scholarly journals Amyloid-β adopts a conserved, partially folded structure upon binding to zwitterionic lipid bilayers prior to amyloid formation

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 882-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle J. Korshavn ◽  
Anirban Bhunia ◽  
Mi Hee Lim ◽  
Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy

Aggregation at the neuronal cell membrane's lipid bilayer surface is implicated in amyloid-β (Aβ) toxicity associated with Alzheimer's disease; however, structural and mechanistic insights into the process remain scarce.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rosemary Heathcott

<p>Heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPG) are central to numerous processes of the mammalian cell. The highly charged negative side chains of the heparan sulphate (HS) oligosaccharides are essential for the regulatory and structural functions of the proteoglycan. Synthetic HS compounds have potential therapeutic value due to their ability to mimic naturally occurring HS. Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is a fatal childhood neurodegenerative disease with characteristic cholesterol and sphingolipid accumulation in the late endosome or lysosome. Alzheimer’s disease, another neurodegenerative disorder, shares alterations of cholesterol and amyloid β metabolism with NPC. In this study,a set of novel heparan sulphate compounds with a range of structures and oligosaccharide side groups with a variety of degrees of sulphation was investigated with regards to their effects on cholesterol and amyloid β metabolism in cell line models of these two diseases. Fluorescent staining of cholesterol and confocal microscopy showed highly sulphated compounds reduce the accumulation of cholesterol in the perinuclear lysosomal storage organelles in patient fibroblast cell lines. The compounds had no effect on secreted amyloid β levels or amyloid precursor protein levels in a neuronal cell line model of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The mechanism of cholesterol reduction is unclear but may be related to a reduction in HSPG-associated endocytosis of LDL/cholesterol.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (474) ◽  
pp. eaau6550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan P. Lucey ◽  
Austin McCullough ◽  
Eric C. Landsness ◽  
Cristina D. Toedebusch ◽  
Jennifer S. McLeland ◽  
...  

In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), deposition of insoluble amyloid-β (Aβ) is followed by intracellular aggregation of tau in the neocortex and subsequent neuronal cell loss, synaptic loss, brain atrophy, and cognitive impairment. By the time even the earliest clinical symptoms are detectable, Aβ accumulation is close to reaching its peak and neocortical tau pathology is frequently already present. The period in which AD pathology is accumulating in the absence of cognitive symptoms represents a clinically relevant time window for therapeutic intervention. Sleep is increasingly recognized as a potential marker for AD pathology and future risk of cognitive impairment. Previous studies in animal models and humans have associated decreased non–rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep slow wave activity (SWA) with Aβ deposition. In this study, we analyzed cognitive performance, brain imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers in participants enrolled in longitudinal studies of aging. In addition, we monitored their sleep using a single-channel electroencephalography (EEG) device worn on the forehead. After adjusting for multiple covariates such as age and sex, we found that NREM SWA showed an inverse relationship with AD pathology, particularly tauopathy, and that this association was most evident at the lowest frequencies of NREM SWA. Given that our study participants were predominantly cognitively normal, this suggested that changes in NREM SWA, especially at 1 to 2 Hz, might be able to discriminate tau pathology and cognitive impairment either before or at the earliest stages of symptomatic AD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 244 (18) ◽  
pp. 1665-1679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Sun Lim ◽  
Yu Jin Kim ◽  
Eunjin Sohn ◽  
Jiyeon Yoon ◽  
Bu-Yeo Kim ◽  
...  

Annona atemoya is a hybrid of Annona squamosa and Annona cherimola that grow in several subtropical or tropical areas such as Florida in the US, Philippines, Cuba, Jamaica, Taiwan, and Jeju in South Korea. We report that the A. atemoya leaves (AAL) have inhibitory effects on the pathogenesis and regulatory mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Ethanol extract of AAL prevented amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation and increased free radical scavenging activity. In addition, AAL extract exerted protective effects against neuronal cell death in HT22 hippocampal cells. Moreover, oral administration of AAL extract significantly improved memory loss in the passive avoidance task and Y-maze test, as well as downregulated the expression of neuronal markers neuronal nuclei and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in Aβ-injected AD mice. To verify the molecular mechanisms responsible for anti-AD actions of AAL, we conducted the antibody microarray analysis and found that epidermal growth factor receptor/G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 signaling was activated in neuronal cells and AD-like mouse models. Additionally, quantitative analyses of the six standard compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography revealed that rutin is the most abundant compound of AAL. Furthermore, efficacy analyses of six standard compounds showed that rutin and isoquercitrin had significant inhibitory activity on Aβ aggregation. Taken together with biological activity and the content of compounds, rutin maybe a bioactive compound of AAL in the AD pathogenesis. Overall, our findings provide the first scientific support for the therapeutic effects of AAL in AD and AD-related disorders. Impact statement Our study was aimed to find a novel candidate drug for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using natural products. We assessed the effects of Annona atemoya extracts on crucial events in the pathogenesis of AD. A. atemoya leaf (AAL) extract significantly inhibited amyloid-β aggregation, oxidative stress, neuronal cell death, and memory impairment through the epidermal growth factor receptor/G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 pathway. Simultaneous analysis using HPLC determined six standard compounds of AAL extract, and rutin was identified as a bioactive compound. Of note, the anti-AD activity of AAL extract was more significant compared to other extracts from medicinal plants of which efficacy was previously reported. The potential of AAL extract as an anti-AD agent may provide insight into the new drug development for AD treatment.


