Alterations in the brain interactome of the intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) in Alzheimer's disease

PLoS One. 2018 May 23;13(5):e0197659. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197659. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The cellular prion protein (PrPC) is implicated in neuroprotective signaling and neurotoxic pathways in both prion diseases and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Specifically, the intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain (N-PrP) has been shown to interact with neurotoxic ligands, such as Aβ and Scrapie prion protein (PrPSc), and to be crucial for the neuroprotective activity of PrPC. To gain further insight into cellular pathways tied to PrP, we analyzed the brain interactome of N-PrP. As a novel approach employing recombinantly expressed PrP and intein-mediated protein ligation, we used N-PrP covalently coupled to beads as a bait for affinity purification. N-PrP beads were incubated with human AD or control brain lysates. N-PrP binding partners were then identified by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (nano ESI-MS/MS). In addition to newly identified proteins we found many previously described PrP interactors, indicating a crucial role of the intrinsically disordered part of PrP in mediating protein interactions. Moreover, some interactors were found only in either non-AD or AD brain, suggesting aberrant PrPC interactions in the pathogenesis of AD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acrylic Resins
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism*
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • PrPC Proteins / metabolism*
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Substances

  • Acrylic Resins
  • PrPC Proteins
  • poly(acryloyl-bis(aminopropyl)polyethylene glycol)
  • Polyethylene Glycols

Grants and funding

The work was funded by a grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to JT (TA 167/6). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.