scholarly journals New and distinct chronic wasting disease strains associated with cervid polymorphism at codon 116 of the Prnp gene

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. e1009795
Author(s):  
Samia Hannaoui ◽  
Elizabeth Triscott ◽  
Camilo Duque Velásquez ◽  
Sheng Chun Chang ◽  
Maria Immaculata Arifin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Prnp Gene ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Proteinase K ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Prion Strains ◽  
The Impact

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting cervids. Polymorphisms in the prion protein gene can result in extended survival of CWD-infected animals. However, the impact of polymorphisms on cellular prion protein (PrPC) and prion properties is less understood. Previously, we characterized the effects of a polymorphism at codon 116 (A>G) of the white-tailed deer (WTD) prion protein and determined that it destabilizes PrPC structure. Comparing CWD isolates from WTD expressing homozygous wild-type (116AA) or heterozygous (116AG) PrP, we found that 116AG-prions were conformationally less stable, more sensitive to proteases, with lower seeding activity in cell-free conversion and reduced infectivity. Here, we aimed to understand CWD strain emergence and adaptation. We show that the WTD-116AG isolate contains two different prion strains, distinguished by their host range, biochemical properties, and pathogenesis from WTD-116AA prions (Wisc-1). Serial passages of WTD-116AG prions in tg(CerPrP)1536+/+ mice overexpressing wild-type deer-PrPC revealed two populations of mice with short and long incubation periods, respectively, and remarkably prolonged clinical phase upon inoculation with WTD-116AG prions. Inoculation of serially diluted brain homogenates confirmed the presence of two strains in the 116AG isolate with distinct pathology in the brain. Interestingly, deglycosylation revealed proteinase K-resistant fragments with different electrophoretic mobility in both tg(CerPrP)1536+/+ mice and Syrian golden hamsters infected with WTD-116AG. Infection of tg60 mice expressing deer S96-PrP with 116AG, but not Wisc-1 prions induced clinical disease. On the contrary, bank voles resisted 116AG prions, but not Wisc-1 infection. Our data indicate that two strains co-existed in the WTD-116AG isolate, expanding the variety of CWD prion strains. We argue that the 116AG isolate does not contain Wisc-1 prions, indicating that the presence of 116G-PrPC diverted 116A-PrPC from adopting a Wisc-1 structure. This can have important implications for their possible distinct capacities to cross species barriers into both cervids and non-cervids.

scholarly journals Chronic wasting disease (CWD) prion strains evolve via adaptive diversification of conformers in hosts expressing prion protein polymorphisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (15) ◽  
pp. 4985-5001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Duque Velásquez ◽  
Chae Kim ◽  
Tracy Haldiman ◽  
Chiye Kim ◽  
Allen Herbst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Protein Misfolding ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Prion Strain ◽  
Adaptive Diversification ◽  
Prion Strains ◽  
Prion Transmission ◽  
Conformation Stability

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is caused by an unknown spectrum of prions and has become enzootic in populations of cervid species that express cellular prion protein (PrPC) molecules varying in amino acid composition. These PrPC polymorphisms can affect prion transmission, disease progression, neuropathology, and emergence of new prion strains, but the mechanistic steps in prion evolution are not understood. Here, using conformation-dependent immunoassay, conformation stability assay, and protein-misfolding cyclic amplification, we monitored the conformational and phenotypic characteristics of CWD prions passaged through deer and transgenic mice expressing different cervid PrPC polymorphisms. We observed that transmission through hosts with distinct PrPC sequences diversifies the PrPCWD conformations and causes a shift toward oligomers with defined structural organization, replication rate, and host range. When passaged in host environments that restrict prion replication, distinct co-existing PrPCWD conformers underwent competitive selection, stabilizing a new prion strain. Nonadaptive conformers exhibited unstable replication and accumulated only to low levels. These results suggest a continuously evolving diversity of CWD conformers and imply a critical interplay between CWD prion plasticity and PrPC polymorphisms during prion strain evolution.

scholarly journals Chronic wasting disease and atypical forms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and scrapie are not transmissible to mice expressing wild-type levels of human prion protein

