朊蛋白的细胞生物学研究

朊蛋白病是人和牛羊等哺乳动物所患的致命性的神经系统变性疾病,它是由机体内正常的朊蛋白改变构象后所引起的疾病。本综述对朊蛋白在细胞生物学领域的认知和理解进行了归纳总结,阐述了正常和异常朊蛋白的翻译、表达、定位、裂解、转化等一系列过程,是对疾病本质的有益探索。     

A systematic investigation of production of synthetic prions from recombinant prion protein

According to the protein-only hypothesis, infectious mammalian prions, which exist as distinct strains with discrete biological properties, consist of multichain assemblies of misfolded cellular prion protein (PrP). A critical test would be to produce prion strains synthetically from defined components. Crucially, high-titre ‘synthetic'' prions could then be used to determine the structural basis of infectivity and strain diversity at the atomic level. While there have been multiple reports of production of prions from bacterially expressed recombinant PrP using various methods, systematic production of high-titre material in a form suitable for structural analysis remains a key goal. Here, we report a novel high-throughput strategy for exploring a matrix of conditions, additives and potential cofactors that might generate high-titre prions from recombinant mouse PrP, with screening for infectivity using a sensitive automated cell-based bioassay. Overall, approximately 20 000 unique conditions were examined. While some resulted in apparently infected cell cultures, this was transient and not reproducible. We also adapted published methods that reported production of synthetic prions from recombinant hamster PrP, but again did not find evidence of significant infectious titre when using recombinant mouse PrP as substrate. Collectively, our findings are consistent with the formation of prion infectivity from recombinant mouse PrP being a rare stochastic event and we conclude that systematic generation of prions from recombinant PrP may only become possible once the detailed structure of authentic ex vivo prions is solved.     

N-terminally tagged prion protein supports prion propagation in transgenic mice.

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.     

The protease-sensitive N-terminal polybasic region of prion protein modulates its conversion to the pathogenic prion conformer

Conversion of normal prion protein (PrP^C) to the pathogenic PrP^Sc conformer is central to prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and scrapie; however, the detailed mechanism of this conversion remains obscure. To investigate how the N-terminal polybasic region of PrP (NPR) influences the PrP^C-to-PrP^Sc conversion, we analyzed two PrP mutants: ΔN6 (deletion of all six amino acids in NPR) and Met4-1 (replacement of four positively charged amino acids in NPR with methionine). We found that ΔN6 and Met4-1 differentially impacted the binding of recombinant PrP (recPrP) to the negatively charged phospholipid 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylglycerol, a nonprotein cofactor that facilitates PrP conversion. Both mutant recPrPs were able to form recombinant prion (recPrP^Sc) in vitro, but the convertibility was greatly reduced, with ΔN6 displaying the lowest convertibility. Prion infection assays in mammalian RK13 cells expressing WT or NPR-mutant PrPs confirmed these differences in convertibility, indicating that the NPR affects the conversion of both bacterially expressed recPrP and post-translationally modified PrP in eukaryotic cells. We also found that both WT and mutant recPrP^Sc conformers caused prion disease in WT mice with a 100% attack rate, but the incubation times and neuropathological changes caused by two recPrP^Sc mutants were significantly different from each other and from that of WT recPrP^Sc. Together, our results support that the NPR greatly influences PrP^C-to-PrP^Sc conversion, but it is not essential for the generation of PrP^Sc. Moreover, the significant differences between ΔN6 and Met4-1 suggest that not only charge but also the identity of amino acids in NPR is important to PrP conversion.     

Porcine prion protein amyloid

ABSTRACT

Mammalian prions are composed of misfolded aggregated prion protein (PrP) with amyloid-like features. Prions are zoonotic disease agents that infect a wide variety of mammalian species including humans. Mammals and by-products thereof which are frequently encountered in daily life are most important for human health. It is established that bovine prions (BSE) can infect humans while there is no such evidence for any other prion susceptible species in the human food chain (sheep, goat, elk, deer) and largely prion resistant species (pig) or susceptible and resistant pets (cat and dogs, respectively). PrPs from these species have been characterized using biochemistry, biophysics and neurobiology. Recently we studied PrPs from several mammals in vitro and found evidence for generic amyloidogenicity as well as cross-seeding fibril formation activity of all PrPs on the human PrP sequence regardless if the original species was resistant or susceptible to prion disease. Porcine PrP amyloidogenicity was among the studied. Experimentally inoculated pigs as well as transgenic mouse lines overexpressing porcine PrP have, in the past, been used to investigate the possibility of prion transmission in pigs. The pig is a species with extraordinarily wide use within human daily life with over a billion pigs harvested for human consumption each year. Here we discuss the possibility that the largely prion disease resistant pig can be a clinically silent carrier of replicating prions.     

