PrPLor TPrP) begin to accumulate. We show here that infectivity plateaus arise because PrPCprecursor levels become downregulated and that the duration of latent periods can be accounted for by the level of residual PrPC, which transduces a toxic effect, along with the amount of oligomeric forms of PrPSc.

scholarly journals New tools for studying microglia in the mouse and human CNS

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (12) ◽  
pp. E1738-E1746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariko L. Bennett ◽  
F. Chris Bennett ◽  
Shane A. Liddelow ◽  
Bahareh Ajami ◽  
Jennifer L. Zamanian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transmembrane Protein ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Specific Marker ◽  
Developmental Origins ◽  
Cell Surface Protein ◽  
Immune Challenge ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain

The specific function of microglia, the tissue resident macrophages of the brain and spinal cord, has been difficult to ascertain because of a lack of tools to distinguish microglia from other immune cells, thereby limiting specific immunostaining, purification, and manipulation. Because of their unique developmental origins and predicted functions, the distinction of microglia from other myeloid cells is critically important for understanding brain development and disease; better tools would greatly facilitate studies of microglia function in the developing, adult, and injured CNS. Here, we identify transmembrane protein 119 (Tmem119), a cell-surface protein of unknown function, as a highly expressed microglia-specific marker in both mouse and human. We developed monoclonal antibodies to its intracellular and extracellular domains that enable the immunostaining of microglia in histological sections in healthy and diseased brains, as well as isolation of pure nonactivated microglia by FACS. Using our antibodies, we provide, to our knowledge, the first RNAseq profiles of highly pure mouse microglia during development and after an immune challenge. We used these to demonstrate that mouse microglia mature by the second postnatal week and to predict novel microglial functions. Together, we anticipate these resources will be valuable for the future study and understanding of microglia in health and disease.

scholarly journals Deterministic splicing of Dscam2 is regulated by Muscleblind

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Shing Shun Li ◽  
S.Sean Millard
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Splicing ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Dendritic Morphology ◽  
Protein Isoforms ◽  
Splicing Factor ◽  
Regulated Expression ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Isoform B ◽  
The Brain

SummaryAlternative splicing of genes increases the number of distinct proteins in a cell. In the brain it is highly prevalent, presumably because proteome diversity is crucial for establishing the complex circuitry between trillions of neurons. To provide individual cells with different repertoires of protein isoforms, however, this process must be regulated. Previously, we found that the mutually exclusive alternative splicing of a cell surface protein, Dscam2 produces two isoforms (exon 10A and 10B) with unique binding properties. This splicing event is tightly regulated and crucial for maintaining axon terminal size, dendritic morphology and synaptic numbers. Here, we show that Drosophila Muscleblind (Mbl), a conserved splicing factor implicated in myotonic dystrophy, controls Dscam2 alternative splicing. Removing mbl from cells that normally express isoform B induces the expression of isoform A and eliminates the expression of B, demonstrating that Mbl represses one alternative exon and selects the other. Mbl mutants exhibit phenotypes that are also observed in flies engineered to express a single isoform. Consistent with these observations, mbl expression is cell-type-specific and correlates with the expression of isoform B. Our study demonstrates how the regulated expression of a splicing factor is sufficient to provide neurons with unique protein isoforms crucial for development.

scholarly journals Extracellular Vesicles Taken up by Astrocytes

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 10553
Author(s):  
Ari Ogaki ◽  
Yuji Ikegaya ◽  
Ryuta Koyama
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Vesicles ◽  
Glial Cells ◽  
Recipient Cell ◽  
Brain Diseases ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Lipid Bilayer Membranes ◽  
Bilayer Membranes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
A Cell ◽  
The Brain

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are composed of lipid bilayer membranes and contain various molecules, such as mRNA and microRNA (miRNA), that regulate the functions of the recipient cell. Recent studies have reported the importance of EV-mediated intercellular communication in the brain. The brain contains several types of cells, including neurons and glial cells. Among them, astrocytes are the most abundant glial cells in the mammalian brain and play a wide range of roles, from structural maintenance of the brain to regulation of neurotransmission. Furthermore, since astrocytes can take up EVs, it is possible that EVs originating from inside and outside the brain affect astrocyte function, which in turn affects brain function. However, it has not been fully clarified whether the specific targeting mechanism of EVs to astrocytes as recipient cells exists. In recent years, EVs have attracted attention as a cell-targeted therapeutic approach in various organs, and elucidation of the targeting mechanism of EVs to astrocytes may pave the way for new therapies for brain diseases. In this review, we focus on EVs in the brain that affect astrocyte function and discuss the targeting mechanism of EVs to astrocytes.

