No abstract

The specific characteristics of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) strains may be altered during passage across a species barrier. In this study we investigated the biochemical and biological characteristics of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) after transmission in both natural host species (cattle, sheep, pigs and mice) and in transgenic mice overexpressing the corresponding cellular prion protein (PrPC) in comparison with other non-BSE related prions from the same species. After these passages, most features of the BSE agent remained unchanged. BSE-derived agents only showed slight modifications in the biochemical properties of the accumulated PrPSc, which were demonstrated to be reversible upon re-inoculation into transgenic mice expressing bovine-PrPC. Transmission experiments in transgenic mice expressing bovine, porcine or human-PrP revealed that all BSE-derived agents were transmitted with no or a weak transmission barrier. In contrast, a high species barrier was observed for the non-BSE related prions that harboured an identical PrP amino acid sequence, supporting the theory that the prion transmission barrier is modulated by strain properties (presumably conformation-dependent) rather than by PrP amino acid sequence differences between host and donor.As identical results were observed with prions propagated either in natural hosts or in transgenic mouse models, we postulate that the species barrier and its passage consequences are uniquely governed by the host PrPC sequence and not influenced by other host genetic factors. The results presented herein reinforce the idea that the BSE agent is highly promiscuous, infecting other species, maintaining its properties in the new species, and even increasing its capabilities to jump to other species including humans. These data are essential for the development of an accurate risk assessment for BSE.

Atypical/Nor98 scrapie (AS) is a prion disease of small ruminants. Currently there are no efficient measures to control this form of prion disease, and, importantly, the zoonotic potential and the risk that AS might represent for other farmed animal species remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the capacity of AS to propagate in bovine PrP transgenic mice. Unexpectedly, the transmission of AS isolates originating from 5 different European countries to bovine PrP mice resulted in the propagation of the classical BSE (c-BSE) agent. Detection of prion seeding activity in vitro by protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) demonstrated that low levels of the c-BSE agent were present in the original AS isolates. C-BSE prion seeding activity was also detected in brain tissue of ovine PrP mice inoculated with limiting dilutions (endpoint titration) of ovine AS isolates. These results are consistent with the emergence and replication of c-BSE prions during the in vivo propagation of AS isolates in the natural host. These data also indicate that c-BSE prions, a known zonotic agent in humans, can emerge as a dominant prion strain during passage of AS between different species. These findings provide an unprecedented insight into the evolution of mammalian prion strain properties triggered by intra- and interspecies passage. From a public health perspective, the presence of c-BSE in AS isolates suggest that cattle exposure to small ruminant tissues and products could lead to new occurrences of c-BSE.

The prion protein-encoding gene (prnp) strongly influences the susceptibility of small ruminants to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Hence, selective breeding programs have been implemented to increase sheep resistance to scrapie. For goats, epidemiological and experimental studies have provided some association between certain polymorphisms of the cellular prion protein (PrP C ) and resistance to TSEs. Among them, the Q/K polymorphism at PrP C codon 222 (Q/K 222 ) yielded the most promising results. In this work, we investigated the individual effects of the K 222 -PrP C variant on the resistance/susceptibility of goats to TSEs. For that purpose, we generated two transgenic mouse lines, expressing either the Q 222 (wild type) or K 222 variant of goat PrP C . Both mouse lines were challenged intracerebrally with a panel of TSE isolates. Transgenic mice expressing the wildtype (Q 222 ) allele were fully susceptible to infection with all tested isolates, whereas transgenic mice expressing similar levels of the K 222 allele were resistant to all goat scrapie and cattle BSE isolates but not to goat BSE isolates. Finally, heterozygous K/Q 222 mice displayed a reduced susceptibility to the tested panel of scrapie isolates. These results demonstrate a highly protective effect of the K 222 variant against a broad panel of different prion isolates and further reinforce the argument supporting the use of this variant in breeding programs to control TSEs in goat herds. IMPORTANCEThe objective of this study was to determine the role of the K 222 variant of the prion protein (PrP) in the susceptibility/resistance of goats to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Results showed that transgenic mice expressing the goat K 222 -PrP polymorphic variant are resistant to scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agents. This protective effect was also observed in heterozygous Q/K 222 animals. Therefore, the single amino acid exchange from Q to K at codon 222 of the cellular prion protein provides resistance against TSEs. All the results presented here support the view that the K 222 polymorphic variant is a good candidate for selective breeding programs to control and eradicate scrapie in goat herds.

The cellular prion protein (PrPC) has been associated with a plethora of cellular functions ranging from cell cycle to neuroprotection. Mice lacking PrPC show an increased susceptibility to epileptic seizures; the protein, then, is neuroprotective. However, lack of experimental reproducibility has led to considering the possibility that other factors besides PrPC deletion, such as the genetic background of mice or the presence of so-called “Prnp flanking genes”, might contribute to the reported susceptibility. Here, we performed a comparative analysis of seizure-susceptibility using characterized Prnp+/+ and Prnp0/0 mice of B6129, B6.129, 129/Ola or FVB/N genetic backgrounds. Our study indicates that PrPC plays a role in neuroprotection in KA-treated cells and mice. For this function, PrPC should contain the aa32–93 region and needs to be linked to the membrane. In addition, some unidentified “Prnp-flanking genes” play a role parallel to PrPC in the KA-mediated responses in B6129 and B6.129 Prnp0/0 mice.