Mutant prion protein-mediated aggregation of normal prion protein in the endoplasmic reticulum: implications for prion propagation and neurotoxicity

Familial prion disorders are believed to result from spontaneous conversion of mutant prion protein (PrPM) to the pathogenic isoform (PrPSc). While most familial cases are heterozygous and thus express the normal (PrPC) and mutant alleles of PrP, the role of PrPC in the pathogenic process is unclear. Plaques from affected cases reveal a heterogeneous picture; in some cases only PrPM is detected, whereas in others both PrPC and PrPM are transformed to PrPSc. To understand if the coaggregation of PrPC is governed by PrP mutations or is a consequence of the cellular compartment of PrPM aggregation, we coexpressed PrPM and PrPC in neuroblastoma cells, the latter tagged with green fluorescent protein (PrPC-GFP) for differentiation. Two PrPM forms (PrP231T, PrP217R/231T) that aggregate spontaneously in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) were generated for this analysis. We report that PrPC-GFP aggregates when coexpressed with PrP231T or PrP217R/231T, regardless of sequence homology between the interacting forms. Furthermore, intracellular aggregates of PrP231T induce the accumulation of a C-terminal fragment of PrP, most likely derived from a potentially neurotoxic transmembrane form of PrP (CtmPrP) in the ER. These findings have implications for prion pathogenesis in familial prion disorders, especially in cases where transport of PrPM from the ER is blocked by the cellular quality control.     

Potential approaches for heterologous prion protein treatment of prion diseases

Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are progressive, fatal neurodegenerative diseases with no effective treatment. The pathology of these diseases involves the conversion of a protease sensitive form of the cellular prion protein (PrP^C) into a protease resistant infectious form (PrP^res). The efficiency of this conversion is predicated upon a number of factors, most notably a strong homology between cellular PrP^C and PrP^res. In our recently published study, we infected mice with the RML-Chandler strain of scrapie and treated them with heterologous hamster prion proteins. This treatment was seen to reduce clinical signs of prion disease, to delay the onset of clinical symptoms and to prolong survival. In this current article we discuss potential mechanisms of action of treatment with heterologous prion proteins. We also discuss potential extensions of these studies using a heterologous rabbit PrP-based treatment strategy or a peptide based strategy, and improvement of treatment delivery including a lentiviral-based system.     

Reversible aggregation of mouse prion protein derivatives with PrPSC-like structural properties

Three carbamylated derivatives of reduced mouse prion protein (mPrP) were isolated during the aborted oxidative folding in the presence of urea. These three prion protein derivatives (mPrP-a, mPrP-b, and mPrP-c) exist as monomer in the acidic solution (pH < 2.0) and exhibit prevalent random coil structure. However, they undergo rapid aggregation and transformation to a predominant -sheet structure upon exposure to ionic buffer with pH greater than 3.0. The stability of aggregates of mPrP conformers is in part dependent upon the time that they were allowed to develop. The nascent aggregates comprise a significant fraction of loosely packed mPrP monomers that can be dissociated by treatment with strong acidic solution. Matured aggregates acquired through prolonged sample incubation contain more tightly packed mPrP monomers that cannot be dissociated by strong acid but can be disaggregated by denaturant. The properties of reversible aggregation of mPrP-a, mPrP-b, and mPrP-c bear a striking resemblance to that observed with aggregates of hamster PrP^SC.     

Aggregation of cellular prion protein is initiated by proximity-induced dimerization

Prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are infectious and fatal neurodegenerative disorders in humans and animals. Pathological features of TSEs include the conversion of cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) into an altered disease-associated conformation generally designated PrP(Sc), abnormal deposition of PrP(Sc) aggregates, and spongiform degeneration of the brain. The molecular steps leading to PrP(C) aggregation are unknown. Here, we have utilized an inducible oligomerization strategy to test if, in the absence of any infectious prion particles, the encounter between PrP(C) molecules may trigger its aggregation in neuronal cells. A chimeric PrP(C) composed of one (Fv1) or two (Fv2) modified FK506-binding protein (Fv) fused with PrP(C) were created, and transfected in N2a cells. Similar to PrP(C), Fv1-PrP and Fv2-PrP were glycosylated, displayed normal localization, and anti-apoptotic function. When cells were treated with the dimeric Fv ligand AP20187, to induce dimerization (Fv1) or oligomerization (Fv2) of PrP(C), both dimerization and oligomerization of PrP(C) resulted in the de novo production, release and deposition of extracellular PrP aggregates. Aggregates were insoluble in non-ionic detergents and partially resistant to proteinase K. These findings demonstrate that homologous interactions between PrP(C) molecules may constitute a minimal and sufficient molecular event leading to PrP(C) aggregation and extracellular deposition.     

