Multiple steps of prion strain adaptation to a new host
The transmission of prions across species is a critical aspect of their dissemination among mammalian hosts, including humans. This process often necessitates strain adaptation. In this study, we sought to investigate the mechanisms underlying prion adaptation while mitigating biases associated with...
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Published in | Frontiers in neuroscience Vol. 18; p. 1329010 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
Frontiers Research Foundation
31.01.2024
Frontiers Media S.A |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The transmission of prions across species is a critical aspect of their dissemination among mammalian hosts, including humans. This process often necessitates strain adaptation. In this study, we sought to investigate the mechanisms underlying prion adaptation while mitigating biases associated with the history of cross-species transmission of natural prion strains. To achieve this, we utilized the synthetic hamster prion strain S05. Propagation of S05 using mouse PrP
in Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification did not immediately overcome the species barrier. This finding underscores the involvement of factors beyond disparities in primary protein structures. Subsequently, we performed five serial passages to stabilize the incubation time to disease in mice. The levels of PrP
increased with each passage, reaching a maximum at the third passage, and declining thereafter. This suggests that only the initial stage of adaptation is primarily driven by an acceleration in PrP
replication. During the protracted adaptation to a new host, we observed significant alterations in the glycoform ratio and sialylation status of PrP
N-glycans. These changes support the notion that qualitative modifications in PrP
contribute to a more rapid disease progression. Furthermore, consistent with the decline in sialylation, a cue for "eat me" signaling, the newly adapted strain exhibited preferential colocalization with microglia. In contrast to PrP
dynamics, the intensity of microglia activation continued to increase after the third passage in the new host. In summary, our study elucidates that the adaptation of a prion strain to a new host is a multi-step process driven by several factors. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Reviewed by: Jifeng Bian, Agricultural Research Service (USDA), United States; Giuseppe Legname, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Italy; Wenquan Zou, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, China; Holger Wille, University of Alberta, Canada These authors have contributed equally to this work Edited by: Eric M. Nicholson, Agricultural Research Service (USDA), United States |
ISSN: | 1662-4548 1662-453X 1662-453X |
DOI: | 10.3389/fnins.2024.1329010 |