scholarly journals Mercury and Alzheimer’s Disease: Hg(II) Ions Display Specific Binding to the Amyloid-β Peptide and Hinder Its Fibrillization

Biomolecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Wallin ◽  
Merlin Friedemann ◽  
Sabrina B. Sholts ◽  
Andra Noormägi ◽  
Teodor Svantesson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Metal Ions ◽  
Amyloid Fibrils ◽  
Specific Binding ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Aβ Peptides

Brains and blood of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients have shown elevated mercury concentrations, but potential involvement of mercury exposure in AD pathogenesis has not been studied at the molecular level. The pathological hallmark of AD brains is deposition of amyloid plaques, consisting mainly of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides aggregated into amyloid fibrils. Aβ peptide fibrillization is known to be modulated by metal ions such as Cu(II) and Zn(II). Here, we study in vitro the interactions between Aβ peptides and Hg(II) ions by multiple biophysical techniques. Fluorescence spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) show that Hg(II) ions have a concentration-dependent inhibiting effect on Aβ fibrillization: at a 1:1 Aβ·Hg(II) ratio only non-fibrillar Aβ aggregates are formed. NMR spectroscopy shows that Hg(II) ions interact with the N-terminal region of Aβ(1–40) with a micromolar affinity, likely via a binding mode similar to that for Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions, i.e., mainly via the histidine residues His6, His13, and His14. Thus, together with Cu(II), Fe(II), Mn(II), Pb(IV), and Zn(II) ions, Hg(II) belongs to a family of metal ions that display residue-specific binding interactions with Aβ peptides and modulate their aggregation processes.

A theoretical study on the molecular determinants of the affibody protein ZAβ3bound to an amyloid β peptide

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (26) ◽  
pp. 16886-16893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Wang ◽  
Xianqiang Sun ◽  
Guanglin Kuang ◽  
Hans Ågren ◽  
Yaoquan Tu
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Theoretical Study ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Aβ Peptides ◽  
Molecular Determinants

The investigation of the (ZAβ3)2:Aβ complex highlights the energetic contribution of affibody residues to the binding with alzheimer's disease associated Aβ peptides.

Computational models explain how copper binding to amyloid-β peptide oligomers enhances oxidative pathways

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (17) ◽  
pp. 8774-8784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni La Penna ◽  
Mai Suan Li
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Copper Binding ◽  
Aβ Peptides ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Disordered Peptides

Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides are intrinsically disordered peptides and their aggregation is the major hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) development.

The prion-like properties of amyloid-beta peptide and Tau: Is there any risk of transmitting Alzheimer's disease during neurosurgical interventions?

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Padilla-Zambrano H ◽  
García-Ballestas E ◽  
Quiñones-Ossa GA ◽  
Sibaja-Perez A ◽  
Agrawal A ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Neurosurgical Procedure ◽  
Beta Peptide

: Recent studies have recognized similarities between the peptides involved in the neuropathology of Alzheimer’s disease and prions. The Tau protein and the Amyloid β peptide represent the theoretical pillars of Alzheimer’s disease development. It is probable that there is a shared mechanism for the transmission of these substances and the prion diseases development; this presumption is based on the presentation of several cases of individuals without risk factors who developed dementia decades after a neurosurgical procedure. This article aims to present the role of Aβ and Tau, which underlie the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in the AD and their similarities with the prion diseases infective mechanisms by means of the presentation of the available evidence at molecular (in-vitro), animal, and human levels that support the controversy on whether these diseases might be transmitted in neurosurgical interventions, which may constitute a wide public health issue.

scholarly journals Modulation of amyloid-β aggregation by metal complexes with a dual binding mode and their delivery across the blood-brain barrier using focused ultrasound

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramon Vilar ◽  
Tiffany G Chan ◽  
Carmen Ruehl ◽  
Sophie Morse ◽  
Michelle Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Metal Complexes ◽  
Blood Brain Barrier ◽  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Brain Barrier ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Blood Brain

One of the key hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is the aggregation of the amyloid-β peptide to form fibrils. Consequently, there has been great interest in studying molecules that can disrupt...

scholarly journals Conjugates of neuroprotective chaperone L-PGDS provide MRI contrast for detection of amyloid β-rich regions in live Alzheimer’s Disease mouse model brain

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhargy Sharma ◽  
Joanes Grandjean ◽  
Margaret Phillips ◽  
Ambrish Kumar ◽  
Francesca Mandino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Mouse Brain ◽  
Amyloid Fibrils ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Mri Contrast ◽  
Neuroprotective Function

AbstractEndogenous brain proteins can recognize the toxic oligomers of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and interact with them to prevent their aggregation. Lipocalin-type Prostaglandin D Synthase (L-PGDS) is a major Aβ-chaperone protein in the human cerebrospinal fluid. Here we demonstrate that L-PGDS detects amyloids in diseased mouse brain. Conjugation of L-PGDS with magnetic nanoparticles enhanced the contrast for magnetic resonance imaging. We conjugated the L-PGDS protein with ferritin nanocages to detect amyloids in the AD mouse model brain. We show here that the conjugates administered through intraventricular injections co-localize with amyloids in the mouse brain. These conjugates can target the brain regions through non-invasive intranasal administration, as shown in healthy mice. These conjugates can inhibit the aggregation of amyloids in vitro and show potential neuroprotective function by breaking down the mature amyloid fibrils.

