蛋白质错误折叠循环扩增及其在朊病毒蛋白检测中的应用研究进展

朊病毒蛋白（prion protein,PrP）是传染性海绵状脑病的病原体,其检测是该病诊断的重要依据。该文从原理、方法、影响因素和检测应用方面对蛋白质错误折叠循环扩增（protein mis-folding cyclic amplification,PMCA）这种朊病毒蛋白新型检测技术做了介绍,旨在为朊病毒蛋白的检测和发病机制研究提供理论参考。     

Interactions between prion protein isoforms: the kiss of death?

Direct interactions between the normal and aberrant forms of prion protein appear to be crucial in the transmission and pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. Recent studies of such interactions in vitro have provided mechanistic insight into how TSE-associated prion protein might promote its own propagation in a manner that is specific enough to account, at least in part, for TSE strains and species barriers.     

Rapid presymptomatic detection of PrPSc via conformationally responsive palindromic PrP peptides

Structurally unique, synthetic prion peptides provide the basis of a simple assay to serve as both a detection and signal amplification system that distinguishes the normal prion protein, PrPC, from the misfolded prion protein, PrPSc, that is associated with the occurrence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). Proof-of-principle has been shown on brain samples from an experimental scrapie hamster model. The assay demonstrates very sensitive detection of PrPSc in animal brain tissue with potential application for early presymptomatic detection in animal screening. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the assay could enable blood tests for this TSE disease as well as other amyloid and/or misfolded protein diseases.     

Recombinant human prion protein fragment 90-231, a useful model to study prion neurotoxicity

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), or prion diseases, are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders of animals and humans. Human diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker (GSSD) diseases, fatal familial insomnia, and Kuru. Human and animal TSEs share a common histopathology with a pathognomonic triad: spongiform vacuolation of the grey matter, neuronal death, glial proliferation, and, more inconstantly, amyloid deposition. According to the "protein only" hypothesis, TSEs are caused by a unique post-translational conversion of normal, host-encoded, protease-sensitive prion protein (PrP(sen) or PrP(C)) to an abnormal disease-associated isoform (PrP(res) or PrP(Sc)). To investigate the molecular mechanism of neurotoxicity induced by PrP(Sc) we developed a protocol to obtain millimolar amounts of soluble recombinant polypeptide encompassing the amino acid sequence 90-231 of human PrP (hPrP90-231). This protein corresponds to the protease-resistant prion protein fragment that originates after amino-terminal truncation. Importantly, hPrP90-231 has a flexible backbone that, similar to PrP(C), can undergo to structural rearrangement. This peptide, structurally resembling PrP(C), can be converted in a PrP(Sc)-like conformation, and thus represents a valuable model to study prion neurotoxicity. In this article we summarized our experimental evidence on the molecular and structural mechanisms responsible of hPrP90-231 neurotoxicity on neuroectodermal cell line SHSY5Y and the effects of some PrP pathogen mutations identified in familial TSE.     

Methods for studying prion protein (PrP) metabolism and the formation of protease-resistant PrP in cell culture and cell-free systems

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases result in aberrant metabolism of prion protein (PrP) and the accumulation of a protease-resistant, insoluble, and possibly infectious form of PrP, PrP-res. Studies of PrP biosynthesis, intracellular trafficking, and degradation has been studied in a variety of tissue culture cells. Pulse-chase metabolic labeling studies in scrapie-infected cells indicated that PrP-res is made posttranslationally from an apparently normal protease sensitive precursor, PrP-sen, after the latter reaches the cell surface. Cell-free reactions have provided evidence that PrP-res itself can induce the conversion of PrP-sen to PrP-res in a highly species- and strain-specific manner. These studies have shed light on the mechanism of PrP-res formation and suggest molecular bases for TSE species barrier effects and agent strain propagation.     

