Uptake and Degradation of Protease-Sensitive and -Resistant Forms of Abnormal Human Prion Protein Aggregates by Human Astrocytes

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is the most common of the human prion diseases, a group of rare, transmissible, and fatal neurologic diseases associated with the accumulation of an abnormal form (PrPSc) of the host prion protein. In sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, disease-associated PrPSc is present not only as an aggregated, protease-resistant form but also as an aggregated protease-sensitive form (sPrPSc). Although evidence suggests that sPrPSc may play a role in prion pathogenesis, little is known about how it interacts with cells during prion infection. Here, we show that protease-sensitive abnormal PrP aggregates derived from patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are taken up and degraded by immortalized human astrocytes similarly to abnormal PrP aggregates that are resistant to proteases. Our data suggest that relative proteinase K resistance does not significantly influence the astrocyte's ability to degrade PrPSc. Furthermore, the cell does not appear to distinguish between sPrPSc and protease-resistant PrPSc, suggesting that sPrPSc could contribute to prion infection.