scholarly journals No polymorphisms in the coding region of the prion-like protein gene in Thoroughbred racehorses

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-Ju Jeong ◽  
Byung-Hoon Jeong

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative diseases characterised by the accumulation of an abnormal prion protein isoform (PrPSc), which is converted from the normal prion protein (PrPC). Prion diseases have been reported in an extensive number of species but not in horses up to now; therefore, horses are known to be a species resistant to prion diseases. The prion-like protein gene (PRND) is closely located downstream of the prion protein gene (PRNP) and the prion-like protein (Doppel) is a homologue with PrP. Previous studies have shown that an association between prion diseases and polymorphisms of the PRND gene is reported in the main hosts of prion diseases. Hence, we examined the genetic variations of the PRND gene in Thoroughbred horses. Interestingly, polymorphisms of the PRND gene were not detected. In addition, we conducted a comparative analysis of the amino acid sequences of the PRND gene to identify the differences between horses and other species. The amino acid sequence of the horse PRND gene showed the highest identity to that of sheep (83.7%), followed by that of goats, cattle and humans. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first genetic study of the PRND gene in horses.

2002 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 713-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charalambos Billinis ◽  
Cynthia H. Panagiotidis ◽  
Vassilios Psychas ◽  
Stamatis Argyroudis ◽  
Anna Nicolaou ◽  
...  

A total of 51 goats, including seven clinical cases, from the first herd in Greece reported to have scrapie was examined to discern an association between scrapie susceptibility and polymorphisms of the gene encoding the prion protein (PrP). Each animal was evaluated for clinical signs of the disease, histopathological lesions associated with scrapie, the presence of detectable protease-resistant PrP in the brain and PrP genotype. Eleven different PrP genotypes encoding at least five unique predicted mature PrP amino acid sequences were found. These genotypes included the amino acid polymorphisms at codons 143 (H→R) and 240 (S→P) and ‘silent’ nucleotide alterations at codons 42 (a→g) and 138 (c→t). Additionally, novel caprine amino acid polymorphisms were detected at codons 21 (V→A), 23 (L→P), 49 (G→S), 154 (R→H), 168 (P→Q) and 220 (Q→H) and new silent mutations were found at codons 107 (g→a) and 207 (g→a). The following variants were found in scrapie-affected goats: VV21, LL23, GG49, SS49, HH143, HR143, RR154, PP168, PP240, SP240 and SS240. All scrapie-affected animals carried the HH143RR154 genotype, with the exception of two goats (HR143), both of which had detectable protease-resistant PrP but showed no clinical signs or histopathological lesions characteristic of scrapie.


1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 386-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Schläpfer ◽  
N Saitbekova ◽  
C Gaillard ◽  
G Dolf

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Chan Kim ◽  
Sae-Young Won ◽  
Byung-Hoon Jeong

Prion diseases are caused by misfolded prion protein (PrPSc) and are accompanied by spongiform vacuolation of brain lesions. Approximately three centuries have passed since prion diseases were first discovered around the world; however, the exact role of certain factors affecting the causative agent of prion diseases is still debatable. In recent studies, somatic mutations were assumed to be cause of several diseases. Thus, we postulated that genetically unstable cancer tissue may cause somatic mutations in the prion protein gene (PRNP), which could trigger the onset of prion diseases. To identify somatic mutations in the PRNP gene in cancer tissues, we analyzed somatic mutations in the PRNP gene in cancer patients using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. In addition, to evaluate whether the somatic mutations in the PRNP gene in cancer patients had a damaging effect, we performed in silico analysis using PolyPhen-2, PANTHER, PROVEAN, and AMYCO. We identified a total of 48 somatic mutations in the PRNP gene, including 8 somatic mutations that are known pathogenic mutations of prion diseases. We identified significantly different distributions among the types of cancer, the mutation counts, and the ages of diagnosis between the total cancer patient population and cancer patients carrying somatic mutations in the PRNP gene. Strikingly, although invasive breast carcinoma and glioblastoma accounted for a high percentage of the total cancer patient population (9.9% and 5.4%, respectively), somatic mutations in the PRNP gene have not been identified in these two cancer types. We suggested the possibility that somatic mutations of the PRNP gene in glioblastoma can be masked by a diagnosis of prion disease. In addition, we found four aggregation-prone somatic mutations, these being L125F, E146Q, R151C, and K204N. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first specific analysis of the somatic mutations in the PRNP gene in cancer patients.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2574
Author(s):  
Sae-Young Won ◽  
Yong-Chan Kim ◽  
Kyoungtag Do ◽  
Byung-Hoon Jeong