Quantitative profiling of the pathological prion protein allotypes in bank voles by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

The conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) into a misfolded isoform (PrP(TSE)) that accumulates in the brain of affected individuals is the key feature of transmissible spongiform encephalopaties (TSEs). Susceptibility to TSEs is influenced by polymorphisms of the prion gene suggesting that the presence of certain amino acid residues may facilitate the pathological conversion. In this work, we describe a quantitative, fast and reliable HPLC-MS method that allowed to demonstrate that in the brain of 109(Met/Ile) heterozygous bank voles infected with the mouse adapted scrapie strain 139A, there are comparable amounts of PrP(TSE) with methionine or isoleucine in position 109, suggesting that in this TSE model the two allotypes have similar rates of accumulation. This method can be easily adapted for the quantitative determination of PrP allotypes in the brain of other natural or experimental TSE models.     

传染性海绵状脑病的诊断进展和存在的问题

传染性海绵状脑病是由朊病毒引起的人和多种哺乳动物以神经退行性变化为主要特征的一种慢性致死性传染病。引起这类疾病的病原因子是一种编码宿主蛋白的PrPC转变为异常的PrPSC沉积在大脑,导致传染性海绵状脑病的发生。本文从临床症状识别、组织病理学诊断、致病性朊蛋白检测、生物学测定以及毒株鉴定等几个方面作一回顾和总结,为揭示朊病毒疾病致病机理和诊断研究提供借鉴。     

Presence and seeding activity of pathological prion protein (PrP(TSE)) in skeletal muscles of white-tailed deer infected with chronic wasting disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, rapidly spreading transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), or prion disease, occurring in cervids such as white tailed-deer (WTD), mule deer or elk in North America. Despite efficient horizontal transmission of CWD among cervids natural transmission of the disease to other species has not yet been observed. Here, we report for the first time a direct biochemical demonstration of pathological prion protein PrP(TSE) and of PrP(TSE)-associated seeding activity, the static and dynamic biochemical markers for biological prion infectivity, respectively, in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected cervids, i. e. WTD for which no clinical signs of CWD had been recognized. The presence of PrP(TSE) was detected by Western- and postfixed frozen tissue blotting, while the seeding activity of PrP(TSE) was revealed by protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). Semi-quantitative Western blotting indicated that the concentration of PrP(TSE) in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected WTD was approximately 2000-10,000-fold lower than in brain tissue. Tissue-blot-analyses revealed that PrP(TSE) was located in muscle-associated nerve fascicles but not, in detectable amounts, in myocytes. The presence and seeding activity of PrP(TSE) in skeletal muscle from CWD-infected cervids suggests prevention of such tissue in the human diet as a precautionary measure for food safety, pending on further clarification of whether CWD may be transmissible to humans.     

The role of the prion protein membrane anchor in prion infection

In transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE or prion diseases) such as sheep scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, normally soluble and protease-sensitive prion protein (PrP-sen or PrPC) is converted to an abnormal, insoluble and protease-resistant form termed PrP-res or PrPSc. PrP-res/PrPSc is believed to be the main component of the prion, the infectious agent of the TSE/prion diseases. Its precursor, PrP-sen, is anchored to the cell surface at the C-terminus by a co-translationally added glycophosphatidyl-inositol (GPI) membrane anchor which can be cleaved by the enzyme phosphatidyl-inositol specific phospholipase (PIPLC). The GPI anchor is also present in PrP-res, but is inaccessible to PIPLC digestion suggesting that conformational changes in PrP associated with PrP-res formation have blocked the PIPLC cleavage site. Although the GPI anchor is present in both PrP-sen and PrP-res, its precise role in TSE diseases remains unclear primarily because there are data to suggest that it both is and is not necessary for PrP-res formation and prion infection.     

Prion protein glycosylation

The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), or prion diseases are a group of transmissible neurodegenerative disorders of humans and animals. Although the infectious agent (the 'prion') has not yet been formally defined at the molecular level, much evidence exists to suggest that the major or sole component is an abnormal isoform of the host encoded prion protein (PrP). Different strains or isolates of the infectious agent exist, which exhibit characteristic disease phenotypes when transmitted to susceptible animals. In the absence of a nucleic acid genome it has been hard to accommodate the existence of TSE strains within the protein-only model of prion replication. Recent work examining the conformation and glycosylation patterns of disease-associated PrP has shown that these post-translational modifications show strain-specific properties and contribute to the molecular basis of TSE strain variation. This article will review the role of glycosylation in the susceptibility of cellular PrP to conversion to the disease-associated conformation and the role of glycosylation as a marker of TSE strain type.     

