Volume 52 (12): 1639-1645, 2004 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Bovine Doppel (Dpl) and Prion Protein (PrP) Expression on Lymphoid Tissue and Circulating Leukocytes
Department of Veterinary Pathology, Hygiene and Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy Correspondence to: Prof. Saverio Paltrinieri, Dipartimento di Patologia Animale, Igiene e Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria, Università di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy. E-mail: saverio.paltrinieri{at}unimi.it
Doppel (Dpl) protein shares some structural features with prion protein (PrP), whose pathologic isoform (PrPsc) is considered to be the causative agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Dpl is mainly expressed in testes but, when ectopically expressed in the central nervous system, is neurotoxic. We have examined the expression pattern of Dpl and PrP on bovine lymphoid tissues and circulating leukocytes. A polyclonal anti-Dpl antibody along with a panel of monoclonal antibodies specific for leukocyte membrane antigens or PrP were used to examine frozen sections from spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow by immunohistochemistry. Blood was analyzed by flow cytometry. Double staining was used to study the possible coexpression of the two proteins and to characterize cells expressing Dpl and/or PrP. Dpl was expressed in B-cells, in dendritic cells within lymphoid follicles, bone marrow, circulating myeloid cells, and circulating B-cells. The distribution of Dpl was quite similar to that of PrP. The only differences in expression observed concerned the low number of Dpl+ cells in lymph nodes and the strong Dpl positivity of circulating granulocytes. The two proteins were rarely co-expressed, suggesting an independent expression mechanism in resting cells. The role of Dpl+ leukocytes in the pathogenesis of Dpl- or PrP-induced diseases merits further investigation. (J Histochem Cytochem 52:16391645, 2004)
Key Words: doppel prion leukocytes follicular dendritic cells immunohistochemistry flow cytometry
DOPPEL or downstream prion protein-like protein (Dpl) is so called because the gene encoding it, Prnd, is located 1620 kb downstream of the gene coding for prion protein (PrP). The pathologic isoform (PrPsc) of this latter protein is considered to be the causative agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) (Comincini et al. 2001 -helix, the lack of the AGAAAAGA sequence typical of the PrP plastic structure) and the different tissue distribution suggest that these two proteins have different functions. PrP is mainly expressed in the central nervous system, while Dpl is normally expressed in Sertoli cells and spermatozoa (Peoc'h et al. 2002
Studies using Western blot and RT-PCR have shown that the tissue distribution of Dpl in both humans and bovine is similar to that reported in mice (Sakaguchi et al. 1996 Because of the above-mentioned similarities between PrP and Dpl and the possible role of Dpl in the pathogenesis of experimentally induced (PrP deletion) or spontaneous (infertility, brain tumor) diseases, it is important to understand more about Dpl biology. This article describes the results of a study focused on the expression of Dpl in both circulating and tissue leukocytes and on the relationship between Dpl and PrP expression. For these purposes, bovine cells and tissues were used owing to the relevance of cattle in prion-related diseases.
Biological Samples Jejunal and tracheobronchial lymph nodes, spleen, and bone marrow were collected at the public slaughterhouse of Milan from 10 routinely slaughtered calves of both sexes aged 1224 months. Tissue samples, including bone marrow obtained by vertebral squeezing, were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at 80C. From each sample, 6-µm-thick cryostat sections were prepared and routinely stained with hematoxylin and eosin or used for immunohistochemistry. Blood was collected by venipuncture from the coccygeal vein of six adult Holstein-Fresian cattle. Animals came from a dairy farm and were clinically healthy. Blood was collected in EDTA-coated tubes. A routine complete cell blood count using an automated analyzer (Hemat 8; SEAC, Firenze, Italy) followed by microscopic evaluation of differential leukocyte count on May-Grünwald-Giemsa-stained smears was performed to exclude the presence of subclinical hematological abnormalities. Blood was then used to perform flow cytometry.
