Detection of Abnormal Prion Protein by Immunohistochemistry

Summary

Immunolabeling abnormal prion protein using immunohistochemistry protocols requires specific sample and anti-PrP antibody preparation methodologies. The present protocol describes the key steps in epitope demasking to ensure proper PrP immunolabeling and to minimize non-specific background staining. Also, this approach considers biosafety measures when conducting immunohistochemistry studies with the prion-infected tissues.

Abstract

Abnormal prion proteins (PrP^Sc) are the disease-associated isoform of cellular prion protein and diagnostic markers of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These neurodegenerative diseases affect humans and several animal species and include scrapie, zoonotic bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), chronic wasting disease of cervids (CWD), and the newly identified camel prion disease (CPD). Diagnosis of TSEs relies on immunodetection of PrP^Sc by application of both immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western immunoblot methods (WB) on encephalon tissues, namely, the brainstem (obex level). IHC is a widely used method that uses primary antibodies (monoclonal or polyclonal) against antigens of interest in cells of a tissue section. The antibody-antigen binding can be visualized by a color reaction that remains localized in the area of the tissue or cell where the antibody was targeted. As such, in prion diseases, as in other fields of research, the immunohistochemistry techniques are not solely used for diagnostic purposes but also in pathogenesis studies. Such studies involve detecting the PrP^Sc patterns and types from those previously described to identify the new prion strains. As BSE can infect humans, it is recommended that biosafety laboratory level-3 (BSL-3) facilities and/or practices are used to handle cattle, small ruminants, and cervid samples included in the TSE surveillance. Additionally, containment and prion-dedicated equipment are recommended, whenever possible, to limit contamination. The PrP^Sc IHC procedure consists of a formic acid epitope-demasking step also acting as a prion inactivation measure, as formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues used in this technique remain infectious. When interpreting the results, care must be taken to distinguish non-specific immunolabeling from target labeling. For this purpose, it is important to recognize artifacts of immunolabeling obtained in known TSE-negative control animals to differentiate those from specific PrP^Sc immunolabeling types, which can vary between TSE strains, host species, and prnp genotype, further described herein.

Introduction

According to the prion hypothesis, the abnormal isoform (PrP^Sc) is the primary, or sole, component of the infectious agent in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Confirmation for diagnosis of TSE relies on immunodetection of PrP^Sc by application of immunohistochemistry (IHC) protocols and/or western immunoblot methods (WB) of encephalon tissues¹.

IHC is a method employing monoclonal or, in some cases, polyclonal antibodies (as primary antibodies) as a first step in immunostaining of specifically targeted antigens of interest located in cells of a tissue section. Any effective prima....

Protocol

The IHC procedure described herein is a component of the research project FAIRJ-CT98-7021, "The establishment of a European network for the surveillance of ruminant TSE and the standardization and harmonization of the process and criteria for the identification of suspect cases". It follows the diagnostic criteria defined by the World Organization for Animal Health, WOAH (previously named the Office International des Épizooties, OIE)¹ and European Reference Laboratory for animal TSEs^8,11. The IHC procedure described is also accredited according to NPISOIEC17025 (general req....

Results

Given that non-specific target immunolabeling is possible, it is important to ascertain the level of non-specific immunolabeling in known TSE-negative control animals. This is an important step to properly interpret specific PrP^Sc immunolabeling⁷ (Figure 2). Non-target labeling by anti-PrP antibodies has been noted to occur as discrete intraneuronal fine-particulate staining (more evident in the hypoglossal nucleus and accessory cuneate nucleus), i.......