Comparative profiling of highly enriched 22L and Chandler mouse scrapie prion protein preparations

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases are characterized by the accumulation of an aggregated isoform of the prion protein (PrP). This pathological isoform, termed PrP^Sc, appears to be the primary component of the TSE infectious agent or prion. However, it is not clear to what extent other protein cofactors may be involved in TSE pathogenesis or whether there are PrP^Sc‐associated proteins which help to determine TSE strain‐specific disease phenotypes. We enriched PrP^Sc from the brains of mice infected with either 22L or Chandler TSE strains and examined the protein content of these samples using nanospray LC‐MS/MS. These samples were compared with “mock” PrP^Sc preparations from uninfected brains. PrP was the major component of the infected samples and ferritin was the most abundant impurity. Mock enrichments contained no detectable PrP but did contain a significant amount of ferritin. Of the total proteins identified, 32% were found in both mock and infected samples. The similarities between PrP^Sc samples from 22L and Chandler TSE strains suggest that the non‐PrP^Sc protein components found in standard enrichment protocols are not strain specific.     

朊病毒和朊病毒病研究进展

朊病毒病即海绵状脑病,是人和动物中的一类致死性中央神经系统疾病,近几年来在朊病毒病的致病机制及其诊断技术和防治策略方面取得了很大的研究进展.     

Formation of protease-resistant prion protein in cell-free systems

In transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases, the endogenous protease-sensitive prion protein (PrP-sen) of the host is converted to an abnormal pathogenic form that has a characteristic partial protease resistance (PrP-res). Studies with cell-free reactions indicate that the PrP-res itself can directly induce this conversion of PrP-sen. This PrP-res induced conversion reaction is highly specific in ways that might account at the molecular level for TSE species barriers, polymorphism barriers, and strains. Not only has this reaction been observed using mostly purified PrP-sen and PrP-res reactants, but also in TSE-infected brain slices. The conversion mechanism appears to involve both the binding of PrP-sen to polymeric PrP-res and a conformational change that results in incorporation into the PrP-res polymer.     

TSE agent strains and PrP: reconciling structure and function

The molecular structures of the infectious agents that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) diseases are still not known despite the current wide acceptance of the prion hypothesis as the basis for their resolution. Here, data supporting and challenging the prion hypothesis in relation to both the biochemical and biological properties of TSE infectious agents are discussed. The need for the independent transmission of TSE agent-specific genetic information is described and the requirements for the molecule to carry this information are proposed. Such a molecule is likely to be a small nucleic acid encoding information to determine the diversity of the pathogenesis of TSE agents.     

Pathogenesis of prion diseases: current status and future outlook

The prion, a conformational variant of a host protein, is the infectious particle responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), a fatal neurodegenerative disease of humans and animals. The principal target of prion pathology is the brain, yet most TSEs also display prion replication at extra-cerebral locations, including secondary lymphoid organs and sites of chronic inflammation. Despite significant progress in our understanding of this infectious agent, many fundamental questions relating to the nature of the prion, including the mechanism of replication and the molecular events underlying brain damage, remain unanswered. Here we focus on the unresolved issues pertaining to prion pathogenesis, particularly on the role played by the immune system.     

多肽PrP106—126对培养神经细胞朊蛋白基因表达的影响

神经细胞是传染性海绵状脑病（transmissible spongiform encephalopathies,TSEs）的重要靶细胞,PrP106-126是研究TSEs致病机理的理想工具,对PrP106-126作用的培养神经细胞模型进行研究,有利于了解朊蛋白的功能和探讨TSEs的分子致病机制。本研究利用PrP106-126构建了大脑皮质和小脑颗粒神经元作用模型,对神经细胞的存活和朊蛋白基因的表达进行了研究。结果表明：PrP106-126作用于培养神经细胞导致其存活率的显著下降;大脑皮质神经元经PrP106-126处理后,与SCR处理组和对照组相比,基因表达的量明显下降,处理后的小脑颗粒神经元也有类似的情况出现,两者之间下降的幅度和时间不同。我们的研究结果为研究朊蛋白在TSEs发生中的作用和深入了解TSE的分子致病机制提供了基础数据。     

