title: Strain-dependent differences in beta-sheet conformations of abnormal prion protein.
abstract: Strain diversity in the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) has been proposed to be determined by variations in the conformation of the abnormal, protease-resistant form of prion protein (PrP-res). We have investigated whether infection of hamsters with three TSE strains resulted in the formation of PrP-res with different conformations using limited proteinase K (PK) digestion and infrared spectroscopy. PrP-res isolated from the brains of hamsters infected with the hyper (HY), drowsy (DY), and 263K TSE strains yielded similar SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profiles prior to PK treatment. However, after limited digestion with PK, the PrP-res from the DY strain exhibited a fragmentation pattern that was distinct from that of the other two strains. Infrared spectra of HY and 263K PrP-res each had major absorption bands in the amide I region at 1626 and 1636 cm-1 both prior to and after digestion with PK. These bands were not evident in the DY PrP-res spectra, which had a unique band at 1629-1630 cm-1 and stronger band intensity at both 1616 and 1694-1695 cm-1. Because absorbances from 1616 to 1636 cm-1 of protein infrared spectra are attributed primarily to beta-sheet structures, these findings indicate that the conformations of HY and 263K PrP-res differ from DY PrP-res at least in structural regions with beta-sheet secondary structure. These results support the hypothesis that strain-specific PrP-res conformers can self-propagate by converting the normal prion protein to the abnormal conformers that induce phenotypically distinct TSE diseases.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA. byron_caughey@nih.gov
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Caughey
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Raymond
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bessen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D006224:Cricetinae; D017096:Prion Diseases; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013045:Species Specificity; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D011328:Prions