The aggregation and deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides are believed to be central events in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Inoculation of brain homogenates containing Aβ aggregates into susceptible transgenic mice accelerated Aβ deposition, suggesting that Aβ aggregates are capable of self-propagation and hence might be prions. Recently, we demonstrated that Aβ deposition can be monitored in live mice using bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Here, we use BLI to probe the ability of Aβ aggregates to self-propagate following inoculation into bigenic mice. We report compelling evidence that Aβ aggregates are prions by demonstrating widespread cerebral β-amyloidosis induced by inoculation of either purified Aβ aggregates derived from brain or aggregates composed of synthetic Aβ. Although synthetic Aβ aggregates were sufficient to induce Aβ deposition in vivo, they exhibited lower specific biological activity compared with brain-derived Aβ aggregates. Our results create an experimental paradigm that should lead to identification of self-propagating Aβ conformations, which could represent novel targets for interrupting the spread of Aβ deposition in AD patients.

The undersigned authors wish to note, "The KefFC system of E. coli is maintained in an inactive state by the binding of glutathione (GSH) and is activated by the formation of GSH adducts (GSX), particularly those with bulky substituents. We described two crystal structures with density present in the ligand-binding domain that we interpreted as GSH and GSX. Recently, an independent, experienced crystallographer, who had viewed the structures from our study in a different context, made representations to us that cast doubt on position of the succinimido ring of GSX. We have further reviewed the density maps with the aid of an experienced crystallographer. As a consequence, we believe it is important to draw this altered interpretation of the crystal structures to the attention of readers. In both structures, the density for the backbone of GSH is clear and allows unequivocal assignment of the position of the tripeptide. In PDB coordinate set 3L9X, the density for the succinimido ring is very weak, making interpretation very speculative and the assignment rests on the identity of the ligand added to the crystallization mixture, for which there are two diastereomers in the solutiona possibility that provides some basis for weakening the density. However, in 3L9W there are two anomalies that affect the interpretation of the bound ligand. First, there is no density for the carbon atom attached to the sulfur of GSH and second, there is extra density adjacent to the position of sulfur that could be modelled as a constrained succinimido ring. However, this density could also be water or any other molecule that is trapped in the structure. Thus, while there is good evidence for the peptide, the evidence that it is in the GSH form is uncertain."There are no new data on either the structures or on the gating mechanism. However, we believe that we should be cautious in interpreting the structural data and that the field in general should be made aware of the alternative views of the electron density data. Note that the mutagenesis and spectroscopic data that were presented in the original manuscript are not affected by this alternative interpretation." Tarmo P. The authors note that the following grant should be added to the Acknowledgments: "NIH Grant AG002132." The authors note "The method used for exogenous expression of Ca V 1.2 channels in ref. 32 was incorrectly described as 'viral transduction' in the text. In fact, Yang et al. created transgenic mice with inducible, cardiomyocyte-specific expression of exogenous Ca V 1.2 channels regulated by a tetracycline-inducible promoter. When crossed with a transgenic mouse line expressing doxycycline-regulated reverse transcriptional activator under control of the α-myosin heavy chain protomer, the resulting double transgenic offspring expressed exogenous Ca V 1.2 channels in their cardiac myocytes after treatment with doxycycline. The authors regret the error in describing these methods."www.pnas.org/cgi

Currently, there are no animal models of the most common human prion disorder, sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), in which prions are formed spontaneously from wild-type (WT) prion protein (PrP). Interestingly, bank voles (BV) exhibit an unprecedented promiscuity for diverse prion isolates, arguing that bank vole PrP (BVPrP) may be inherently prone to adopting misfolded conformations. Therefore, we constructed transgenic (Tg) mice expressing WT BVPrP. Tg(BVPrP) mice developed spontaneous CNS dysfunction between 108 and 340 d of age and recapitulated the hallmarks of prion disease, including spongiform degeneration, pronounced astrogliosis, and deposition of alternatively folded PrP in the brain. Brain homogenates of ill Tg(BVPrP) mice transmitted disease to Tg(BVPrP) mice in ∼35 d, to Tg mice overexpressing mouse PrP in under 100 d, and to WT mice in ∼185 d. Our studies demonstrate experimentally that WT PrP can spontaneously form infectious prions in vivo. Thus, Tg(BVPrP) mice may be useful for studying the spontaneous formation of prions, and thus may provide insight into the etiology of sporadic CJD.

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