title: No influence of amyloid-beta-degrading neprilysin activity on prion pathogenesis.
abstract: Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are characterized by the accumulation of PrPSc, a protease-resistant form of a host-derived protein termed PrPC. Substantial evidence indicates that PrPSc represents an essential component of the infectious agent, which is termed prion. The accumulation of PrPSc within the central nervous system of prion-infected organisms is a dynamic process that is regulated both by production and by clearance of PrPSc. Although several proteases have been implicated in proteolysis of PrPC, the mechanisms underlying proteolysis of PrPSc remain unclear. Here, it was investigated whether neprilysin, a metalloprotease known to degrade extracellular amyloidogenic proteins such as amyloid-beta, plays a role in prion pathogenesis in vivo. As neprilysin has a broad substrate specificity and is localized subcellularly in the vicinity of PrP, it represents a plausible candidate for prion degradation. Prions were therefore administered to mice lacking or overexpressing neprilysin in brain. However, the gene dosage of neprilysin did not modulate accumulation of PrPSc in brain. Also, incubation times and clinical course of prion disease, as well as brain infectivity titres at terminal stage, were unaffected. These data rule out neprilysin as a major modulator of PrPSc accumulation and prion pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zürich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Glatzel
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zürich, August Forel Str. 1, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M Hasan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Mohajeri
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zürich, August Forel Str. 1, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poirier
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zürich, August Forel Str. 1, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Roger M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Nitsch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zürich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Division, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Bao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zürich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguzzi
mesh_terms: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D001947:Breeding; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D015260:Neprilysin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018621:PrPC Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D018621:PrPC Proteins; D018620:PrPSc Proteins; D015260:Neprilysin