In:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 120, No. 15 ( 2023-04-11)
Abstract:
Prions are proteinaceous infectious particles that replicate by structural conversion of the host-encoded cellular prion protein (PrP C ), causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases in mammals. Species-specific amino acid substitutions (AAS) arising from single nucleotide polymorphisms within the prion protein gene ( Prnp ) modulate prion disease pathogenesis, and, in several instances, reduce susceptibility of homo- or heterozygous AAS carriers to prion infection. However, a mechanistic understanding of their protective effects against clinical disease is missing. We generated gene-targeted mouse infection models of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a highly contagious prion disease of cervids. These mice express wild-type deer or PrP C harboring the S138N substitution homo- or heterozygously, a polymorphism found exclusively in reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus spp. ) and fallow deer ( Dama dama ). The wild-type deer PrP-expressing model recapitulated CWD pathogenesis including fecal shedding. Encoding at least one 138N allele prevented clinical CWD, accumulation of protease-resistant PrP (PrP res ) and abnormal PrP deposits in the brain tissue. However, prion seeding activity was detected in spleens, brains, and feces of these mice, suggesting subclinical infection accompanied by prion shedding. 138N-PrP C was less efficiently converted to PrP res in vitro than wild-type deer (138SS) PrP C . Heterozygous coexpression of wild-type deer and 138N-PrP C resulted in dominant-negative inhibition and progressively diminished prion conversion over serial rounds of protein misfolding cyclic amplification. Our study indicates that heterozygosity at a polymorphic Prnp codon can confer the highest protection against clinical CWD and highlights the potential role of subclinical carriers in CWD transmission.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0027-8424
,
1091-6490
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2221060120
Language:
English
Publisher:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
209104-5
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1461794-8
SSG:
11
SSG:
12
