Rapid quantification of prion proteins using resistive pulse sensing

The Analyst ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 145 (7) ◽  
pp. 2595-2601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Healey ◽  
Muttuswamy Sivakumaran ◽  
Mark Platt
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Proteins ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Resistive Pulse ◽  
Neurological Conditions ◽  
Resistive Pulse Sensing ◽  
Rapid Quantification

Prion diseases are a group of fatal transmissible neurological conditions caused by the change in conformation of intrinsic cellular prion protein (PrPC).

Rapid Quantification of Prion Proteins

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Healey ◽  
Muttuswamy Sivakumaran ◽  
Mark Platt
Keyword(s):  
Prion Proteins ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Sample Volume ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Dna Aptamer ◽  
Superparamagnetic Beads ◽  
Resistive Pulse ◽  
Large Sample Volume ◽  
Complex Sample ◽  
Neurological Conditions

<p>Prion diseases are a group of fatal transmissible neurological conditions caused by the change in conformation of the normal intrinsic cellular prion protein (PrP<sup>C</sup>) in to the highly ordered insoluble amyloid state conformer (PrP<sup>SC</sup>). We present a rapid assay using Aptamers and Resistive Pulse Sensing, RPS, to extract and quantify proteins from complex sample matrices, demonstrate with the quantification of PrP<sup>c</sup>. We functionalise the surface of superparamagnetic beads, SPBs, with a DNA aptamer. First SPB’s termed P-Beads, are used to pre-concentrate the analyte from a large sample volume. The PrP<sup>c</sup> protein is then eluted from the P-Beads before aptamer modified sensing beads, S-Beads, are added. The velocity of the S-Beads through the nanopore reveals the concentration of the PrP<sup>c</sup> protein. The process is done in under an hour and allows the detection of picomol’s of protein. The technique could be easily adopted to the mutated version of the protein and integrated into clinical workflows for the screening of blood donations and transfusions. </p>

Rapid Quantification of Prion Proteins

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Healey ◽  
Muttuswamy Sivakumaran ◽  
Mark Platt
Keyword(s):  
Prion Proteins ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Sample Volume ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Dna Aptamer ◽  
Superparamagnetic Beads ◽  
Resistive Pulse ◽  
Large Sample Volume ◽  
Complex Sample ◽  
Neurological Conditions

<p>Prion diseases are a group of fatal transmissible neurological conditions caused by the change in conformation of the normal intrinsic cellular prion protein (PrP<sup>C</sup>) in to the highly ordered insoluble amyloid state conformer (PrP<sup>SC</sup>). We present a rapid assay using Aptamers and Resistive Pulse Sensing, RPS, to extract and quantify proteins from complex sample matrices, demonstrate with the quantification of PrP<sup>c</sup>. We functionalise the surface of superparamagnetic beads, SPBs, with a DNA aptamer. First SPB’s termed P-Beads, are used to pre-concentrate the analyte from a large sample volume. The PrP<sup>c</sup> protein is then eluted from the P-Beads before aptamer modified sensing beads, S-Beads, are added. The velocity of the S-Beads through the nanopore reveals the concentration of the PrP<sup>c</sup> protein. The process is done in under an hour and allows the detection of picomol’s of protein. The technique could be easily adopted to the mutated version of the protein and integrated into clinical workflows for the screening of blood donations and transfusions. </p>

Biophysical characterization of oligomerization and fibrillization of the G131V pathogenic mutant of human prion protein

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meilan Zhang ◽  
Haoran Zhang ◽  
Hongwei Yao ◽  
Chenyun Guo ◽  
Donghai Lin
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Tertiary Structure ◽  
Prion Proteins ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Guanidine Hydrochloride ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Human Prion Protein ◽  
Α Helix ◽  
Conformational Conversion

Abstract The pathogenesis of fatal neurodegenerative prion diseases is closely associated with the conversion of α-helix-rich cellular prion protein into β-sheet-rich scrapie form. Pathogenic point mutations of prion proteins usually promote the conformational conversion and trigger inherited prion diseases. The G131V mutation of human prion protein (HuPrP) was identified to be involved in Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker syndrome. Few studies have been carried out to address the pathogenesis of the G131V mutant. Here, we addressed the effects of the G131V mutation on oligomerization and fibrillization of the full-length HuPrP(23–231) and truncated HuPrP(91–231) proteins. The G131V mutation promotes the oligomerization but alleviates the fibrillization of HuPrP, implying that the oligomerization might play a crucial role in the pathogenic mechanisms of the G131V mutant. Moreover, the flexible N-terminal fragment in either the wild-type or the G131V mutant HuPrP increases the oligomerization tendencies but decreases the fibrillization tendencies. Furthermore, this mutation significantly alters the tertiary structure of human PrPC and might distinctly change the conformational conversion tendency. Interestingly, both guanidine hydrochloride denaturation and thermal denaturation experiments showed that the G131V mutation does not significantly change the thermodynamic stabilities of the HuPrP proteins. This work may be of benefit to a mechanistic understanding of the conformational conversion of prion proteins and also provide clues for the prevention and treatment of prion diseases.