Presence of antibody in virus-infected brain cells of SSPE ferrets

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 804-805
Author(s):  
Hannah R. Brown ◽  
Tammy L. Donato ◽  
Halldor Thormar
Keyword(s):  
Measles Virus ◽  
Plasma Cells ◽  
Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Neutralizing Antibody ◽  
Brain Cells ◽  
Antibody Titers ◽  
A Cell ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain

Measles virus specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) has been found in the brains of patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a slowly progressing disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in children. IgG/albumin ratios indicate that the antibodies are synthesized within the CNS. Using the ferret as an animal model to study the disease, we have been attempting to localize the Ig's in the brains of animals inoculated with a cell associated strain of SSPE. In an earlier report, preliminary results using Protein A conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (PrAPx) (Dynatech Diagnostics Inc., South Windham, ME.) to detect antibodies revealed the presence of immunoglobulin mainly in antibody-producing plasma cells in inflammatory lesions and not in infected brain cells.In the present experiment we studied the brain of an SSPE ferret with neutralizing antibody titers of 1:1024 in serum and 1:512 in CSF at time of sacrifice 7 months after i.c. inoculation with SSPE measles virus-infected cells. The animal was perfused with saline and portions of the brain and spinal cord were immersed in periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde (P-L-P) fixative. The ferret was not perfused with fixative because parts of the brain were used for virus isolation.

scholarly journals Leukocytes with chromosome Y loss have reduced abundance of the cell surface immunoprotein CD99

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Mattisson ◽  
Marcus Danielsson ◽  
Maria Hammond ◽  
Hanna Davies ◽  
Caroline J. Gallant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Protein Abundance ◽  
Blood Leukocytes ◽  
Chromosome Y ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Pseudoautosomal Regions ◽  
Male Specific

AbstractMosaic loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in immune cells is a male-specific mutation associated with increased risk for morbidity and mortality. The CD99 gene, positioned in the pseudoautosomal regions of chromosomes X and Y, encodes a cell surface protein essential for several key properties of leukocytes and immune system functions. Here we used CITE-seq for simultaneous quantification of CD99 derived mRNA and cell surface CD99 protein abundance in relation to LOY in single cells. The abundance of CD99 molecules was lower on the surfaces of LOY cells compared with cells without this aneuploidy in all six types of leukocytes studied, while the abundance of CD proteins encoded by genes located on autosomal chromosomes were independent from LOY. These results connect LOY in single cells with immune related cellular properties at the protein level, providing mechanistic insight regarding disease vulnerability in men affected with mosaic chromosome Y loss in blood leukocytes.

A new method to predict anomaly in brain network based on graph deep learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 681-689
Author(s):  
Jalal Mirakhorli ◽  
Hamidreza Amindavar ◽  
Mojgan Mirakhorli
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
High Order ◽  
Brain Diseases ◽  
Simultaneous Occurrence ◽  
Generative Adversarial Network ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain Connections

AbstractFunctional magnetic resonance imaging a neuroimaging technique which is used in brain disorders and dysfunction studies, has been improved in recent years by mapping the topology of the brain connections, named connectopic mapping. Based on the fact that healthy and unhealthy brain regions and functions differ slightly, studying the complex topology of the functional and structural networks in the human brain is too complicated considering the growth of evaluation measures. One of the applications of irregular graph deep learning is to analyze the human cognitive functions related to the gene expression and related distributed spatial patterns. Since a variety of brain solutions can be dynamically held in the neuronal networks of the brain with different activity patterns and functional connectivity, both node-centric and graph-centric tasks are involved in this application. In this study, we used an individual generative model and high order graph analysis for the region of interest recognition areas of the brain with abnormal connection during performing certain tasks and resting-state or decompose irregular observations. Accordingly, a high order framework of Variational Graph Autoencoder with a Gaussian distributer was proposed in the paper to analyze the functional data in brain imaging studies in which Generative Adversarial Network is employed for optimizing the latent space in the process of learning strong non-rigid graphs among large scale data. Furthermore, the possible modes of correlations were distinguished in abnormal brain connections. Our goal was to find the degree of correlation between the affected regions and their simultaneous occurrence over time. We can take advantage of this to diagnose brain diseases or show the ability of the nervous system to modify brain topology at all angles and brain plasticity according to input stimuli. In this study, we particularly focused on Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Genomic Mosaicism Formed by Somatic Variation in the Aging and Diseased Brain

