Name: Cryo-EM Structures of Prion protein filaments from Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease
Keywords: Cryo-em structures of prion protein filaments from gerstmann-sträussler-scheinker disease

Dataset Information

Cryo-EM Structures of Prion protein filaments from Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease

ABSTRACT: Aggregation of the prion protein (PrP) and formation of PrP amyloid (APrP) is severe in some Prion diseases. In the dominantly inherited prion protein amyloidosis known as Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease, plaques made of PrP amyloid are a distinct feature. The TTC to TCC mutation in Prion protein gene (PRNP), resulting in a phenylalanine to serine amino acid substitution at PrP residue 198, causes a severe amyloidosis in a well-studied GSS variant. The neuropathologic phenotype of this neurodegenerative disease is characterized by the presence of numerous extracellular APrP plaques and intracytoplasmic tau neuronal inclusions which are identical to neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer disease. Using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), we determined for the first time the structures of filaments of human APrP, isolated post-mortem from the brain of a symptomatic PRNP F198S mutation carrier. We report that in GSS (F198S) APrP filaments are composed of dimeric, trimeric and tetrameric left-handed protofilaments with their protomers sharing a common protein fold. The protomers in the cross-β spines consist of sixty-two amino acids and span from glycine 80 to phenylalanine 141, adopting a previously unseen spiral fold with a thicker outer layer and a thinner inner layer. Each protomer comprises nine short β-strands. The β1 and β8 strands as well as the β4 and β9 strands are engaged in a steric zipper. The new data, obtained by Cryo-EM, provide insights into the complexity of the structure of pathogenic PrP, and reveal the difference of PrP’s structure in brain disease versus that of recombinant PrP, highlighting the urgency of extending our knowledge of the structure of the amyloid filaments involved in human neurodegenerative diseases.

INSTRUMENT(S): Orbitrap Eclipse

ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens (human)

TISSUE(S): Brain

DISEASE(S): Gerstmann-straussler-scheinker Syndrome

SUBMITTER: Emma Doud

LAB HEAD: Amber Mosley

PROVIDER: PXD032402 | Pride | 2022-07-18

REPOSITORIES: Pride

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Cryo-EM structures of prion protein filaments from Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease.

Hallinan Grace I GI Ozcan Kadir A KA Hoq Md Rejaul MR Cracco Laura L Vago Frank S FS Bharath Sakshibeedu R SR Li Daoyi D Jacobsen Max M Doud Emma H EH Mosley Amber L AL Fernandez Anllely A Garringer Holly J HJ Jiang Wen W Ghetti Bernardino B Vidal Ruben R

Acta neuropathologica 20220712 3

Prion protein (PrP) aggregation and formation of PrP amyloid (APrP) are central events in the pathogenesis of prion diseases. In the dominantly inherited prion protein amyloidosis known as Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease, plaques made of PrP amyloid are present throughout the brain. The c.593t > c mutation in the prion protein gene (PRNP) results in a phenylalanine to serine amino acid substitution at PrP residue 198 (F198S) and causes the most severe amyloidosis among GSS variants. ...[more]

PMID: 35819518

Similar Datasets

Project description:In human neurodegenerative diseases associated with the intracellular aggregation of Tau protein, the ordered cores of Tau filaments adopt distinct folds. Here, we analyze Tau filaments isolated from the brain of individuals affected by Prion-Protein cerebral amyloid angiopathy (PrP-CAA) and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease, two genetically determined Prion protein (PrP) amyloidoses characterized by the deposition of PrP amyloid (APrP) in the vessel walls and in the cerebral parenchyma, respectively. A nonsense and a missense mutation in the PRNP gene lead to a premature termination of translation at codon position 160 (Q160Ter) of PrP in PrP-CAA, or to the substitution of an amino acid at residue 198 (F198S) of PrP in GSS. These two diseases have different clinical and pathologic phenotypes; however, in both diseases, neuropathologic analyses have consistently shown the presence of numerous neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) made of filamentous Tau aggregates in neurons. We report that Tau filaments in PrP-CAA and GSS are composed of 3-repeat and 4-repeat Tau isoforms, having a striking similarity to NFTs in Alzheimer disease (AD). In PrP-CAA, Tau filaments are made of both paired helical filaments (PHFs) and straight filaments (SFs), while in GSS only PHFs were found. Mass spectrometry analyses of Tau filaments extracted from PrP-CAA and GSS brains show the presence of post-translational modifications that are comparable to those seen in Tau aggregates from AD. Cryo-EM analysis reveals that the atomic models of the Tau filaments obtained from PrP-CAA and GSS are identical to those of the Tau filaments from AD, and are therefore distinct from those of Pick disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and corticobasal degeneration. Our data support the hypothesis that in the presence of amyloid deposits and regardless of the primary amino acid sequence of the amyloid protein, similar molecular mechanisms are at play in the formation of identical Tau filaments.

Project description:A key event in the pathogenic process of prion diseases is the conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) to an abnormal and protease-resistant isoform (PrPSc). Mice lacking PrP are resistant to prion infection, and down-regulation of PrPC during prion infection prevents neuronal loss and the progression to clinical disease. These results are suggestive of the potential beneficial effect of silencing PrPC during prion diseases. However, the silencing of a protein that is widely expressed throughout the CNS could be detrimental to brain homeostasis. The physiological role of PrPC remains still unclear, but several putative functions have been proposed. Among these, several lines of evidence support PrPC function in neuronal development and maintenance. To assess the influence of PrPC on gene expression profile during development in the mouse brain, we undertook a microarray analysis by using RNA isolated from the hippocampus, at two different developmental stages: newborn (4-day-old) and adult (3-month-old) mice, both from Prnp+/+ and Prnp0/0 animals. The comparison of the different datasets allowed us to identify “commonly” co-regulated genes and “uniquely” de-regulated genes during postnatal development in these animal models. The lack of PrPC during neuronal development affected several biological pathways, among which the most representative were cell signaling, cell-cell communication and transduction process. In addition, the absence of PrPC influenced genes involved in calcium homeostasis, nervous system development, synaptic transmission and cell adhesion. There was only a moderate alteration of the gene expression profile during neuronal development in the animal models we studied. PrPC deficiency does not lead to a dramatic alteration of gene expression profile, and produces moderate altered gene expression levels from young to adult animals. Thus, our results may provide additional support to silencing endogenous PrPC levels as a therapeutic approach to prion diseases. To analyze the influence of PrPC expression on CNS gene expression profile during development, we investigated WT PrPC (Prnp+/+) and Prnp0/0 mice at two different developmental stages: in neonatal animals (postnatal day 4, P4) and in adult animals (3 months old). For each developmental stage, hippocampi of 3 (pups) or 4 (adult) animals were dissected immediately after animal sacrifice and promptly processed for RNA extraction and purification, for a total of 14 samples.

Dataset Information

Cryo-EM Structures of Prion protein filaments from Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease

Publications

Cryo-EM structures of prion protein filaments from Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure