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Assessing Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Species Barriers with an In Vitro Prion Protein Conversion Assay
Published on: March 10, 2015
Highly conserved prion protein sequences in random bred cats with three novel synonymous PRNP gene variants
1Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, 34500, Buyukcekmece, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Abstract:
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are infectious, fatal, neurodegenerative diseases that affect both humans and animals. They occur as a result of misfolding of prion protein. In some species, variations in prion protein gene (PRNP) were associated with susceptibility to prion diseases. To date, only a few studies have investigated prion protein in cats. For this reason, this study aims to identify feline PRNP polymorphisms in random-bred cats. DNA isolation, PCR and 922 bp amplicon sequencing were performed in order to detect PRNP gene variants in 74 cat samples collected from Istanbul, north-western part of Turkey. Results were evaluated by using SPSS 25.0, HAPLOTYPE ANALYSIS 1.05, DnaSP v6, SRPLOT and PHYLOVIZ Online. In total, eleven polymorphisms including 10 SNPs and a 27 bp in/del polymorphism in the tandem repeat region were observed. Three of these SNPs, c.201C>A, c.225C>T, c.228A>C, were detected for the first time. All SNPs in the open reading frame were synonymous, so no amino acid variation was detected in the prion protein sequence. A total of 28 haplotypes were observed, including 8 major haplotypes with frequencies ≥ 0.05. The results indicating that the prion protein is conserved in cats from north-western Turkey, in contrast to other samples from this country, point to possible differences in the PRNP gene between relatively closely located populations.
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