2012 ◽  
Vol 93 (7) ◽  
pp. 1624-1629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rona Wilson ◽  
Chris Plinston ◽  
Nora Hunter ◽  
Cristina Casalone ◽  
Cristiano Corona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Prion Protein ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathies ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
Human Prion Protein

The association between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) has demonstrated that cattle transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) can pose a risk to human health and raises the possibility that other ruminant TSEs may be transmissible to humans. In recent years, several novel TSEs in sheep, cattle and deer have been described and the risk posed to humans by these agents is currently unknown. In this study, we inoculated two forms of atypical BSE (BASE and H-type BSE), a chronic wasting disease (CWD) isolate and seven isolates of atypical scrapie into gene-targeted transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the human prion protein (PrP). Upon challenge with these ruminant TSEs, gene-targeted Tg mice expressing human PrP did not show any signs of disease pathology. These data strongly suggest the presence of a substantial transmission barrier between these recently identified ruminant TSEs and humans.

scholarly journals Transmission and Adaptation of Chronic Wasting Disease to Hamsters and Transgenic Mice: Evidence for Strains

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 4305-4314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory J. Raymond ◽  
Lynne D. Raymond ◽  
Kimberly D. Meade-White ◽  
Andrew G. Hughson ◽  
Cynthia Favara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Prion Protein ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Wild Type Mouse ◽  
Mouse Strains ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Incubation Periods

ABSTRACT In vitro screening using the cell-free prion protein conversion system indicated that certain rodents may be susceptible to chronic wasting disease (CWD). Therefore, CWD isolates from mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk were inoculated intracerebrally into various rodent species to assess the rodents' susceptibility and to develop new rodent models of CWD. The species inoculated were Syrian golden, Djungarian, Chinese, Siberian, and Armenian hamsters, transgenic mice expressing the Syrian golden hamster prion protein, and RML Swiss and C57BL10 wild-type mice. The transgenic mice and the Syrian golden, Chinese, Siberian, and Armenian hamsters had limited susceptibility to certain of the CWD inocula, as evidenced by incomplete attack rates and long incubation periods. For serial passages of CWD isolates in Syrian golden hamsters, incubation periods rapidly stabilized, with isolates having either short (85 to 89 days) or long (408 to 544 days) mean incubation periods and distinct neuropathological patterns. In contrast, wild-type mouse strains and Djungarian hamsters were not susceptible to CWD. These results show that CWD can be transmitted and adapted to some species of rodents and suggest that the cervid-derived CWD inocula may have contained or diverged into at least two distinct transmissible spongiform encephalopathy strains.

scholarly journals Prion protein polymorphisms in white-tailed deer influence susceptibility to chronic wasting disease

2006 ◽  
Vol 87 (7) ◽  
pp. 2109-2114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad Johnson ◽  
Jody Johnson ◽  
Joshua P. Vanderloo ◽  
Delwyn Keane ◽  
Judd M. Aiken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies ◽  
Genetic Barrier ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathies ◽  
Population Comparison ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
The Impact

The primary sequence of the prion protein affects susceptibility to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or prion diseases, in mice, sheep and humans. The Prnp gene sequence of free-ranging, Wisconsin white-tailed deer was determined and the Prnp genotypes of chronic wasting disease (CWD)-positive and CWD-negative deer were compared. Six amino acid changes were identified, two of which were located in pseudogenes. Two alleles, a Q→K polymorphism at codon 226 and a single octapeptide repeat insertion into the pseudogene, have not been reported previously. The predominant alleles – wild-type (Q95, G96 and Q226) and a G96S polymorphism – comprised almost 98 % of the Prnp alleles in the Wisconsin white-tailed deer population. Comparison of the allelic frequencies in the CWD-positive and CWD-negative deer suggested that G96S and a Q95H polymorphism were linked to a reduced susceptibility to CWD. The G96S allele did not, however, provide complete resistance, as a CWD-positive G96S/G96S deer was identified. The G96S allele was also linked to slower progression of the disease in CWD-positive deer based on the deposition of PrPCWD in the obex region of the medulla oblongata. Although the reduced susceptibility of deer with at least one copy of the Q95H or G96S allele is insufficient to serve as a genetic barrier, the presence of these alleles may modulate the impact of CWD on white-tailed deer populations.