Inhibition of Aβ(1–40) fibril formation by cyclophilins

2016 ◽  
Vol 473 (10) ◽  
pp. 1355-1368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marten Villmow ◽  
Monika Baumann ◽  
Miroslav Malesevic ◽  
Rolf Sachs ◽  
Gerd Hause ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Fibril Formation ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Main Process ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Cyclophilin D ◽  
Aβ Amyloid

Cyclophilins interact directly with the Alzheimer's disease peptide Aβ (amyloid β-peptide) and are therefore involved in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Aβ binding to CypD (cyclophilin D) induces dysfunction of human mitochondria. We found that both CypD and CypA suppress in vitro fibril formation of Aβ(1–40) at substoichiometric concentrations when present early in the aggregation process. The prototypic inhibitor CsA (cyclosporin A) of both cyclophilins as well as the new water-soluble MM258 derivative prevented this suppression. A SPOT peptide array approach and NMR titration experiments confirmed binding of Aβ(1–40) to the catalytic site of CypD mainly via residues Lys16–Glu22. The peptide Aβ(16–20) representing this section showed submicromolar IC50 values for the peptidyl prolyl cis–trans isomerase activity of CypD and CypA and low-micromolar KD values in ITC experiments. Chemical cross-linking and NMR-detected hydrogen–deuterium exchange experiments revealed a shift in the populations of small Aβ(1–40) oligomers towards the monomeric species, which we investigated in the present study as being the main process of prevention of Aβ fibril formation by cyclophilins.

scholarly journals α-Sheet secondary structure in amyloid β-peptide drives aggregation and toxicity in Alzheimer’s disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (18) ◽  
pp. 8895-8900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan Shea ◽  
Cheng-Chieh Hsu ◽  
Timothy M. Bi ◽  
Natasha Paranjapye ◽  
Matthew Carter Childers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Secondary Structure ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Specific Binding ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Plaque Burden ◽  
Lag Phase ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Β Sheet

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the deposition of β-sheet–rich, insoluble amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) plaques; however, plaque burden is not correlated with cognitive impairment in AD patients; instead, it is correlated with the presence of toxic soluble oligomers. Here, we show, by a variety of different techniques, that these Aβ oligomers adopt a nonstandard secondary structure, termed “α-sheet.” These oligomers form in the lag phase of aggregation, when Aβ-associated cytotoxicity peaks, en route to forming nontoxic β-sheet fibrils. De novo-designed α-sheet peptides specifically and tightly bind the toxic oligomers over monomeric and fibrillar forms of Aβ, leading to inhibition of aggregation in vitro and neurotoxicity in neuroblastoma cells. Based on this specific binding, a soluble oligomer-binding assay (SOBA) was developed as an indirect probe of α-sheet content. Combined SOBA and toxicity experiments demonstrate a strong correlation between α-sheet content and toxicity. The designed α-sheet peptides are also active in vivo where they inhibit Aβ-induced paralysis in a transgenic Aβ Caenorhabditis elegans model and specifically target and clear soluble, toxic oligomers in a transgenic APPsw mouse model. The α-sheet hypothesis has profound implications for further understanding the mechanism behind AD pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Modulation of β-Amyloid Fibril Formation in Alzheimer’s Disease by Microglia and Infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine R. Brown ◽  
Sheena E. Radford ◽  
Eric W. Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Amyloid Fibril ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Aβ Peptides ◽  
Aβ Amyloid ◽  
Aβ Fibrils ◽  
The Brain

Amyloid plaques are a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The major component of these plaques are highly ordered amyloid fibrils formed by amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides. However, whilst Aβ amyloid fibril assembly has been subjected to detailed and extensive analysis in vitro, these studies may not reproduce how Aβ fibrils assemble in the brain. This is because the brain represents a highly complex and dynamic environment, and in Alzheimer’s disease multiple cofactors may affect the assembly of Aβ fibrils. Moreover, in vivo amyloid plaque formation will reflect the balance between the assembly of Aβ fibrils and their degradation. This review explores the roles of microglia as cofactors in Aβ aggregation and in the clearance of amyloid deposits. In addition, we discuss how infection may be an additional cofactor in Aβ fibril assembly by virtue of the antimicrobial properties of Aβ peptides. Crucially, by understanding the roles of microglia and infection in Aβ amyloid fibril assembly it may be possible to identify new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease.

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