Changes in Brain Gene Expression Shared by Scrapie and Alzheimer
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 86, pp. 7260-7264, September 1989 Neurobiology Changes in brain gene expression shared by scrapie and Alzheimer disease (Pick disease/sulfated glycoprotein 2/transferrin/glial fibrillary acidic protein/metaflothionein) JOHN R. DUGUID*tt, CRAIG W. BOHMONT*, NINGAI LIU*t, AND WALLACE W. TOURTELLOTTE§¶ *Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Edith N. Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA, 01730; Departments of tBiochemistry and SNeurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118; Neurology Service, Wadsworth Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90073; and IDepartment of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024 Communicated by Walle J. H. Nauta, June 19, 1989 (receivedfor review January 5, 1989) ABSTRACT We have isolated two recombinant cDNAs study the single-stranded scrapie library DNA (25 Lg ) was whose corresponding RNAs have an increased abundance in hybridized successively with 50, 25, and 25 ,ug of sonicated, scrapie-infected hamster brain. DNA sequence analysis has biotinylated control library DNA (2.5 ,ug/Al) for 20 hr at 680C shown that these two recombinants represent the genes for in 0.75 M NaCl/25 mM Hepes/5 mM EDTA/0.1% sodium sulfated glycoprotein 2 and transferrin. The abundance of dodecyl sulfate, pH 7.5, containing poly(A) and poly(C) sulfated glycoprotein 2 RNA is increased in hippocampus from (Pharmacia) at 10 ,ug/ml. After each cycle the DNA was patients with Alzheimer disease and Pick disease, whereas subjected to the stringency incubation, subtracted with avi- transferrin RNA is not strongly modulated in these conditions. din-biocytin-Sephacryl 1000 resin (4 ,ul ofpacked resin per ,ug Expression of two previously identified scrapie-modulated of biotinylated DNA), and denatured as described (8). The genes, encoding glial fibrillary acidic protein and metallothio- product of the third cycle was converted to the double- nein, is also increased in both of these neurodegenerative stranded form by using Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. diseases. The subtracted single-stranded DNA was ethanol-precip- itated, dissolved in 100 ,ll of 50 mM Tris HCl, pH 7.5/5 mM Scrapie is a transmissable neurodegenerative disease of MgCl2, 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol containing hybridization sheep and goats and is characterized by a long latent period, primer [d(CCTTACTTCTGTGGTGTGAC), the gift of John followed by progressive ataxia, tremor, wasting, and death Smith (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston)] at 1 ,ug/ml, (1). Scrapie has been adapted to the laboratory hamster (2) and incubated for 10 min at 42°C. The mixture was cooled to and has become the experimental prototype of the spongi- 15°C and incubated for 1 hr with E. coli DNA polymerase I form encephalopathies, manifest in humans as kuru and (New England Biolabs; 50 units/ml) and dNTPs (50 ,M Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (1, 3, 4). The nature of the scrapie each). The reaction product was used to transform E. coli agent is controversial because ofits resistance to many virus- strain FG2 cells (8), which generated a subtracted library and nucleic acid-inactivating agents (1, 3, 4). One possibility composed of 9000 independent recombinants. The library is that the agent lacks a nucleic acid genome, as suggested by was screened by successive hybridization with probe derived Prusiner in the prion hypothesis (5). Implicit in this hypoth- from the scrapie and control libraries. The control library was esis is the possibility that modulated host gene expression subtracted through two cycles as described above with may participate in the pathogenesis of the disease. biotinylated control library DNA, in order to remove highly Identifying the changes in brain gene expression that occur abundant sequences from the library. Insert DNA from each in scrapie might contribute to the understanding of the subtracted library was liberated by Xho I digestion and pathogenesis of this condition. Wietgrefe et al. (6) isolated a purified from vector by potassium acetate gradient centrifu- recombinant cDNA corresponding to a mRNA whose abun- gation and agarose gel electrophoresis (9). Probe was gener- dance was increased in the brains of scrapie-infected mice ated from the polydisperse insert DNA (100-2000 base pairs) and patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). This RNA was cut from the gel (8, 10). Probe (2 x 108 cpm) from each library shown to code for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (7). A was subtracted with 50 Ag of biotinylated wH3M plasmid previous study (8) used a library subtraction strategy to DNA as described above to remove trace contaminating isolate genes