1995 ◽  
Vol 306 (2) ◽  
pp. 599-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
E M Castano ◽  
F Prelli ◽  
T Wisniewski ◽  
A Golabek ◽  
R A Kumar ◽  
...  

A central event in Alzheimer's disease is the conformational change from normally circulating soluble amyloid beta peptides (A beta) and tau proteins into amyloid fibrils, in the form of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles respectively. The apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene locus has recently been associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease. It is not know whether apoE plays a direct role in the pathogenesis of the disease. In the present work we have investigated whether apoE can affect the known spontaneous in vitro formation of amyloid-like fibrils by synthetic A beta analogues using a thioflavine-T assay for fibril formation, electron microscopy and Congo Red staining. Our results show that, under the conditions used, apoE directly promotes amyloid fibril formation, increasing both the rate of fibrillogenesis and the total amount of amyloid formed. ApoE accelerated fibril formation of both wild-type A beta-(1-40) and A beta-(1-40A), an analogue created by the replacement of valine with alanine at residue 18, which alone produces few amyloid-like fibrils. However, apoE produced only a minimal effect on A beta-(1-40Q), found in the Dutch variant of Alzheimer's disease. When recombinant apoE isoforms were used, apoE4 was more efficient than apoE3 at enhancing amyloid formation. These in vitro observations support the hypothesis that apoE acts as a pathological chaperone, promoting the beta-pleated-sheet conformation of soluble A beta into amyloid fibres, and provide a possible explanation for the association of the apoE4 genetic isoform with Alzheimer's disease.


Author(s):  
Dina Ivanyuk ◽  
María José Pérez ◽  
Vasiliki Panagiotakopoulou ◽  
Gabriele Di Napoli ◽  
Dario Brunetti ◽  
...  

AbstractMutations in pitrilysin metallopeptidase 1 (PITRM1), a mitochondrial protease involved in mitochondrial precursor processing and degradation, result in a slow-progressive syndrome, characterized by cerebellar ataxia, psychotic episodes and obsessive behavior as well as cognitive decline. To investigate the pathogenetic mechanisms of mitochondrial presequence processing, we employed cortical neurons and cerebral organoids generated from PITRM1 knockout human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). PITRM1 deficiency strongly induced mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) and enhanced mitochondrial clearance in iPSC-derived neurons. Furthermore, we observed increased levels of amyloid precursor protein and amyloid β in PITRM1 knockout neurons. However, neither cell death nor protein aggregates were observed in 2D iPSC-derived cortical neuronal cultures. On the contrary, cerebral organoids generated from PITRM1 knockout iPSCs spontaneously developed over time pathological features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including accumulation of protein aggregates, tau pathology, and neuronal cell death. Importantly, we provide evidence for a protective role of UPRmt and mitochondrial clearance against impaired mitochondrial presequence processing and proteotoxic stress. In summary, we propose a novel concept of PITRM1-linked neurological syndrome whereby defects of mitochondrial presequence processing induce an early activation of UPRmt that, in turn, modulates cytosolic quality control pathways. Thus our work supports a mechanistic link between mitochondrial function and common neurodegenerative proteinopathies.


2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel K. Weber ◽  
John D. Gehman ◽  
Frances Separovic ◽  
Marc-Antoine Sani

Growing evidence supports that interactions of the amyloid-β peptide Aβ(1–42) with neuronal cell membranes and copper are involved in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. We report using solid-state NMR that the peptide significantly perturbed the phosphate and upper acyl chain region of bilayers comprising brain total lipid extract to cause domain segregation. Deep headgroup perturbations were also realized for palmitoyloleoylphospatidylcholine–cholesterol model systems; however, incorporating 10 % palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylserine or the ganglioside GM1 resulted in a more peripheral interaction. Cu2+ at a 1 : 7 molar ratio to peptide caused deeper penetration into model systems, but partially attenuated interactions with brain total lipid extract. Thioflavin T assay showed that bilayers affected amyloid formation in a mode dependant on lipid content, and was further modulated by addition of Cu2+. Our data support that ternary interactions between Cu2+, lipids and Aβ(1–42) may have significance in Alzheimer’s disease, and challenge the validity of model bilayers as substitutes for natural systems.


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