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The formation of amyloid deposits is a common feature of a broad range of diseases, including atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. The basis and role of amyloid deposition in the pathogenesis of these diseases is still being defined, however an interesting feature of amyloidogenic proteins is that the majority of the pathologically associated proteins are involved in lipid homeostasis, be it in lipid transport, incorporation into membranes, or the regulation of lipid pathways. Thus, amyloid-forming proteins commonly bind lipids, and lipids are generally involved in the proper folding of these proteins. However, understanding of the basis for these lipid-related aspects of amyloidogenesis is lacking. Thus, we have used the apolipoprotein C-II amyloid model system in conjunction with x-ray and neutron scattering analyses to address this problem. Apolipoprotein C-II is a well-studied model system of systemic amyloid fibril formation, with a clear and well-defined pathway for fibril formation, where the effects of lipid interaction are characterized, particularly for the lipid mimetic dodecylphosphocholine. We show that the micellar state of an inhibitory lipid can have a very significant effect on protein conformation, with micelles stabilizing a particular α-helical structure, whereas submicellar lipids stabilize a very different dimeric, α-helical structure. These results indicate that lipids may have an important role in the development and progression of amyloid-related diseases., (Copyright © 2016 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Research into causes of Alzheimer's disease and its treatment has produced a tantalising array of hypotheses about the role of transition metal dyshomeostasis, many of them on the interaction of these metals with the neurotoxic amyloid-β peptide (Aβ). Here, we have used small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to study the effect of the molar ratio, Cu(2+)/Aβ, on the early three-dimensional structures of the Aβ1-40 and Cu(2+)/Aβ1-42 peptides in solution. We found that at molar ratios of 0.5 copper to peptide Aβ1-40 aggregated, while Aβ1-42 adopted a relatively monodisperse cylindrical shape, and at a ratio of 1.5 copper to peptide Aβ1-40 adopted a monodisperse cylindrical shape, while Aβ1-42 adopted the shape of an ellipsoid of rotation. We also found, via in-line rapid mixing SAXS analysis, that both peptides in the absence of copper were monodisperse at very short timeframes (<2 s). Kratky plots of these scattering profiles indicated that immediately after mixing both were intrinsically disordered. Ensemble optimisation modelling reflected this, indicating a wide range of structural conformers. These data reflect the ensembles from which the Cu(2+)-promoted oligomers were derived. Our results are discussed in the light of other studies that have shown that the Cu(2+)/Aβ has a marked effect on fibril and oligomer formation by this peptide, with a higher ratio favouring the formation of cytotoxic non-amyloid oligomers. Our results are relatively consistent with previous two-dimensional studies of the conformations of these Cu(2+)-induced entities, made on a much longer time-scale than SAXS, by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, which showed that a range of oligomeric species are formed. We propose that SAXS carried out on a modern synchrotron beamline enables studies on initial events in disordered protein folding on physiologically-relevant time-scales, and will likely provide great insight into the initiating processes of the Aβ misfolding, oligomerisation and amyloid formation.

The extracellular accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides is characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, formation of diffusible, oligomeric forms of Aβ, both on and off pathways to amyloid fibrils, is thought to include neurotoxic species responsible for synaptic loss and neurodegeneration, rather than polymeric amyloid aggregates. The 8-hydroxyquinolines (8-HQ) clioquinol (CQ) and PBT2 were developed for their ability to inhibit metal-mediated generation of reactive oxygen species from Aβ:Cu complexes and have both undergone preclinical and Phase II clinical development for the treatment of AD. Their respective modes of action are not fully understood and may include both inhibition of Aβ fibrillar polymerization and direct depolymerization of existing Aβ fibrils. In the present study, we find that CQ and PBT2 can interact directly with Aβ and affect its propensity to aggregate. Using a combination of biophysical techniques, we demonstrate that, in the presence of these 8-HQs and in the absence of metal ions, Aβ associates with two 8-HQ molecules and forms a dimer. Furthermore, 8-HQ bind Aβ with an affinity of 1-10 μm and suppress the formation of large (>30 kDa) oligomers. The stabilized low molecular weight species are nontoxic. Treatment with 8-HQs also reduces the levels of in vivo soluble oligomers in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Aβ toxicity. We propose that 8-HQs possess an additional mechanism of action that neutralizes neurotoxic Aβ oligomer formation through stabilization of small (dimeric) nontoxic Aβ conformers., (Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/352871-14$15.00/0.)

