Covalent Surface Modification of Prions: A Mass Spectrometry-Based Means of Detecting Distinctive Structural Features of Prion Strains

Prions (PrPSc) are molecular pathogens that are able to convert the isosequential normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a prion. The only demonstrated difference between PrPC and PrPSc is conformational: they are isoforms. A given host can be infected by more than one kind or strain of prion. Five strains of hamster-adapted scrapie [Sc237 (=263K), drowsy, 139H, 22AH, and 22CH] and recombinant PrP were reacted with five different concentrations (0, 1, 5, 10, and 20 mM) of reagent (N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of acetic acid) that acetylates lysines. The extent of lysine acetylation was quantitated by mass spectrometry. The lysines in rPrP react similarly. The lysines in the strains react differently from one another in a given strain and react differently when strains are compared. Lysines in the C-terminal region of prions have different strain-dependent reactivity. The results are consistent with a recently proposed model for the structure of a prion. This model proposes that prions are composed of a four-rung β-solenoid structure comprised of four β-sheets that are joined by loops and turns of amino acids. Variation in the amino acid composition of the loops and β-sheet structures is thought to result in different strains of prions.