Immunolocalisation of 14-3-3 isoforms in normal and scrapie-infected murine brain

The appearance of 14-3-3 proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid is characteristic of some neurodegenerative conditions which include sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Although 14-3-3 proteins are physiochemically well characterised and are known to be present in neuronal cells little is known of the neuroanatomical localisation of the individual isoforms. Using 14-3-3 isoform specific antibodies we have examined the distribution of the isoforms in normal murine brain and the changes observed during neurodegeneration as a result of ME7 scrapie infection. In normal brain there are two major patterns of immunolabelling. The β, γ, η and ζ isoforms which exhibit a similar distribution pattern showing labelling of neuronal cell bodies often in particular anatomical nuclei. However the individual isoforms exhibit variation revealing subtle differences in location. The τ isoform was found only in the hippocampus and medulla, and the ϵ isoform was found throughout grey matter of the CNS. In the scrapie-infected murine brain, where severe pathological changes occur during the course of the disease, significant differences in the 14-3-3 isoform distribution were observed in the hippocampus and in the thalamus. Importantly, both the 14-3-3 η isoform and prion protein were seen in the same neurones in both the cerebellar roof nuclei and in the lateral hypothalamic nuclei. Our study of 14-3-3 isoform distribution in adult murine brain clearly demonstrates a heterogeneous pattern of neurolocation for specific 14-3-3 isoforms. The fact that isoform labelling in terminal scrapie CNS is lost in some brain areas, but increases in others, suggests that the processing of these proteins during neurodegeneration may be much more complex than previously recognised.