The 140 residue intrinsically disordered protein α-synuclein (α-syn) self-associates to form fibrils that are the major constituent of the Lewy body intracellular protein inclusions, and neurotoxic oligomers. Both of these macromolecular structures are associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Using ensemble optimisation modelling (EOM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) on a size-exclusion column equipped beamline, we studied how the distribution of structural conformers in α-syn may be influenced by the presence of the familial early-onset mutations A30P, E45K and A53T, by substituting the four methionine residues with alanines and by reaction with copper (Cu2+) or an anti-fibril organic platinum (Pt) complex. We found that the WT had two major conformer groups, representing ensembles of compact and extended structures. The population of the extended group was increased in the more rapidly fibril-forming E45K and A53T mutants, while the compact group was enlarged in the oligomer-forming A30P mutant. Addition of Cu2+ resulted in the formation of an ensemble of compact conformers, while the anti-fibril agent and alanine substitution substantially reduced the population of extended conformers. Since our observations with the mutants suggest that fibrils may be drawn from the extended conformer ensemble, we propose that the compact and extended ensembles represent the beginning of oligomer and fibril formation pathways respectively, both of which have been reported to lead to a toxic gain of function. Manipulating these pathways and monitoring the results by EOM and SAXS may be useful in the development of anti-Parkinson's disease therapies.

Alpha-synuclein (α-syn) forms the amyloid-containing Lewy bodies found in the brain in Parkinson's disease. The neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) reacts with α-syn to form SDS-resistant soluble, non-amyloid, and melanin-containing oligomers. Their toxicity is debated, as is the nature of their structure and their relation to amyloid-forming conformers of α-syn. The small-angle X-ray scattering technique in combination with modeling by the ensemble optimization method showed that the un-reacted native protein populated three broad classes of conformer, while reaction with DA gave a restricted ensemble range suggesting that the rigid melanin molecule played an important part in their structure. We found that 6 M guanidine hydrochloride did not dissociate α-syn DA-reacted dimers and trimers, suggesting covalent linkages. The pathological significance of covalent association is that if they are non-toxic, the oligomers would act as a sink for toxic excess DA and α-syn; if toxic, their stability could enhance their toxicity. We argue it is essential, therefore, to resolve the question of whether they are toxic or not., (Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Previous studies suggest membrane binding is a key determinant of amyloid β (Aβ) neurotoxicity. However, it is unclear whether this interaction is receptor driven. To address this issue, a D-handed enantiomer of Aβ42 (D-Aβ42) was synthesized and its biophysical and neurotoxic properties were compared to the wild-type Aβ42 (L-Aβ42). The results showed D- and L-Aβ42 are chemically equivalent with respect to copper binding, generation of reactive oxygen species and aggregation profiles. Cell binding studies show both peptides bound to cultured cortical neurons. However, only L-Aβ42 was neurotoxic and inhibited long term potentiation indicating L-Aβ42 requires a stereospecific target to mediate toxicity. We identified the lipid phosphatidylserine, as a potential target. Annexin V, which has very high affinity for externalized phosphatidylserine, significantly inhibited L-Aβ42 but not D-Aβ42 binding to the cultured cortical neurons and significantly rescued L-Aβ42 neurotoxicity. This suggests that Aβ mediated toxicity in Alzheimer disease is dependent upon Aβ binding to phosphatidylserine on neuronal cells., (Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Inclusions of aggregated alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) in dopaminergic neurons are a characteristic histological marker of Parkinson's disease (PD). In vitro, alpha-syn in the presence of dopamine (DA) at physiological pH forms SDS-resistant non-amyloidogenic oligomers. We used a combination of biophysical techniques, including sedimentation velocity analysis, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and circular dichroism spectroscopy to study the characteristics of alpha-syn oligomers formed in the presence of DA. Our SAXS data show that the trimers formed by the action of DA on alpha-syn consist of overlapping worm-like monomers, with no end-to-end associations. This lack of structure contrasts with the well-established, extensive beta-sheet structure of the amyloid fibril form of the protein and its pre-fibrillar oligomers. We propose on the basis of these and earlier data that oxidation of the four methionine residues at the C- and N-terminal ends of alpha-syn molecules prevents their end-to-end association and stabilises oligomers formed by cross linking with DA-quinone/DA-melanin, which are formed as a result of the redox process, thus inhibiting formation of the beta-sheet structure found in other pre-fibrillar forms of alpha-syn.

Amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) toxicity is thought to be responsible for the neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease. While the mechanism(s) that modulate this toxicity are still widely debated, it has previously been demonstrated that modifications to the three histidine residues (6, 13, and 14) of Abeta are able to modulate the toxicity. Therefore to further elucidate the potential role of the histidine (H) residues in Abeta toxicity, we synthesized Abeta peptides with single alanine substitutions for each of the three histidine residues and ascertained how these substitutions affect peptide aggregation, metal binding, redox chemistry, and cell membrane interactions, factors which have previously been shown to modulate Abeta toxicity. Abeta{42} H13A and Abeta{42} H6A modified peptides were able to induce significant cell toxicity in primary cortical cell cultures at levels similar to the wild-type peptide. However, Abeta{42} H14A did not induce any measurable toxicity in the same cultures. This lack of toxicity correlated with the inability of the Abeta{42} H14A to bind to cell membranes. The interaction of Abeta with cell membranes has previously been shown to be dependent on electrostatic interactions between Abeta and the negatively charged head group of phosphatidylserine. Our data suggests that it is the imidazole sidechain of histidine 14 that modulates this interaction and strategies inhibiting this interaction may have therapeutic potential for Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by numerous pathological features including the accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide. There is currently no effective therapy for AD, but the development of therapeutic strategies that target the cell membrane is gaining increased interest. The amyloid precursor protein (APP) from which Abeta is formed is a membrane-bound protein, and Abeta production and toxicity are both membrane mediated events. This review describes the critical role of cell membranes in AD with particular emphasis on how the composition and structure of the membrane and its specialized regions may influence toxic or benign Abeta/APP pathways in AD. The putative role of copper (Cu) in AD is also discussed, and we highlight how targeting the cell membrane with Cu complexes has therapeutic potential in AD.

The redox active transition metals Cu2+ and Fe3+ have been proposed as important factors in the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The field that has been called metallo-neurobiology has expanded greatly in the last 20 years. Although there is much experimental evidence on various aspects of the interaction between these metals and the molecular and supramolecular components of the neuropil and the structural biology of metal binding, we are far from fully understanding the part this interaction plays in the normal CNS and in neurodegeneration. This understanding is needed if we are to move beyond the promising, but semi-empirical, approaches to therapies of these diseases based on metal attenuation.

Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) has the potential to give much detail on the structure of the paramagnetic transition ion coordination sites, principally of Cu2+, in a number of proteins associated with central nervous system diseases. Since these sites have been implicated in misfolding/mis-oligomerisation events associated with neurotoxic molecular species and/or the catalysis of damaging redox reactions in neurodegeneration, an understanding of their structure is important to the development of therapeutic agents. Nevertheless EPR, by its nature an in vitro technique, has its limitations in the study of such complex biochemical systems involving self-associating proteins that are sensitive to their chemical environment. These limitations are at the instrumental and theoretical level, which must be understood and the EPR data interpreted in the light of other biophysical and biochemical studies if useful conclusions are to be drawn.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia. Amyloid beta peptide (Abeta), generated by proteolytic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), is central to AD pathogenesis. APP can function as a metalloprotein and modulate copper (Cu) transport, presumably via its extracellular Cu-binding domain (CuBD). Cu binding to the CuBD reduces Abeta levels, suggesting that a Cu mimetic may have therapeutic potential. We describe here the atomic structures of apo CuBD from three crystal forms and found they have identical Cu-binding sites despite the different crystal lattices. The structure of Cu(2+)-bound CuBD reveals that the metal ligands are His147, His151, Tyr168 and two water molecules, which are arranged in a square pyramidal geometry. The site resembles a Type 2 non-blue Cu center and is supported by electron paramagnetic resonance and extended X-ray absorption fine structure studies. A previous study suggested that Met170 might be a ligand but we suggest that this residue plays a critical role as an electron donor in CuBDs ability to reduce Cu ions. The structure of Cu(+)-bound CuBD is almost identical to the Cu(2+)-bound structure except for the loss of one of the water ligands. The geometry of the site is unfavorable for Cu(+), thus providing a mechanism by which CuBD could readily transfer Cu ions to other proteins.

Amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) is pivotal to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. Here we report the formation of a toxic Abeta-Cu2+ complex formed via a histidine-bridged dimer, as observed at Cu2+/peptide ratios of >0.6:1 by EPR spectroscopy. The toxicity of the Abeta-Cu2+ complex to cultured primary cortical neurons was attenuated when either the pi -or tau-nitrogen of the imidazole side chains of His were methylated, thereby inhibiting formation of the His bridge. Toxicity did not correlate with the ability to form amyloid or perturb the acyl-chain region of a lipid membrane as measured by diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene anisotropy, but did correlate with lipid peroxidation and dityrosine formation. 31P magic angle spinning solid-state NMR showed that Abeta and Abeta-Cu2+ complexes interacted at the surface of a lipid membrane. These findings indicate that the generation of the Abeta toxic species is modulated by the Cu2+ concentration and the ability to form an intermolecular His bridge.

Dopamine (DA) and alpha-synuclein (alpha-SN) are two key molecules associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). We have identified a novel action of DA in the initial phase of alpha-SN aggregation and demonstrate that DA induces alpha-SN to form soluble, SDS-resistant oligomers. The DA:alpha-SN oligomeric species are not amyloidogenic as they do not react with thioflavin T and lack the typical amyloid fibril structures as visualized with electron microscopy. Circular dichroism studies indicate that in the presence of lipid membranes DA interacts with alpha-SN, causing an alteration to the structure of the protein. Furthermore, DA inhibited the formation of iron-induced alpha-SN amyloidogenic aggregates, suggesting that DA acts as a dominant modulator of alpha-SN aggregation. These observations support the paradigm emerging for other neurodegenerative diseases that the toxic species is represented by a soluble oligomer and not the insoluble fibril.

The toxicity of the amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) is thought to be responsible for the neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer disease. Generation of hydrogen peroxide has been implicated as a key step in the toxic pathway. Abeta coordinates the redox active metal ion Cu2+ to catalytically generate H2O2. Structural studies on the interaction of Abeta with Cu have suggested that the coordination sphere about the Cu2+ resembles the active site of superoxide dismutase 1. To investigate the potential role for such structures in the toxicity of Abeta, two novel Abeta40 peptides, Abeta40(HistauMe) and Abeta40(HispiMe), have been prepared, in which the histidine residues 6, 13, and 14 have been substituted with modified histidines where either the pi- or tau-nitrogen of the imidazole side chain is methylated to prevent the formation of bridging histidine moieties. These modifications did not inhibit the ability of these peptides to form fibrils. However, the modified peptides were four times more effective at generating H2O2 than the native sequence. Despite the ability to generate more H2O2, these peptides were not neurotoxic. Whereas the modifications to the peptide altered the metal binding properties, they also inhibited the interaction between the peptides and cell surface membranes. This is consistent with the notion that Abeta-membrane interactions are important for neurotoxicity and that inhibiting these interactions has therapeutic potential.