Discussion

TSEs are potential zoonotic diseases. After the emergence of BSE in 1986 in the United Kingdom, Portugal became one of the European Union Member States with a higher incidence of this disease^14,15. In order to control this disease, other TSEs that have emerged (classical and atypical scrapie, BSE variants, and currently the surveillance of chronic wasting disease in cervids), surveillance mechanisms were developed by the Directorate General of Food and Veterinary.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Absolute ethanol	Labchem	LB0507-9010	Undituled
			Diluted 90%, 70% and 50% in distilled water
Avidin-biotin complex and peroxidase Vectastain Elite ABC kit Peroxidase	Vector Laboratories	PK-6100	Prepare and gently mix 30 min before use according to kit instructions. Do not mix after standing.
Biotinylated secondary antibody (Horse anti-mouse IgG H+L)	Vector Laboratories	BA-2000-1.5	Dilute at 1/200 in TBS with 10% horse normal serum. Prepare the volume required depending on the number of sections.
Chromogen Diaminobenzidine- DAB, substrate kit, Peroxidase	Vector Laboratories	SK-4100	Prepare before use according to kit instructions. Use 400 µL of solution per section.
DakoCytomation Pascal pressure chamber	DAKO	S2800
Ehrlich’s Hematoxylin:
Hematoxylin	Merck	115938	Dissolve 2 g of hematoxylin in 100 mL of absolute ethanol. Add 100 mL of distilled water, 10 mL of glacial acetic acid and 15 g of potassium alum with constant stirring. Add 100 mL of glycerin. The natural oxidation process takes 2 months, before use.
Absolute ethanol	Labchem	LB0507-9010
Glacial acetic acid	Merck	101830
Potassium alum	Merck	1.01047.1000
Glycerin	Merck	1.04091.1000
Endogenous Peroxidase Block solution (3% concentration H2O2):			40 mL Hydrogen peroxide (30% w/w) in 360 mL Methanol. Prepare before use
Hydrogen peroxide (30% w/w)	Scharlau	HI0136
Methanol	Sigma Aldrich	322415-2L
Formic acid 98%	Merck	1.00264.1000	Undiluted
Microtome	Shandon-AS325	Microtome	Shandon-AS325
Mounting medium Entellan	Merck	107960	Ready- to- use.
Normal serum (20% ) block solution in TBS: Horse normal serum	Gibco	16050-122	Prepare final volume according to the number of sections in the assay (200 µL of solution per section).
Primary antibody anti-PrP Mouse MAb 2G11	BIORAD	MCA2460	PrP 146-R154R171182 Ovine including atypical scrapie, cervine, feline. Not suitable for bovine. According to the number of sections in the assay (200 µL of solution per section) and antibody dilution, prepare final volume in TBS supplemented with 10% of normal serum from the species the secondary antibody was raised in (horse normal serum) Usual antibody dilution: MAb 2G11 1/100 but working dilution should be established in every new batch to get the concentration to give the strongest labelling with lowest background. For storage, freeze aliquot volumes of a minimum of 10 μL into sterile microtubes. Defrost and use one aliquot at a time.
Primary antibody anti-PrP Mouse MAb 12F10	Cayman  Chemical Company	189710	PrP142-160 Bovine, not suitable for ovine Usual antibody dilution: 1/200 but working dilution should also be established. Prepare as MAb 2G11
Shandon CoverplateTM chamber	Thermo Scientific	72110017
Shandon Sequenza® Immunstaining center	Thermo Scientific	73300001
Shandon Sequenza® Immunstaining slide rack	Thermo Scientific	73310017
Solution Citrate Buffer (10 mM pH 6.1):			2.55 g Tri-sodium citrate dihydrate  and 0.255 g Citric acid in one litre purified water. Adjust pH of working solution to 6.1 using 10 mM citric acid solution (1.05 g citric acid in 500 mL purified water) Prepare on assay day.
Tri-sodium citrate dihydrate	Sigma-aldrich	S4641-500G
Citric acid	Sigma Aldrich	C0759
Staining jar and basket	Deltalab	19360
		19361
Superfrost Plus microscope slides	VWR	631-0108
Tris-Buffered Saline solution (TBS) (50 mM TRIZMA BASE; 0.8% NaCI; pH 7.6):			10xTBS (stock solution 0.5 M TRIZMA BASE; 8% NaCI; pH 7.6): TRIZMA BASE 60,57 g and NaCl 80 g in 800 mL purified water. Adjust pH of stock solution using Hydrochloric acid 37% and final volume to one litre with purified water (keep 5± 3 °C until 2 months) Dilute TBS stock solution 1/10 on assay day.
TRIZMA BASE	Sigma Aldrich	T6066-1KG
Sodium Chloride (NaCl)	Merck	106404
Xylene	Panreac Applied Chem ITW reagents	251769	Undiluted