Prion disease is a fatal infectious disease caused by the accumulation of pathogenic prion protein (PrPSc) in several mammals. However, to date, prion disease has not been reported in horses. The Sho protein encoded by the shadow of the prion protein gene (SPRN) plays an essential role in the pathomechanism of prion diseases. To date, the only genetic study of the equine SPRN gene has been reported in the inbred horse, Thoroughbred horse. We first discovered four SPRN single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 141 Jeju and 88 Halla horses by direct DNA sequencing. In addition, we found that the genotype, allele and haplotype frequencies of these SNPs of Jeju horses were significantly different from those of Halla and Thoroughbred horses, this latter breed is also included in this study. Furthermore, we observed that the minimum free energy and mRNA secondary structure were significantly different according to haplotypes of equine SPRN polymorphisms by the RNAsnp program. Finally, we compared the SNPs in the coding sequence (CDS) of the SPRN gene between horses and prion disease-susceptible species. Notably, prion disease-susceptible animals had polymorphisms that cause amino acid changes in the open reading frame (ORF) of the SPRN gene, while these polymorphisms were not found in horses.


2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 2011-2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongmei Xi ◽  
Qing Liu ◽  
Jianhong Guo ◽  
Hongman Yu ◽  
Yuai Yang ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
James A. Mastrianni ◽  
Joshuae G. Gallardo

Prion diseases are transmissible fatal neurodegenerative disorders resulting from the accumulation of misfolded prion protein. Although primarily sporadic diseases, 5% to 10% result from a mutation of the prion protein gene (PRNP), and less than 1% occur from exposure to prions. The current family of prion diseases includes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), fatal insomnia (FI), variant CJD (vCJD), and variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr). Kuru is a disease of historical interest that was transmitted through cannibalistic rituals. Iatrogenic CJD (iCJD) is the result of secondary transmission of prion disease from contaminated biologicals.


2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-243
Author(s):  
Stanislav Hreško ◽  
Ľudmila Tkáčiková

This study was conducted to investigate the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding region of the bovine prion protein (PrP) gene among healthy and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE-) affected cattle in Slovakia. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) followed by DNA sequencing were used to identify SNPs and variations in octapeptide repeats. Altogether three single nucleotide polymorphisms (g234a, c339t and c576t) and variations in the number of octapeptide repeat units (5 or 6) were found in the analysed part of the prion protein gene. All single nucleotide polymorphisms were silent, causing no amino acid changes. Significant differences (P < 0.05) in the genotype distribution of g234a polymorphism were observed when the homozygous genotype with a mutated allele (caa/caa) was compared to the heterozygous genotype -/cag among healthy and BSE-affected cattle. The homozygous genotype caa/caa was characteristic of the group of BSE-affected cattle. Additionally, the homozygous genotype caa/caa was significant for the group of Simmental crossbreeds among healthy cattle. The allele and genotype distribution of the other polymorphisms was not significantly different among groups of healthy and BSE-affected cattle. The possible influence of a silent mutation on expression of the gene is not clearly determined and needs further investigations.


2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 1374-1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. C. Saunders ◽  
P. C. Griffiths ◽  
S. Cawthraw ◽  
A. C. Tout ◽  
P. Wiener ◽  
...  

Polymorphisms of the prion protein gene are associated with differing susceptibilities to transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases, as shown for variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans and scrapie in sheep, but not yet in cattle. Imposition of control measures in the UK, including a reinforced ruminant feed ban in 1996, has led to a reduction in the incidence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). BSE-affected cattle born after 1996 in Great Britain have been termed born-after-the-reinforced-ban (BARB) cases. In this study, the PrP gene coding region from 100 BARB BSE cases and 66 matched healthy-control cattle was sequenced to investigate whether this would reveal a genetic basis to their origin. Polymorphisms identified were not found to be associated with increased susceptibility to BSE in the BARB cases. Analysis of BARB cases grouped either by clinical status or by whether they formed an isolated or clustered case was also undertaken, but differences were not found to be significant.


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