Mouse-hamster chimeric prion protein (PrP) devoid of N-terminal residues 23-88 restores susceptibility to 22L prions, but not to RML prions in PrP-knockout mice.
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ABSTRACT: Prion infection induces conformational conversion of the normal prion protein PrPC, into the pathogenic isoform PrPSc, in prion diseases. It has been shown that PrP-knockout (Prnp0/0) mice transgenically reconstituted with a mouse-hamster chimeric PrP lacking N-terminal residues 23-88, or Tg(MHM2?23-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice, neither developed the disease nor accumulated MHM2Sc?23-88 in their brains after inoculation with RML prions. In contrast, RML-inoculated Tg(MHM2?23-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice developed the disease with abundant accumulation of MHM2Sc?23-88 in their brains. These results indicate that MHM2?23-88 itself might either lose or greatly reduce the converting capacity to MHM2Sc?23-88, and that the co-expressing wild-type PrPC can stimulate the conversion of MHM2?23-88 to MHM2Sc?23-88 in trans. In the present study, we confirmed that Tg(MHM2?23-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice remained resistant to RML prions for up to 730 days after inoculation. However, we found that Tg(MHM2?23-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice were susceptible to 22L prions, developing the disease with prolonged incubation times and accumulating MHM2Sc?23-88 in their brains. We also found accelerated conversion of MHM2?23-88 into MHM2Sc?23-88 in the brains of RML- and 22L-inoculated Tg(MHM2?23-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice. However, wild-type PrPSc accumulated less in the brains of these inoculated Tg(MHM2?23-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice, compared with RML- and 22L-inoculated Prnp 0/+ mice. These results show that MHM2?23-88 itself can convert into MHM2Sc?23-88 without the help of the trans-acting PrPC, and that, irrespective of prion strains inoculated, the co-expressing wild-type PrPC stimulates the conversion of MHM2?23-88 into MHM2Sc?23-88, but to the contrary, the co-expressing MHM2?23-88 disturbs the conversion of wild-type PrPC into PrPSc.
SUBMITTER: Uchiyama K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4199594 | biostudies-literature | 2014
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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