COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection is a public health emergency. COVID-19 typically exhibits respiratory illness. Unexpectedly, emerging clinical reports indicate that neurological symptoms continue to rise, suggesting detrimental effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the central nervous system (CNS). Here, we show that a Düsseldorf isolate of SARS-CoV-2 enters 3D human brain organoids within 2 days of exposure. We identified that SARS-CoV-2 preferably targets neurons of brain organoids. Imaging neurons of organoids reveal that SARS-CoV-2 exposure is associated with altered distribution of Tau from axons to soma, hyperphosphorylation, and apparent neuronal death. Our studies, therefore, provide initial insights into the potential neurotoxic effect of SARS-CoV-2 and emphasize that brain organoids could model CNS pathologies of COVID-19.

Prion diseases in humans and animals are invariably fatal. Prions are composed of a disease-causing isoform (PrP Sc ) of the normal host prion protein (PrP C ) and replicate by stimulating the conversion of PrP C into nascent PrP Sc . We report here that tricyclic derivatives of acridine and phenothiazine exhibit half-maximal inhibition of PrP Sc formation at effective concentrations (EC50) between 0.3 M and 3 M in cultured cells chronically infected with prions. The EC 50 for chlorpromazine was 3 M, whereas quinacrine was 10 times more potent. A variety of 9-substituted, acridine-based analogues of quinacrine were synthesized, which demonstrated variable antiprion potencies similar to those of chlorpromazine and emphasized the importance of the side chain in mediating the inhibition of PrP Sc formation. Thus, our studies show that tricyclic compounds with an aliphatic side chain at the middle ring moiety constitute a new class of antiprion reagents. Because quinacrine and chlorpromazine have been used in humans for many years as antimalarial and antipsychotic drugs, respectively, and are known to pass the blood-brain barrier, we suggest that they are immediate candidates for the treatment of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other prion diseases. P rion diseases are uniquely manifest as spontaneous, inherited, and infectious maladies. These diseases include Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease, fatal insomnia, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Most cases of CJD are sporadic with 10-15% being inherited (1). Although the infectious human prion diseases are most notorious, they account for less than 1% of all prion disorders (2). Concern about these infectious disorders has been heightened by the identification of more than 100 young adults and teenagers who have developed new variant CJD (nvCJD) in Europe after exposure to bovine prions from cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE; refs. 3 and 4). Other infectious prion diseases include kuru, which is found among New Guinea natives and is caused by ritualistic cannibalism, and iatrogenic CJD, which is caused by prioncontaminated cadaveric growth hormone and dura mater grafts (2,5,6).A wealth of experimental data indicates that prions are composed solely of a misfolded prion protein (PrP) isoform (PrP Sc ) of a glycolipid-anchored host protein (PrP C ; refs. 7 and 8). Unlike all other infectious agents, prions are devoid of nucleic acid (9, 10). For years, the existence of prion strains caused many investigators to argue that a small nucleic acid encodes prion diversity (11). Eventually, convincing data accumulated arguing that prion diversity is enciphered in the conformation of PrP Sc (3,12,13).Patients with CJD and other prion diseases develop progressive neurologic dysfunction. Prion diseases are invariably fatal, and death frequently occurs in less than 1 year after the first symptoms appear (2). No effective therapy exists for prion diseases in humans or animals (14).Many compounds have been identified that inhibit prion propagation when adm...

Prions are infectious particles causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). They consist, at least in part, of an isoform (PrPSc) of the ubiquitous cellular prion protein (PrPC). Conformational differences between PrPC and PrPSc are evident from increased beta-sheet content and protease resistance in PrPSc. Here we describe a monoclonal antibody, 15B3, that can discriminate between the normal and disease-specific forms of PrP. Such an antibody has been long sought as it should be invaluable for characterizing the infectious particle as well as for diagnosis of TSEs such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. 15B3 specifically precipitates bovine, murine or human PrPSc, but not PrPC, suggesting that it recognizes an epitope common to prions from different species. Using immobilized synthetic peptides, we mapped three polypeptide segments in PrP as the 15B3 epitope. In the NMR structure of recombinant mouse PrP, segments 2 and 3 of the 15B3 epitope are near neighbours in space, and segment 1 is located in a different part of the molecule. We discuss models for the PrPSc-specific epitope that ensure close spatial proximity of all three 15B3 segments, either by intermolecular contacts in oligomeric forms of the prion protein or by intramolecular rearrangement.

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Disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) and other genes have been identified recently as potential molecular players in chronic psychiatric diseases such as affective disorders and schizophrenia. A molecular mechanism of how these genes may be linked to the majority of sporadic cases of these diseases remains unclear. The chronic nature and irreversibility of clinical symptoms in a subgroup of these diseases prompted us to investigate whether proteins corresponding to candidate genes displayed subtle features of protein aggregation. Here, we show that in postmortem brain samples of a distinct group of patients with phenotypes of affective disorders or schizophrenia, but not healthy controls, significant fractions of DISC1 could be identified as cold Sarkosyl-insoluble protein aggregates. A loss-offunction phenotype could be demonstrated for insoluble DISC1 through abolished binding to a key DISC1 ligand, nuclear distribution element 1 (NDEL1): in human neuroblastoma cells, DISC1 formed expression-dependent, detergent-resistant aggregates that failed to interact with endogenous NDEL1. Recombinant (r) NDEL1 expressed in Escherichia coli selectively bound an octamer of an rDISC1 fragment but not dimers or high molecular weight multimers, suggesting an oligomerization optimum for molecular interactions of DISC1 with NDEL1. For DISC1-related sporadic psychiatric disease, we propose a mechanism whereby impaired cellular control over self-association of DISC1 leads to excessive multimerization and subsequent formation of detergent-resistant aggregates, culminating in loss of ligand binding, here exemplified by NDEL1. We conclude that the absence of oligomer-dependent ligand interactions of DISC1 can be associated with sporadic mental disease of mixed phenotypes.

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Transgenic (Tg) mouse lines that express chimeric mouse-human prion protein (PrP), designated MHu2M, are susceptible to prions from patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). With the aim of decreasing the incubation time to fewer than 200 days, we constructed transgenes in which one or more of the nine human residues in MHu2M were changed to mouse. The construct with murine residues at positions 165 and 167 was expressed in Tg(MHu2M,M165V,E167Q) mice and resulted in shortening the incubation time to Ϸ110 days for prions from sCJD patients. The construct with a murine residue at position 96 resulted in lengthening the incubation time to more than 280 days for sCJD prions. When murine residues 96, 165, and 167 were expressed, the abbreviated incubation times for sCJD prions were abolished. Variant CJD prions showed prolonged incubation times between 300 and 700 days in Tg(MHu2M) mice on first passage and incubation times of Ϸ350 days in Tg(MHu2M,M165V,E167Q) mice. On second and third passages of variant CJD prions in Tg(MHu2M) mice, multiple strains of prions were detected based on incubation times and the sizes of the proteaseresistant, deglycosylated PrP Sc fragments. Our discovery of a previously undescribed chimeric transgene with abbreviated incubation times for sCJD prions should facilitate studies on the prion species barrier and human prion diversity.

Different rates of progression have been observed among patients with Alzheimer disease. Risk factors that accelerate deterioration have been identified and some are being discussed, such as genetics, comorbidity, and the early appearance of Alzheimer disease motor signs. Progressive forms of Alzheimer disease have been reported with rapid cognitive decline and disease duration of only a few years. This short review aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge of rapidly progressive Alzheimer disease. Furthermore, we suggest that rapid, in this context, should be defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination score decrease of 6 points per year.