scholarly journals Cervid Prion Protein Polymorphisms: Role in Chronic Wasting Disease Pathogenesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2271
Author(s):  
Maria Immaculata Arifin ◽  
Samia Hannaoui ◽  
Sheng Chun Chang ◽  
Simrika Thapa ◽  
Hermann M. Schatzl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Endogenous Factors ◽  
Prion Strains ◽  
Free Ranging

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease found in both free-ranging and farmed cervids. Susceptibility of these animals to CWD is governed by various exogenous and endogenous factors. Past studies have demonstrated that polymorphisms within the prion protein (PrP) sequence itself affect an animal’s susceptibility to CWD. PrP polymorphisms can modulate CWD pathogenesis in two ways: the ability of the endogenous prion protein (PrPC) to convert into infectious prions (PrPSc) or it can give rise to novel prion strains. In vivo studies in susceptible cervids, complemented by studies in transgenic mice expressing the corresponding cervid PrP sequence, show that each polymorphism has distinct effects on both PrPC and PrPSc. It is not entirely clear how these polymorphisms are responsible for these effects, but in vitro studies suggest they play a role in modifying PrP epitopes crucial for PrPC to PrPSc conversion and determining PrPC stability. PrP polymorphisms are unique to one or two cervid species and most confer a certain degree of reduced susceptibility to CWD. However, to date, there are no reports of polymorphic cervid PrP alleles providing absolute resistance to CWD. Studies on polymorphisms have focused on those found in CWD-endemic areas, with the hope that understanding the role of an animal’s genetics in CWD can help to predict, contain, or prevent transmission of CWD.

scholarly journals Deer Prion Proteins Modulate the Emergence and Adaptation of Chronic Wasting Disease Strains

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (24) ◽  
pp. 12362-12373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Duque Velásquez ◽  
Chiye Kim ◽  
Allen Herbst ◽  
Nathalie Daude ◽  
Maria Carmen Garza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Disease ◽  
Primary Structure ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Serial Passage ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Amino Acid Variant

ABSTRACTTransmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) between cervids is influenced by the primary structure of the host cellular prion protein (PrPC). In white-tailed deer,PRNPalleles encode the polymorphisms Q95 G96 (wild type [wt]), Q95 S96 (referred to as the S96 allele), and H95 G96 (referred to as the H95 allele), which differentially impact CWD progression. We hypothesize that the transmission of CWD prions between deer expressing different allotypes of PrPCmodifies the contagious agent affecting disease spread. To evaluate the transmission properties of CWD prions derived experimentally from deer of fourPRNPgenotypes (wt/wt, S96/wt, H95/wt, or H95/S96), transgenic (tg) mice expressing the wt allele (tg33) or S96 allele (tg60) were challenged with these prion agents. Passage of deer CWD prions into tg33 mice resulted in 100% attack rates, with the CWD H95/S96 prions having significantly longer incubation periods. The disease signs and neuropathological and protease-resistant prion protein (PrP-res) profiles in infected tg33 mice were similar between groups, indicating that a prion strain (Wisc-1) common to all CWD inocula was amplified. In contrast, tg60 mice developed prion disease only when inoculated with the H95/wt and H95/S96 CWD allotypes. Serial passage in tg60 mice resulted in adaptation of a novel CWD strain (H95+) with distinct biological properties. Transmission of first-passage tg60CWD-H95+isolates into tg33 mice, however, elicited two prion disease presentations consistent with a mixture of strains associated with different PrP-res glycotypes. Our data indicate that H95-PRNPheterozygous deer accumulated two CWD strains whose emergence was dictated by the PrPCprimary structure of the recipient host. These findings suggest that CWD transmission between cervids expressing distinct PrPCmolecules results in the generation of novel CWD strains.IMPORTANCECWD prions are contagious among wild and captive cervids in North America and in South Korea. We present data linking the amino acid variant Q95H in white-tailed deer cellular prion protein (PrPC) to the emergence of a novel CWD strain (H95+). We show that, upon infection, deer expressing H95-PrPCmolecules accumulated a mixture of CWD strains that selectively propagated depending on thePRNPgenotype of the host in which they were passaged. Our study also demonstrates that mice expressing the deer S96-PRNPallele, previously shown to be resistant to various cervid prions, are susceptible to H95+CWD prions. The potential for the generation of novel strains raises the possibility of an expanded host range for CWD.

