Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and other prion diseases

Dementia 3Ed ◽  
2005 ◽  
pp. 807-820 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Jakob Disease

Cellular factors important for the de novo formation of yeast prions

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1083-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mick Tuite ◽  
Klement Stojanovski ◽  
Frederique Ness ◽  
Gloria Merritt ◽  
Nadejda Koloteva-Levine
Keyword(s):  
De Novo ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Structural Form ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Yeast Prions ◽  
Cellular Factors ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
Protein Rich ◽  
Cis And Trans

Prions represent an unusual structural form of a protein that is ‘infectious’. In mammals, prions are associated with fatal neurodegenerative diseases such as CJD (Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease), while in fungi they act as novel epigenetic regulators of phenotype. Even though most of the human prion diseases arise spontaneously, we still know remarkably little about how infectious prions form de novo. The [PSI+] prion of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae provides a highly tractable model in which to explore the underlying mechanism of de novo prion formation, in particular identifying key cis- and trans-acting factors. Most significantly, the de novo formation of [PSI+] requires the presence of a second prion called [PIN+], which is typically the prion form of Rnq1p, a protein rich in glutamine and aspartic acid residues. The molecular mechanism by which the [PIN+] prion facilitates de novo [PSI+] formation is not fully established, but most probably involves some form of cross-seeding. A number of other cellular factors, in particular chaperones of the Hsp70 (heat-shock protein 70) family, are known to modify the frequency of de novo prion formation in yeast.

Prionopathies and Prionlike Protein Aberrations in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurographics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-148
Author(s):  
K.N. Anderson ◽  
W.B. Overcast ◽  
J.R. Brosch ◽  
B.D. Graner ◽  
M.C. Veronesi
Keyword(s):  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Protein Misfolding ◽  
Clinical Presentation ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Imaging Biomarkers ◽  
Amyloid Pet ◽  
Imaging Features ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
The Common ◽  
Neuro Imaging

Protein misfolding has been an area of intense research and is implicated in a number of neurodegenerative diseases. Key proteins in the brain lose their native ability to fold and instead assume abnormal conformations. Misfolded proteins cluster to form pathologic aggregates, which cause cellular dysfunction, neuronal death, and neurodegeneration. The prionopathies are best known among the neurodegenerative diseases for their ability to misfold, self-propagate, and infect other organisms. There is increasing evidence of a rationale for a prionlike mechanism of spread of other neurodegenerative diseases through a similar seeding mechanism. In this review, we detail the role of a key protein aberration known to the various prion diseases, including sporadic, variant, and iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; variably protease-sensitive prionopathy; Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease; fatal familial insomnia; and kuru. We also discuss the clinical presentation, the available, and emerging imaging options for these diseases. In the second part of this review, we delineate how a prionlike seeding process may be driving the progression of other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, and Huntington disease. A discussion of clinical presentation and imaging features of these example diseases follows to make a case for a common approach to developing imaging biomarkers and therapies of these diseases.Learning Objective: Upon completion of this article, one should be able to describe the various types of prion diseases, recognize and identify the common the neuro-imaging findings in prion diseases, describe seeding mechanism of prion disease, list the common amyloid PET tracers used for Alzheimer’s disease, and list common imaging biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases.

scholarly journals Prion Disease Blood Test Using Immunoprecipitation and Improved Quaking-Induced Conversion

mBio ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina D. Orrú ◽  
Jason M. Wilham ◽  
Lynne D. Raymond ◽  
Franziska Kuhn ◽  
Björn Schroeder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Blood Test ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Proteinase K ◽  
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathies ◽  
Jakob Disease

ABSTRACT A key challenge in managing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases in medicine, agriculture, and wildlife biology is the development of practical tests for prions that are at or below infectious levels. Of particular interest are tests capable of detecting prions in blood components such as plasma, but blood typically has extremely low prion concentrations and contains inhibitors of the most sensitive prion tests. One of the latter tests is quaking-induced conversion (QuIC), which can be as sensitive as in vivo bioassays, but much more rapid, higher throughput, and less expensive. Now we have integrated antibody 15B3-based immunoprecipitation with QuIC reactions to increase sensitivity and isolate prions from inhibitors such as those in plasma samples. Coupling of immunoprecipitation and an improved real-time QuIC reaction dramatically enhanced detection of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) brain tissue diluted into human plasma. Dilutions of 1014-fold, containing ~2 attogram (ag) per ml of proteinase K-resistant prion protein, were readily detected, indicating ~10,000-fold greater sensitivity for vCJD brain than has previously been reported. We also discriminated between plasma and serum samples from scrapie-infected and uninfected hamsters, even in early preclinical stages. This combined assay, which we call “enhanced QuIC” (eQuIC), markedly improves prospects for routine detection of low levels of prions in tissues, fluids, or environmental samples. IMPORTANCE Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are largely untreatable and are difficult to diagnose definitively prior to irreversible clinical decline or death. The transmissibility of TSEs within and between species highlights the need for practical tests for even the smallest amounts of infectivity. A few sufficiently sensitive in vitro methods have been reported, but most have major limitations that would preclude their use in routine diagnostic or screening applications. Our new assay improves the outlook for such critical applications. We focused initially on blood plasma because a practical blood test for prions would be especially valuable for TSE diagnostics and risk reduction. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in particular has been transmitted between humans via blood transfusions. Enhanced real-time quaking-induced conversion (eRTQ) provides by far the most sensitive detection of vCJD to date. The 15B3 antibody binds prions of multiple species, suggesting that our assay may be useful for clinical and fundamental studies of a variety of TSEs of humans and animals.