Proteomics applications in prion biology and structure

Prion diseases are a heterogeneous class of fatal neurodegenerative disorders associated with misfolding of host cellular prion protein (PrP^C) into a pathological isoform, termed PrP^Sc. Prion diseases affect various mammals, including humans, and effective treatments are not available. Prion diseases are distinguished from other protein misfolding disorders – such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease – in that they are infectious. Prion diseases occur sporadically without any known exposure to infected material, and hereditary cases resulting from rare mutations in the prion protein have also been documented. The mechanistic underpinnings of prion and other neurodegenerative disorders remain poorly understood. Various proteomics techniques have been instrumental in early PrP^Sc detection, biomarker discovery, elucidation of PrP^Sc structure and mapping of biochemical pathways affected by pathogenesis. Moving forward, proteomics approaches will likely become more integrated into the clinical and research settings for the rapid diagnosis and characterization of prion pathogenesis.     

Dominant-negative effects in prion diseases: insights from molecular dynamics simulations on mouse prion protein chimeras

Mutations in the prion protein (PrP) can cause spontaneous prion diseases in humans (Hu) and animals. In transgenic mice, mutations can determine the susceptibility to the infection of different prion strains. Some of these mutations also show a dominant-negative effect, thus halting the replication process by which wild type mouse (Mo) PrP is converted into Mo scrapie. Using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, here we studied the structure of HuPrP, MoPrP, 10?Hu/MoPrP chimeras, and 1 Mo/sheepPrP chimera in explicit solvent. Overall, ～2?μs of MD were collected. Our findings suggest that the interactions between α1 helix and N-terminal of α3 helix are critical in prion propagation, whereas the β2–α2 loop conformation plays a role in the dominant-negative effect.

An animated Interactive 3D Complement (I3DC) is available in Proteopedia at http://proteopedia.org/w/Journal:JBSD:4.     

Structural conservation of prion strain specificities in recombinant prion protein fibrils in real-time quaking-induced conversion

ABSTRACT

A major unsolved issue of prion biology is the existence of multiple strains with distinct phenotypes and this strain phenomenon is postulated to be associated with the conformational diversity of the abnormal prion protein (PrP^Sc). Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QUIC) assay that uses Escherichia coli-derived recombinant prion protein (rPrP) for the sensitive detection of PrP^Sc results in the formation of rPrP-fibrils seeded with various strains. We demonstrated that there are differences in the secondary structures, especially in the β-sheets, and conformational stability between 2 rPrP-fibrils seeded with either Chandler or 22L strains in the first round of RT-QUIC. In particular, the differences in conformational properties of these 2 rPrP-fibrils were common to those of the original PrP^Sc. However, the strain specificities of rPrP-fibrils seen in the first round were lost in subsequent rounds. Instead, our findings suggest that nonspecific fibrils became the major species, probable owing to their selective growth advantage in the RT-QUIC. This study shows that at least some strain-specific conformational properties of the original PrP^Sc can be transmitted to rPrP-fibrils in vitro, but further conservation appears to require unknown cofactors or environmental conditions or both.     

Establishment of bovine prion peptide-based monoclonal antibodies for identifying bovine prion

To obtain high titer monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) which can react with mammalian prion protein (PrP), Balb/C mice were immunized with bovine (Bo) PrP peptide (BoPrP 209—228 aa) coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). The hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies against the pep-tide were established by cell fusion and cloning. The obtained McAbs were applied to detect recombi-nant human, bovine and hamster PrP, cellular prion protein (PrP^c) in normal bovine brain and patho-genic scrapie prion protein (PrP^Sc) accumulated in the medulla oblongata of bovine spongiform en-cephalopathy(BSE)specimen with Western blot and immunohistochemical detection, respectively. The current procedure might offer a simple, feasible method to raise high titer antibodies for studying bio-logical features of PrP in mammals, as well as detection of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) and diagnosis of BSE, in particular.     