whose transcription products are increased in vector sequences before hybridization with the library colony scrapie infected hamster brain and identified them as GFAP, replicas. To avoid the selection of previously identified metallothionein, and crystallin mRNAs. Here, we report the recombinants, probes for metallothionein, crystallin, GFAP, isolation and identification of two additional genes whose and rRNA (106 cpm each) were included with the control RNAs are increased in scrapie-infected hamster brain.ll probe. Selected recombinants were screened with scrapie Exploring the expression of scrapie-modulated genes in hu- and control brain cDNA as described (8). man neurodegenerative diseases might give clues about the RNA preparation (11), RNA blot analysis (12), and DNA similarities and differences between these conditions that sequencing (13) were performed as described (8). Human might not be apparent from clinical or pathological exami- cognates of the hamster recombinants were isolated from a nations. For this reason we have also studied the expression human liver cDNA library obtained from Brian Seed (Mas- of these genes in human neurodegenerative diseases. sachusetts General Hospital) [sulfated glycoprotein 2 (SGP- 2) and transferrin] or from a cDNA library constructed from METHODS AD hippocampal mRNA (GFAP and metallothionein), using the hamster inserts as probe. Human specimens, frozen in The scrapie tissue, the starting cDNA libraries, and the liquid nitrogen (14) after postmortem times of 2-6 hr, were method of their subtraction have been described (8). In this Abbreviations: AD, Alzheimer disease; PD, Pick disease; GFAP, The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge glial fibrillary acidic protein; SGP-2, sulfated glycoprotein 2. payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" IIThe sequences reported in this paper have been deposited in the in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. GenBank data base (accession nos. M26637-M26642). 7260 Downloaded by guest on September 29, 2021 Neurobiology: Duguid et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86 (1989) 7261 obtained from the National Neurologic Research Bank (Vet- sequences were 80% identical; the derived amino acid se- erans Administration Wadsworth Medical Center, Los An- quences were 72% identical, with 20% of the differences geles) and the Dementia Study Unit (Edith N. Rogers Me- representing conservative amino acid substitutions. This morial Veterans Administration Hospital, Bedford, MA). relatively high evolutionary divergence of the transferrin Pathological diagnoses on tissue from the Dementia Study gene was observed previously (16). Unit were provided by Thomas Kemper. The degree of increased expression of each of these genes was investigated by RNA blot analysis. The SGP-2 probe RESULTS recognized a 2.0-kilobase mRNA that was some 10-fold increased in scrapie-infected brain compared to controls (Fig. In order to identify additional genes whose transcription 2 Upper). The transferrin probe identified a 2.5-kilobase products are increased in scrapie-infected hamster brain (8), mRNA that was about 6-fold increased in scrapie-infected more starting DNA was used and the subtraction was more brain (Fig. 2 Lower). exhaustive. Probes used to screen the library were generated The human cognates of each of these two genes were from subtracted libraries. These probes had a reduced se- isolated from an adult human liver cDNA library, and the quence complexity after removal of abundant sequences and partial sequences of each are presented in Fig. 1. The human would therefore be more sensitive in the detection of low- SGP-2 recombinant was 93% identical with the rat sequence; abundance sequences compared to standard cDNA probes the derived amino acid sequences were 97% identical. The (9). Nevertheless, the abundance ofthe two mRNAs we have human transferrin recombinant was 76% identical with the rat identified here are similar to those of metallothionein and sequence and differed by a single change in 350 residues from crystallin described previously (8) (see Fig. 2). the published human sequence (17). The derived amino acid Two differentially expressed recombinants were isolated sequence of the human transferrin recombinant was 72% from the subtracted scrapie cDNA library. The 650-base-pair identical with the rat sequence; 25% of the changes were insert ofthe first recombinant was sequenced and found to be conservative substitutions. The sequence of human recom- highly homologous with rat testicular SGP-2 (15) as shown in binants representing GFAP and metallothionein, isolated Fig. 1. The two nucleic acid sequences were 90%o identical; from an AD hippocampal cDNA library, are presented in Fig. the derived amino acid sequences were 88% identical, with 3. The nucleic acid sequence of the GFAP recombinant