The neuroepidemiology of human prion disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 367-378
Author(s):  
Patrick JM Urwin ◽  
Anna M Molesworth
Keyword(s):  
Prion Protein ◽  
Prion Disease ◽  
Protein Misfolding ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Prion Protein Gene ◽  
Human Prion Disease ◽  
Disease States ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Sporadic Disease

Human prion diseases comprise a number of rare and fatal neurodegenerative conditions that result from the accumulation in the central nervous system of an abnormal form of a naturally occurring protein, called the prion protein. The diseases occur in genetic, sporadic, and acquired forms: genetic disease is associated with mutations in the prion protein gene (PRNP); sporadic disease is thought to result from a spontaneous protein misfolding event; acquired disease results from transmission of infection from an animal or another human. The potential transmissibility of the prion in any of these forms, either in disease states or during the incubation period, has implications for public health. Here we focus on Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), including variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), although we will also discuss other forms of human prion disease.

scholarly journals Molecular Characterization of the Danish Prion Diseases Cohort With Special Emphasis on Rare and Unique Cases

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 980-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aušrinė Areškevičiūtė ◽  
Helle Broholm ◽  
Linea C Melchior ◽  
Anna Bartoletti-Stella ◽  
Piero Parchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Characterization ◽  
Prion Disease ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
The Past ◽  
Disease Biology ◽  
Fresh Frozen ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
Disease Subtypes ◽  
Codon 129

Abstract The purpose of this study was to perform an updated reclassification of all definite prion disease cases with available fresh-frozen samples referred to the Danish Reference Center over the past 40 years, putting a special emphasis on the molecular characterization of novel disease subtypes. Investigation of the Danish prion diseases cohort revealed rare sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases with mixed subtypes and subtypes with previously uncharacterized white matter plaques, a new case of sporadic fatal insomnia, and 3 novel mutations, including 2 large octapeptide repeat insertions, and a point mutation in the prion protein gene. The evaluation of methionine and valine distribution at codon 129 among the prion disease patients in the cohort revealed the increased prevalence of methionine homozygotes compared to the general population. This observation was in line with the prevalence reported in other Caucasian prion disease cohort studies. Reclassification of the old prion diseases cohort revealed unique cases, the molecular characterization of which improves prion diseases classification, diagnostic accuracy, genetic counseling of affected families, and the understanding of disease biology.

Emerging Pathogens: Something Old, Something New

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (S2) ◽  
pp. 164-165
Author(s):  
Sara E. Miller ◽  
David N. Howell
Keyword(s):  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
The Third ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
The Us ◽  
Jakob Disease

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide and the third leading cause in the US. Among these maladies are many that can be classified as emerging diseases. Some of these disorders may be caused by truly novel pathogens. in others, the causative organisms have been present for many years (for some, probably millennia), but have escaped detection until recently. Still others represent the re-emergence of known pathogenic organisms after a long period of quiescence. The mention of emerging pathogens brings to mind sensational exotic and feared microorganisms such as Ebola virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hantavirus, West Nile virus, Yersinia pestis (plague), and prion diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE, “mad cow” disease) which have been associated with variant Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. However, other organisms that have been known for some time can be classified as emerging pathogens as they continually mutate, recombine, and adapt, causing misery and death.

scholarly journals Rapid and Sensitive RT-QuIC Detection of Human Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Using Cerebrospinal Fluid

mBio ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina D. Orrú ◽  
Bradley R. Groveman ◽  
Andrew G. Hughson ◽  
Gianluigi Zanusso ◽  
Michael B. Coulthart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Protein Misfolding ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Analytical Sensitivity ◽  
Enhanced Sensitivity ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
Misfolding Diseases ◽  
Amyloid Diseases ◽  
Sporadic Cjd

ABSTRACT  Fast, definitive diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is important in assessing patient care options and transmission risks. Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and nasal-brushing specimens are valuable in distinguishing CJD from non-CJD conditions but have required 2.5 to 5 days. Here, an improved RT-QuIC assay is described which identified positive CSF samples within 4 to 14 h with better analytical sensitivity. Moreover, analysis of 11 CJD patients demonstrated that while 7 were RT-QuIC positive using the previous conditions, 10 were positive using the new assay. In these and further analyses, a total of 46 of 48 CSF samples from sporadic CJD patients were positive, while all 39 non-CJD patients were negative, giving 95.8% diagnostic sensitivity and 100% specificity. This second-generation RT-QuIC assay markedly improved the speed and sensitivity of detecting prion seeds in CSF specimens from CJD patients. This should enhance prospects for rapid and accurate ante mortem CJD diagnosis. IMPORTANCE A long-standing problem in dealing with various neurodegenerative protein misfolding diseases is early and accurate diagnosis. This issue is particularly important with human prion diseases, such as CJD, because prions are deadly, transmissible, and unusually resistant to decontamination. The recently developed RT-QuIC test allows for highly sensitive and specific detection of CJD in human cerebrospinal fluid and is being broadly implemented as a key diagnostic tool. However, as currently applied, RT-QuIC takes 2.5 to 5 days and misses 11 to 23% of CJD cases. Now, we have markedly improved RT-QuIC analysis of human CSF such that CJD and non-CJD patients can be discriminated in a matter of hours rather than days with enhanced sensitivity. These improvements should allow for much faster, more accurate, and practical testing for CJD. In broader terms, our study provides a prototype for tests for misfolded protein aggregates that cause many important amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and tauopathies.

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