Host PrP glycosylation: a major factor determining the outcome of prion infection

The expression of the prion protein (PrP) is essential for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) or prion diseases to occur, but the underlying mechanism of infection remains unresolved. To address the hypothesis that glycosylation of host PrP is a major factor influencing TSE infection, we have inoculated gene-targeted transgenic mice that have restricted N-linked glycosylation of PrP with three TSE strains. We have uniquely demonstrated that mice expressing only unglycosylated PrP can sustain a TSE infection, despite altered cellular location of the host PrP. Moreover we have shown that brain material from mice infected with TSE that have only unglycosylated PrP^Sc is capable of transmitting infection to wild-type mice, demonstrating that glycosylation of PrP is not essential for establishing infection within a host or for transmitting TSE infectivity to a new host. We have further dissected the requirement of each glycosylation site and have shown that different TSE strains have dramatically different requirements for each of the glycosylation sites of host PrP, and moreover, we have shown that the host PrP has a major role in determining the glycosylation state of de novo generated PrP^Sc.     

Styrylbenzoazole derivatives for imaging of prion plaques and treatment of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

Recent prevalence of acquired forms of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) has urged the development of early diagnostic measures as well as therapeutic interventions. To extend our previous findings on the value of amyloid imaging probes for these purposes, styrylbenzoazole derivatives with better permeability of blood-brain barrier (BBB) were developed and analyzed in this study. The new styrylbenzoazole compounds clearly labeled prion protein (PrP) plaques in brain specimens from human TSE in a manner irrespective of pathogen strain, and a representative compound BF-168 detected abnormal PrP aggregates in the brain of TSE-infected mice when the probe was injected intravenously. On the other hand, most of the compounds inhibited abnormal PrP formation in TSE-infected cells with IC50 values in the nanomolar range, indicating that they represent one of the most potent classes of inhibitor ever reported. BF-168 prolonged the lives of mice infected intracerebrally with TSE when the compound was given intravenously at the preclinical stage. The new compounds, however, failed to detect synaptic PrP deposition and to show pathogen-independent therapeutic efficacy, similar to the amyloid imaging probes we previously reported. The compounds were BBB permeable and non-toxic at doses for imaging and treatment; therefore, they are expected to be of practical use in human TSE.     

Degradation of the disease-associated prion protein by a serine protease from lichens

The disease-associated prion protein (PrP(TSE)), the probable etiological agent of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), is resistant to degradation and can persist in the environment. Lichens, mutualistic symbioses containing fungi, algae, bacteria and occasionally cyanobacteria, are ubiquitous in the environment and have evolved unique biological activities allowing their survival in challenging ecological niches. We investigated PrP(TSE) inactivation by lichens and found acetone extracts of three lichen species (Parmelia sulcata, Cladonia rangiferina and Lobaria pulmonaria) have the ability to degrade prion protein (PrP) from TSE-infected hamsters, mice and deer. Immunoblots measuring PrP levels and protein misfolding cyclic amplification indicated at least two logs of reductions in PrP(TSE). Degradative activity was not found in closely related lichen species or in algae or a cyanobacterium that inhabit lichens. Degradation was blocked by Pefabloc SC, a serine protease inhibitor, but not inhibitors of other proteases or enzymes. Additionally, we found that PrP levels in PrP(TSE)-enriched preps or infected brain homogenates are also reduced following exposure to freshly-collected P. sulcata or an aqueous extract of the lichen. Our findings indicate that these lichen extracts efficiently degrade PrP(TSE) and suggest that some lichens could have potential to inactivate TSE infectivity on the landscape or be a source for agents to degrade prions. Further work to clone and characterize the protease, assess its effect on TSE infectivity and determine which organism or organisms present in lichens produce or influence the protease activity is warranted.