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1071
Author(s):  
Isabel Costantino ◽  
Juliet Nicodemus ◽  
Jerold Chun
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Copy Number Variations ◽  
Brain Cell ◽  
Brain Diseases ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Somatic Variation ◽  
Dna Content Variation ◽  
Effects Of Aging ◽  
The Brain

Over the past 20 years, analyses of single brain cell genomes have revealed that the brain is composed of cells with myriad distinct genomes: the brain is a genomic mosaic, generated by a host of DNA sequence-altering processes that occur somatically and do not affect the germline. As such, these sequence changes are not heritable. Some processes appear to occur during neurogenesis, when cells are mitotic, whereas others may also function in post-mitotic cells. Here, we review multiple forms of DNA sequence alterations that have now been documented: aneuploidies and aneusomies, smaller copy number variations (CNVs), somatic repeat expansions, retrotransposons, genomic cDNAs (gencDNAs) associated with somatic gene recombination (SGR), and single nucleotide variations (SNVs). A catch-all term of DNA content variation (DCV) has also been used to describe the overall phenomenon, which can include multiple forms within a single cell’s genome. A requisite step in the analyses of genomic mosaicism is ongoing technology development, which is also discussed. Genomic mosaicism alters one of the most stable biological molecules, DNA, which may have many repercussions, ranging from normal functions including effects of aging, to creating dysfunction that occurs in neurodegenerative and other brain diseases, most of which show sporadic presentation, unlinked to causal, heritable genes.

scholarly journals Synthesis and pharmacokinetic characterisation of a fluorine-18 labelled brain shuttle peptide fusion dimeric affibody

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Morito ◽  
Ryuichi Harada ◽  
Ren Iwata ◽  
Yiqing Du ◽  
Nobuyuki Okamura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Post Injection ◽  
Affibody Molecule ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Protein Binders ◽  
Rapid Clearance ◽  
Labelling Method ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Ex Vivo Study

AbstractBrain positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with radiolabelled proteins is an emerging concept that potentially enables visualization of unique molecular targets in the brain. However, the pharmacokinetics and protein radiolabelling methods remain challenging. Here, we report the performance of an engineered, blood–brain barrier (BBB)-permeable affibody molecule that exhibits rapid clearance from the brain, which was radiolabelled using a unique fluorine-18 labelling method, a cell-free protein radiosynthesis (CFPRS) system. AS69, a small (14 kDa) dimeric affibody molecule that binds to the monomeric and oligomeric states of α-synuclein, was newly designed for brain delivery with an apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-derived brain shuttle peptide as AS69-ApoE (22 kDa). The radiolabelled products 18F-AS69 and 18F-AS69-ApoE were successfully synthesised using the CFPRS system. Notably, 18F-AS69-ApoE showed higher BBB permeability than 18F-AS69 in an ex vivo study at 10 and 30 min post injection and was partially cleared from the brain at 120 min post injection. These results suggest that small, a brain shuttle peptide-fused fluorine-18 labelled protein binders can potentially be utilised for brain molecular imaging.

scholarly journals Hybrid-Type SELEX for the Selection of Artificial Nucleic Acid Aptamers Exhibiting Cell Internalization Activity

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 888
Author(s):  
Hiro Uemachi ◽  
Yuuya Kasahara ◽  
Keisuke Tanaka ◽  
Takumi Okuda ◽  
Yoshihiro Yoneda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Functional Screening ◽  
Nucleic Acid Aptamers ◽  
Hybrid Type ◽  
Cell Internalization ◽  
Promising Target ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Exponential Enrichment

Nucleic acid aptamers have attracted considerable attention as next-generation pharmaceutical agents and delivery vehicles for small molecule drugs and therapeutic oligonucleotides. Chemical modification is an effective approach for improving the functionality of aptamers. However, the process of selecting appropriately modified aptamers is laborious because of many possible modification patterns. Here, we describe a hybrid-type systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) approach for the generation of the artificial nucleic acid aptamers effective against human TROP2, a cell surface protein identified by drug discovery as a promising target for cancer therapy. Capillary electrophoresis SELEX was used for the pre-screening of multiple modified nucleic acid libraries and enrichment of TROP2 binding aptamers in the first step, followed by functional screening using cell-SELEX in the second step for the generation of cell-internalizing aptamers. One representative aptamer, Tac-B1, had a nanomolar-level affinity to human TROP2 and exhibited elevated capacity for internalization by cells. Because of the growing interest in the application of aptamers for drug delivery, our hybrid selection approach has great potential for the generation of functional artificial nucleic acid aptamers with ideal modification patterns in vitro.

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