Epitope scanning indicates structural differences in brain-derived monomeric and aggregated mutant prion proteins related to genetic prion diseases

2013 ◽  
Vol 454 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tapella ◽  
Matteo Stravalaci ◽  
Antonio Bastone ◽  
Emiliano Biasini ◽  
Marco Gobbi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Proteins ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Prnp Gene ◽  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Jakob Disease

Genetic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker syndrome, fatal familial insomnia and prion protein cerebral amyloid angiopathy are clinically and neuropathologically distinct neurodegenerative diseases linked to mutations in the PRNP gene encoding the cellular prion protein (PrPC). How sequence variants of PRNP encode the information to specify these disease phenotypes is not known. It is suggested that each mutation produces a misfolded variant of PrPC with specific neurotoxic properties. However, structural studies of recombinant PrP did not detect major differences between wild-type and mutant molecules, pointing to the importance of investigating mutant PrPs from mammalian brains. We used surface plasmon resonance and a slot-blot immunoassay to analyse the antibody-binding profiles of soluble and insoluble PrP molecules extracted from the brains of transgenic mice modelling different prion diseases. By measuring the reactivity of monoclonal antibodies against different PrP epitopes, we obtained evidence of conformational differences between wild-type and mutant PrPs, and among different mutants. We detected structural heterogeneity in both monomeric and aggregated PrP, supporting the hypothesis that the phenotype of genetic prion diseases is encoded by mutant PrP conformation and assembly state.

scholarly journals Prion Protein Glycosylation Is Not Required for Strain-Specific Neurotropism

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (11) ◽  
pp. 5321-5328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin R. Piro ◽  
Brent T. Harris ◽  
Koren Nishina ◽  
Claudio Soto ◽  
Rodrigo Morales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Normal Mouse ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Protein Glycosylation ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Prion Strains ◽  
Pngase F ◽  
Strain Dependent ◽  
Normal Mouse Brain ◽  
Neuronal Vacuolation

ABSTRACT In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the glycosylation of the pathogenic isoform of the prion protein (PrPSc) might encode the selective neurotropism of prion strains. We prepared unglycosylated cellular prion protein (PrPC) substrate molecules from normal mouse brain by treatment with PNGase F and used reconstituted serial protein cyclic misfolding amplification reactions to produce RML and 301C mouse prions containing unglycosylated PrPSc molecules. Both RML- and 301C-derived prions containing unglycosylated PrPSc molecules were infectious to wild-type mice, and neuropathological analysis showed that mice inoculated with these samples maintained strain-specific patterns of PrPSc deposition and neuronal vacuolation. These results show that PrPSc glycosylation is not necessary for strain-dependent prion neurotropism.

scholarly journals Efficient In Vitro Amplification of Chronic Wasting Disease PrPRES

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (17) ◽  
pp. 9605-9608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy D. Kurt ◽  
Matthew R. Perrott ◽  
Carol J. Wilusz ◽  
Jeffrey Wilusz ◽  
Surachai Supattapone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Prion Protein ◽  
Protein Misfolding ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Body Fluids ◽  
The Body ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Highly Efficient ◽  
Significant Step

ABSTRACT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids is associated with conversion of the normal cervid prion protein, PrPC, to a protease-resistant conformer, PrPCWD. Here we report the use of both nondenaturing amplification and protein-misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) to amplify PrPCWD in vitro. Normal brains from deer, transgenic mice expressing cervid PrPC [Tg(cerPrP)1536 mice], and ferrets supported amplification. PMCA using normal Tg(cerPrP)1536 brains as the PrPC substrate produced >6.5 × 109-fold amplification after six rounds. Highly efficient in vitro amplification of PrPCWD is a significant step toward detection of PrPCWD in the body fluids or excreta of CWD-susceptible species.

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