Epitope scanning indicates structural differences in brain-derived monomeric and aggregated mutant prion proteins related to genetic prion diseases

2013 ◽  
Vol 454 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tapella ◽  
Matteo Stravalaci ◽  
Antonio Bastone ◽  
Emiliano Biasini ◽  
Marco Gobbi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Proteins ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Prnp Gene ◽  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Jakob Disease

Genetic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker syndrome, fatal familial insomnia and prion protein cerebral amyloid angiopathy are clinically and neuropathologically distinct neurodegenerative diseases linked to mutations in the PRNP gene encoding the cellular prion protein (PrPC). How sequence variants of PRNP encode the information to specify these disease phenotypes is not known. It is suggested that each mutation produces a misfolded variant of PrPC with specific neurotoxic properties. However, structural studies of recombinant PrP did not detect major differences between wild-type and mutant molecules, pointing to the importance of investigating mutant PrPs from mammalian brains. We used surface plasmon resonance and a slot-blot immunoassay to analyse the antibody-binding profiles of soluble and insoluble PrP molecules extracted from the brains of transgenic mice modelling different prion diseases. By measuring the reactivity of monoclonal antibodies against different PrP epitopes, we obtained evidence of conformational differences between wild-type and mutant PrPs, and among different mutants. We detected structural heterogeneity in both monomeric and aggregated PrP, supporting the hypothesis that the phenotype of genetic prion diseases is encoded by mutant PrP conformation and assembly state.

scholarly journals Pharmacological inactivation of the prion protein by targeting a folding intermediate

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Spagnolli ◽  
Tania Massignan ◽  
Andrea Astolfi ◽  
Silvia Biggi ◽  
Marta Rigoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Folding Intermediate ◽  
Biological Regulation ◽  
Cell Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Folding Intermediates ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Small Molecule Ligands

AbstractRecent computational advancements in the simulation of biochemical processes allow investigating the mechanisms involved in protein regulation with realistic physics-based models, at an atomistic level of resolution. These techniques allowed us to design a drug discovery approach, named Pharmacological Protein Inactivation by Folding Intermediate Targeting (PPI-FIT), based on the rationale of negatively regulating protein levels by targeting folding intermediates. Here, PPI-FIT was tested for the first time on the cellular prion protein (PrP), a cell surface glycoprotein playing a key role in fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative pathologies known as prion diseases. We predicted the all-atom structure of an intermediate appearing along the folding pathway of PrP and identified four different small molecule ligands for this conformer, all capable of selectively lowering the load of the protein by promoting its degradation. Our data support the notion that the level of target proteins could be modulated by acting on their folding pathways, implying a previously unappreciated role for folding intermediates in the biological regulation of protein expression.

scholarly journals Prion protein and prion disease at a glance

2021 ◽  
Vol 134 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caihong Zhu ◽  
Adriano Aguzzi
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Disease ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorders ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Main Component ◽  
Conformational Conversion

ABSTRACT Prion diseases are neurodegenerative disorders caused by conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into scrapie prion protein (PrPSc). As the main component of prion, PrPSc acts as an infectious template that recruits and converts normal cellular PrPC into its pathogenic, misfolded isoform. Intriguingly, the phenomenon of prionoid, or prion-like, spread has also been observed in many other disease-associated proteins, such as amyloid β (Aβ), tau and α-synuclein. This Cell Science at a Glance and the accompanying poster highlight recently described physiological roles of prion protein and the advanced understanding of pathogenesis of prion disease they have afforded. Importantly, prion protein may also be involved in the pathogenesis of other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Therapeutic studies of prion disease have also exploited novel strategies to combat these devastating diseases. Future studies on prion protein and prion disease will deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of a broad spectrum of neurodegenerative conditions.

scholarly journals Dimerization of the cellular prion protein inhibits propagation of scrapie prions

2018 ◽  
Vol 293 (21) ◽  
pp. 8020-8031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna D. Engelke ◽  
Anika Gonsberg ◽  
Simrika Thapa ◽  
Sebastian Jung ◽  
Sarah Ulbrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Prion Protein ◽  
Conformational Transition ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Neuroblastoma Cells ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Dimerization Domain ◽  
Hydrophobic Domain

A central step in the pathogenesis of prion diseases is the conformational transition of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into the scrapie isoform, denoted PrPSc. Studies in transgenic mice have indicated that this conversion requires a direct interaction between PrPC and PrPSc; however, insights into the underlying mechanisms are still missing. Interestingly, only a subfraction of PrPC is converted in scrapie-infected cells, suggesting that not all PrPC species are suitable substrates for the conversion. On the basis of the observation that PrPC can form homodimers under physiological conditions with the internal hydrophobic domain (HD) serving as a putative dimerization domain, we wondered whether PrP dimerization is involved in the formation of neurotoxic and/or infectious PrP conformers. Here, we analyzed the possible impact on dimerization of pathogenic mutations in the HD that induce a spontaneous neurodegenerative disease in transgenic mice. Similarly to wildtype (WT) PrPC, the neurotoxic variant PrP(AV3) formed homodimers as well as heterodimers with WTPrPC. Notably, forced PrP dimerization via an intermolecular disulfide bond did not interfere with its maturation and intracellular trafficking. Covalently linked PrP dimers were complex glycosylated, GPI-anchored, and sorted to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. However, forced PrPC dimerization completely blocked its conversion into PrPSc in chronically scrapie-infected mouse neuroblastoma cells. Moreover, PrPC dimers had a dominant-negative inhibition effect on the conversion of monomeric PrPC. Our findings suggest that PrPC monomers are the major substrates for PrPSc propagation and that it may be possible to halt prion formation by stabilizing PrPC dimers.

The cellular prion protein and its derived fragments in human prion diseases and their role as potential biomarkers

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1007-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Thüne ◽  
Matthias Schmitz ◽  
Anna Villar-Piqué ◽  
Hermann Clemens Altmeppen ◽  
Markus Schlomm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Cellular Prion Protein ◽  
Potential Biomarkers
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