In studies of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis there is an increasing focus on mechanisms of intracellular amyloid-beta (Abeta) generation and toxicity. Here we investigated the inhibitory potential of the 42 amino acid Abeta peptide (Abeta1-42) on activity of electron transport chain enzyme complexes in human mitochondria. We found that synthetic Abeta1-42 specifically inhibited the terminal complex cytochrome c oxidase (COX) in a dose-dependent manner that was dependent on the presence of Cu2+ and specific "aging" of the Abeta1-42 solution. Maximal COX inhibition occurred when using Abeta1-42 solutions aged for 3-6 h at 30 degrees C. The level of Abeta1-42-mediated COX inhibition increased with aging time up to approximately 6 h and then declined progressively with continued aging to 48 h. Photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins followed by SDS-PAGE analysis revealed dimeric Abeta as the only Abeta species to provide significant temporal correlation with the observed COX inhibition. Analysis of brain and liver from an Alzheimer's model mouse (Tg2576) revealed abundant Abeta immunoreactivity within the brain mitochondria fraction. Our data indicate that endogenous Abeta is associated with brain mitochondria and that Abeta1-42, possibly in its dimeric conformation, is a potent inhibitor of COX, but only when in the presence of Cu2+. We conclude that Cu2+-dependent Abeta-mediated inhibition of COX may be an important contributor to the neurodegeneration process in Alzheimer's disease.

The amyloid beta peptide (Abeta) is toxic to neuronal cells, and it is probable that this toxicity is responsible for the progressive cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease. However, the nature of the toxic Abeta species and its precise mechanism of action remain to be determined. It has been reported that the methionine residue at position 35 has a pivotal role to play in the toxicity of Abeta. We examined the effect of mutating the methionine to valine in Abeta42 (AbetaM35V). The neurotoxic activity of AbetaM35V on primary mouse neuronal cortical cells was enhanced, and this diminished cell viability occurred at an accelerated rate compared with Abeta42. AbetaM35V binds Cu2+ and produces similar amounts of H2O2 as Abeta42 in vitro, and the neurotoxic activity was attenuated by the H2O2 scavenger catalase. The increased toxicity of AbetaM35V was associated with increased binding of this mutated peptide to cortical cells. The M35V mutation altered the interaction between Abeta and copper in a lipid environment as shown by EPR analysis, which indicated that the valine substitution made the peptide less rigid in the bilayer region with a resulting higher affinity for the bilayer. Circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that both Abeta42 and AbetaM35V displayed a mixture of alpha-helical and beta-sheet conformations. These findings provide further evidence that the toxicity of Abeta is regulated by binding to neuronal cells.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, which are abnormal protein deposits. The major constituent of the plaques is the neurotoxic beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta); the genetics of familial AD support a direct role for this peptide in AD. Abeta neurotoxicity is linked to hydrogen peroxide formation. Abeta coordinates the redox active transition metals, copper and iron, to catalytically generate reactive oxygen species. The chemical mechanism underlying this process is not well defined. With the use of density functional theory calculations to delineate the chemical mechanisms that drive the catalytic production of H2O2 by Abeta/Cu, tyrosine10 (Y10) was identified as a pivotal residue for this reaction to proceed. The relative stability of tyrosyl radicals facilitates the electron transfers that are required to drive the reaction. Confirming the theoretical results, mutation of the tyrosine residue to alanine inhibited H2O2 production, Cu-induced radicalization, dityrosine cross-linking, and neurotoxicity.