Bovine semen was used as a positive control for flow cytometric detection of Dpl due to the established expression of the protein in spermatozoa (Rondena et al. 2004
Immunohistochemistry
To examine the coexpression of Dpl, PrP, and leukocyte membrane antigens, double immunohistochemical tests were carried out on serial sections from spleen and lymph nodes. Specifically, the first step of the immunohistochemical staining was done as described above, using anti-CD antibodies or normal mouse serum (DAKO) as a negative control. After development of the immunohistochemical reaction with DAB or AEC, the slides were washed in Tris, blocked with normal goat serum, and the anti-Dpl or the anti-prion antibody was applied overnight at 4C. After washing, the secondary biotinylated antibody and the ABC complex were applied as specified above. This second staining reaction was revealed using AEC or DAB, depending on the chromogen used for the first staining step. The slides were then counterstained with Mayer's hematoxylin and coverslipped using Kaiser's glycerin. The same double immunohistochemical staining protocol was used to study possible coexpression of Dpl and PrP.
Flow Cytometry Both spermatozoa and leukocytes were resuspended in 0.5 ml PBS. Fluorescence was measured on a minimum of 10,000 cells using a FACSort flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson; San Jose, CA). Data were analyzed using CELLQuest software (Becton Dickinson). Positivity for CD45 was used to distinguish leukocytes from debris and to backgate each population (Figure 1). The percentage of positive events for Dpl in each leukocyte subset or in PrP-expressing cells was then counted and compared with that recorded in control cell population by means of the Kolmogorov Smirnov test. Statistical significance was established at p<0.001.
Immunohistochemistry Prion protein was expressed in the large majority of cells composing germinal centers of lymphoid follicles, while bovine Dpl was detectable on scattered cells in germinal centers of lymphoid follicles in both spleen and lymph nodes (Table 2). The majority of these cells were morphologically identifiable as lymphocytes (Figure 2A), although some had irregular shapes and/or dendritic processes. Moreover, a diffuse intracytoplasmic positivity for Dpl was detectable on rare myeloid precursors (Figure 2B) and megakaryocytes in bone marrow. Erythroid precursors did not express PrP or Dpl.
Double immunohistochemical staining revealed that both Dpl and PrP were expressed on CD21+ B-cells (Figures 2C and 2D, respectively). Rare CD1+ FDCs showed multifocal cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for Dpl (Figure 2E). Conversely, PrP was strongly expressed on FDCs (Figure 2F). Some cells in the germinal centers of lymphoid follicles co-expressed Dpl and MHCII, whereas coexpression of Dpl and PrP was rare. CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, / T-cells, WC1+ lymphocytes, and myeloid cells (CD11b+, CD11c+, or CD14+) were normally distributed in lymphoid organs but never expressed Dpl or PrP.
Flow Cytometry
PrP was expressed in lymphocytes and, to a lesser extent, in monocytes and PMNs. Dpl was detected in 18.6% of PrP-expressing cells (Table 2).
The detection of Dpl on scattered cells in both spleen and lymph nodes confirmed the results of previous studies in bovine (Rondena et al. 2004
Dpl and PrP appear to be expressed in different cell populations in blood. PrP in ruminants has been reported to be expressed in B-cells and, to a lesser extent, in other lymphocyte subsets and monocytes (Herrmann et al. 2001
It has been demonstrated that PrP and Dpl are expressed on different membrane rafts (Shaked et al. 2002
Other factors that might influence the expression of Dpl in blood and lymphoid cells remain to be elucidated. On the basis of the results of previous reports (Rondena et al. 2004 The information obtained from this study might therefore be translated to murine models of PrP-induced diseases or to the analysis of human PrP and Dpl biology because additional homologies between the two proteins have been identified. However, in spite of a similar distribution in both lymphoid cells and tissues, PrP and Dpl are rarely co-expressed, and the following differences in the expression pattern of the two proteins were detected: (a) the number of cells expressing Dpl is lower than that expressing PrP; (b) PMNs express Dpl but not PrP; and (c) Dpl expression appears to vary with the activation state of the cells. Our results further support the hypothesis that Dpl is not involved in spontaneous TSE. Nevertheless, blood might be easily used to design in vitro tests to differentially enhance or suppress the expression of the two proteins to gain useful information about the pathobiology of Dpl and PrP.
Supported by grant COFIN 2001 from the Italian Government. We are very grateful to Prof Giorgio Cammarata, Prof Cecilia Luvoni, and Dr Sara Chigioni (University of Milan) and to Prof Luca Ferretti (University of Pavia).
Received for publication June 15, 2004; accepted August 3, 2004
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