Non-infectious aggregates of the prion protein react with several PrPSc-directed antibodies

The key event in the pathogenesis of prion diseases is the conformational conversion of the normal prion protein (PrP) (PrP^C) into an infectious, aggregated isoform (PrP^Sc) that has a high content of β-sheet. Historically, a great deal of effort has been devoted to developing antibodies that specifically recognize PrP^Sc but not PrP^C, as such antibodies would have enormous diagnostic and experimental value. A mouse monoclonal IgM antibody (designated 15B3) and three PrP motif-grafted monoclonal antibodies (referred to as IgG 19–33, 89–112, and 136–158) have been previously reported to react specifically with infectious PrP^Sc but not PrP^C. In this study, we extend the characterization of these four antibodies by testing their ability to immunoprecipitate and immunostain infectious and non-infectious aggregates of wild-type, mutant, and recombinant PrP. We find that 15B3 as well as the motif-grafted antibodies recognize multiple types of aggregated PrP, both infectious and non-infectious, including forms found in brain, in transfected cells, and induced in vitro from purified recombinant protein. These antibodies are exquisitely selective for aggregated PrP, and do not react with soluble PrP even when present in vast excess. Our results suggest that 15B3 and the motif-grafted antibodies recognize structural features common to both infectious and non-infectious aggregates of PrP. Our study extends the utility of these antibodies for diagnostic and experimental purposes, and it provides new insight into the structural changes that accompany PrP oligomerization and prion propagation.     

Influence of the N-terminal domain on the aggregation properties of the prion protein

Prion diseases appear to be caused by the aggregation of the cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) into an infectious form denoted PrP(Sc). The in vitro aggregation of the prion protein has been extensively investigated, yet many of these studies utilize truncated polypeptides. Because the C-terminal portion of PrP(Sc) is protease-resistant and retains infectivity, it is assumed that studies on this fragment are most relevant. The full-length protein can be distinguished from the truncated protein because it contains a largely structured, alpha-helical, C-terminal region in addition to an N terminus that is unstructured in the absence of metal ion binding. Herein, the in vitro aggregation of a truncated portion of the prion protein (PrP 90-231) and a full-length version (PrP 23-231) were compared. In each case, concentration-dependent aggregation was analyzed to discern whether it proceeds by a nucleation-dependent pathway. Both protein constructs appear to aggregate via a nucleated polymerization with a small nucleus size, yet the later steps differ. The full-length protein forms larger aggregates than the truncated protein, indicating that the N terminus may mediate higher-order aggregation processes. In addition, the N terminus has an influence on the assembly state of PrP before aggregation begins, causing the full-length protein to adopt several oligomeric forms in a neutral pH buffer. Our results emphasize the importance of studying the full-length protein in addition to the truncated forms for in vitro aggregation studies in order to make valid hypotheses about the mechanisms of prion aggregation and the distribution of aggregates in vivo.     

Regulation of proteasomes in prion disease

The hallmark of prion disease is the accumulation of mis folded protein PrPsc, which is toxic to neuronal cells. The proteasome system is responsible for the rapid, precise, and timely degradation of proteins and plays an important role in cellular protein quality control. Increasing evidence indi cates impaired activity of proteasomes in prion diseases. Accumulated PrPsc can directly or indirectly affect prote asome activity. Misfolded protein may influence the assem bly and activity of 19S regulatory particle, or post translational modification of 20S proteasome, which may adversely affect the protein degradation activity of protea somes. In this review, we summarized the recent findings concerning the possible regulation of proteasomes in prion and other neurodegenerative diseases. The proteasome system may enhance its degradation activity by changing its structure, and this activity can also be increased by related chaperones when neuronal cells are subject to stress. When the proteasome system is inhibited, degradation of protein aggregates via autophagy may increase as a compensatory system. It is possible that a balance exists between the prote asome and autophagy in vivo; when one is impaired, the ac tivity of the other may increase to maintain homeostasis. However, more studies are needed to elucidate the relation ship between the proteasome system and autophagy.     

Post-transcriptional suppression of pathogenic prion protein expression in Drosophila neurons

A wealth of evidence supports the view that conformational change of the prion protein, PrPC, into a pathogenic isoform, PrPSc, is the hallmark of sporadic, infectious, and inherited forms of prion disease. Although the central role played by PrPSc in the pathogenesis of prion disease is appreciated, the cellular mechanisms that recognize PrPSc and modulate its production, clearance, and neural toxicity have not been elucidated. To address these questions, we used a tissue-specific expression system to express wild-type and disease-associated PrP molecules heterologously in Drosophila melanogaster. Our results indicate that Drosophila brain possesses a specific and saturable mechanism that suppresses the accumulation of PG14, a disease-associated insertional PrP mutant. We also found that wild-type PrP molecules are maintained in a detergent-soluble conformation throughout life in Drosophila brain neurons, whereas they become detergent-insoluble in retinal cells as flies age. PG14 protein expression in Drosophila eye did not cause retinal pathology. Our work reveals the presence of mechanisms in neurons that specifically counterbalance the production of misfolded PrP conformations, and provides an opportunity to study these processes in a model organism amenable to genetic analysis.     

A systems approach to prion disease

Prions cause transmissible neurodegenerative diseases and replicate by conformational conversion of normal benign forms of prion protein (PrP^C) to disease‐causing PrP^Sc 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 PrP^Sc 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.