Biochemical Characterization of Prion Strains in Bank Voles
Open Access
- 1 July 2013
- Vol. 2 (3), 446-456
- https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens2030446
Abstract
Prions exist as different strains exhibiting distinct disease phenotypes. Currently, the identification of prion strains is still based on biological strain typing in rodents. However, it has been shown that prion strains may be associated with distinct PrPSc biochemical types. Taking advantage of the availability of several prion strains adapted to a novel rodent model, the bank vole, we investigated if any prion strain was actually associated with distinctive PrPSc biochemical characteristics and if it was possible to univocally identify strains through PrPSc biochemical phenotypes. We selected six different vole-adapted strains (three human-derived and three animal-derived) and analyzed PrPSc from individual voles by epitope mapping of protease resistant core of PrPSc (PrPres) and by conformational stability and solubility assay. Overall, we discriminated five out of six prion strains, while two different scrapie strains showed identical PrPSc types. Our results suggest that the biochemical strain typing approach here proposed was highly discriminative, although by itself it did not allow us to identify all prion strains analyzed.Keywords
This publication has 40 references indexed in Scilit:
- Small Ruminant Nor98 Prions Share Biochemical Features with Human Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker Disease and Variably Protease-Sensitive PrionopathyPLOS ONE, 2013
- Strain-Specific Role of RNAs in Prion ReplicationJournal of Virology, 2012
- Biochemical Properties of Highly Neuroinvasive Prion StrainsPLoS Pathogens, 2012
- A New Method for the Characterization of Strain-Specific Conformational Stability of Protease-Sensitive and Protease-Resistant PrPScPLOS ONE, 2010
- Detection and characterization of proteinase K-sensitive disease-related prion protein with thermolysinBiochemical Journal, 2008
- Characterization of Truncated Forms of Abnormal Prion Protein in Creutzfeldt-Jakob DiseaseJournal of Biological Chemistry, 2008
- Prion Protein Amino Acid Determinants of Differential Susceptibility and Molecular Feature of Prion Strains in Mice and VolesPLoS Pathogens, 2008
- A novel human disease with abnormal prion protein sensitive to proteaseAnnals of Neurology, 2008
- Proteinase K-sensitive disease-associated ovine prion protein revealed by conformation-dependent immunoassayBiochemical Journal, 2006
- Continuum of prion protein structures enciphers a multitude of prion isolate-specified phenotypesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006