Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

EMBO Press, The EMBO Journal, 23(41), 2022

DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022112338

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

An arrayed genome‐wide perturbation screen identifies the ribonucleoprotein Hnrnpk as rate‐limiting for prion propagation

This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

Full text: Unavailable

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Orange circle
Postprint: archiving restricted
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

AbstractA defining characteristic of mammalian prions is their capacity for self‐sustained propagation. Theoretical considerations and experimental evidence suggest that prion propagation is modulated by cell‐autonomous and non‐autonomous modifiers. Using a novel quantitative phospholipase protection assay (QUIPPER) for high‐throughput prion measurements, we performed an arrayed genome‐wide RNA interference (RNAi) screen aimed at detecting cellular host‐factors that can modify prion propagation. We exposed prion‐infected cells in high‐density microplates to 35,364 ternary pools of 52,746 siRNAs targeting 17,582 genes representing the majority of the mouse protein‐coding transcriptome. We identified 1,191 modulators of prion propagation. While 1,151 modified the expression of both the pathological prion protein, PrPSc, and its cellular counterpart, PrPC, 40 genes selectively affected PrPSc. Of the latter 40 genes, 20 augmented prion production when suppressed. A prominent limiter of prion propagation was the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein Hnrnpk. Psammaplysene A (PSA), which binds Hnrnpk, reduced prion levels in cultured cells and protected them from cytotoxicity. PSA also reduced prion levels in infected cerebellar organotypic slices and alleviated locomotor deficits in prion‐infected Drosophila melanogaster expressing ovine PrPC. Hence, genome‐wide QUIPPER‐based perturbations can discover actionable cellular pathways involved in prion propagation. Further, the unexpected identification of a prion‐controlling ribonucleoprotein suggests a role for RNA in the generation of infectious prions.