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Chowdhury S, Sarkar N. Exploring the potential of amyloids in biomedical applications: A review. Biotechnol Bioeng 2024; 121:26-38. [PMID: 37822225 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid is defined as a fibrous quaternary structure formed by assembling protein or peptide monomers into intermolecularly hydrogen linked β-sheets. There is a prevalent issue with protein aggregation and the buildup of amyloid molecules, which results in human neurological illnesses including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But it is now evident that many organisms, like bacteria, fungi as well as humans, use the same fibrillar structure to carry out a variety of biological functions, such as structure and protection supporting interface transitions and cell-cell recognition, protein control and storage, epigenetic inheritance, and memory. Recent discoveries of self-assembling amyloidogenic peptides and proteins, based on the amyloid core structure, give rise to interesting biomaterials with potential uses in numerous industries. These functions dramatically diverge from the initial conception of amyloid fibrils as intrinsically diseased entities. Apart from the natural ability of amyloids to spontaneously arrange themselves and their exceptional material characteristics, this aspect has prompted extensive research into engineering artificial amyloids for generating various nanostructures, molecular substances, and combined materials. Here, we discuss significant developments in the artificial design of useful amyloids as well as how amyloid materials serve as examples of how function emerges from protein self-assembly at various length scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srijita Chowdhury
- Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Nandini Sarkar
- Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India
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2
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Morales CG, Jimenez NR, Herbst-Kralovetz MM, Lee NR. Novel Vaccine Strategies and Factors to Consider in Addressing Health Disparities of HPV Infection and Cervical Cancer Development among Native American Women. Med Sci (Basel) 2022; 10:52. [PMID: 36135837 PMCID: PMC9503187 DOI: 10.3390/medsci10030052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cervical cancer is the 4th most common type of cancer in women world-wide. Many factors play a role in cervical cancer development/progression that include genetics, social behaviors, social determinants of health, and even the microbiome. The prevalence of HPV infections and cervical cancer is high and often understudied among Native American communities. While effective HPV vaccines exist, less than 60% of 13- to 17-year-olds in the general population are up to date on their HPV vaccination as of 2020. Vaccination rates are higher among Native American adolescents, approximately 85% for females and 60% for males in the same age group. Unfortunately, the burden of cervical cancer remains high in many Native American populations. In this paper, we will discuss HPV infection, vaccination and the cervicovaginal microbiome with a Native American perspective. We will also provide insight into new strategies for developing novel methods and therapeutics to prevent HPV infections and limit HPV persistence and progression to cervical cancer in all populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal G. Morales
- Department of Biology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Nicole R. Jimenez
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Naomi R. Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
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3
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Jones CW, Morales CG, Eltiste SL, Yanchik-Slade FE, Lee NR, Nilsson BL. Capacity for increased surface area in the hydrophobic core of β-sheet peptide bilayer nanoribbons. J Pept Sci 2021; 27:e3334. [PMID: 34151480 PMCID: PMC8349901 DOI: 10.1002/psc.3334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Amphipathic peptides with amino acids arranged in alternating patterns of hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues efficiently self‐assemble into β‐sheet bilayer nanoribbons. Hydrophobic side chain functionality is effectively buried in the interior of the putative bilayer of these nanoribbons. This study investigates consequences on self‐assembly of increasing the surface area of aromatic side chain groups that reside in the hydrophobic core of nanoribbons derived from Ac‐(XKXE)2‐NH2 peptides (X = hydrophobic residue). A series of Ac‐(XKXE)2‐NH2 peptides incorporating aromatic amino acids of increasing molecular volume and steric profile (X = phenylalanine [Phe], homophenylalanine [Hph], tryptophan [Trp], 1‐naphthylalanine [1‐Nal], 2‐naphthylalanine [2‐Nal], or biphenylalanine [Bip]) were assessed to determine substitution effects on self‐assembly propensity and on morphology of the resulting nanoribbon structures. Additional studies were conducted to determine the effects of incorporating amino acids of differing steric profile in the hydrophobic core (Ac‐X1KFEFKFE‐NH2 and Ac‐(X1,5KFE)‐NH2 peptides, X = Trp or Bip). Spectroscopic analysis by circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy indicated β‐sheet formation for all variants. Self‐assembly rate increased with peptide hydrophobicity; increased molecular volume of the hydrophobic side chain groups did not appear to induce kinetic penalties on self‐assembly rates. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging indicated variation in fibril morphology as a function of amino acid in the X positions. This study confirms that hydrophobicity of amphipathic Ac‐(XKXE)2‐NH2 peptides correlates to self‐assembly propensity and that the hydrophobic core of the resulting nanoribbon bilayers has a significant capacity to accommodate sterically demanding functional groups. These findings provide insight that may be used to guide the exploitation of self‐assembled amphipathic peptides as functional biomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Crystal G Morales
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Sharon L Eltiste
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Materials Interfaces in Research and Applications (¡MIRA!), Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | | | - Naomi R Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Materials Interfaces in Research and Applications (¡MIRA!), Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Bradley L Nilsson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
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4
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Waku T, Kasai A, Kobori A, Tanaka N. Investigation on the Interactions between Self-Assembled β-Sheet Peptide Nanofibers and Model Cell Membranes. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21249518. [PMID: 33327660 PMCID: PMC7765088 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21249518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-assembled peptide nanofibers (NFs) obtained from β-sheet peptides conjugated with drugs, including antigenic peptides, have recently attracted significant attention. However, extensive studies on the interactions of β-sheet peptide NFs with model cell membranes have not been reported. In this study, we investigated the interactions between three types of NFs, composed of PEG-peptide conjugates with different ethylene glycol (EG) lengths (6-, 12- and 24-mer), and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) Langmuir membranes. When increasing the EG chain length, those interactions significantly decreased considering measurements in the presence of the NFs of: (i) changes in surface pressure of the DPPC Langmuir monolayers and (ii) surface pressure-area (π-A) compression isotherms of DPPC. Because the observed trend was similar to the EG length dependency with regard to cellular association and cytotoxicity of the NFs that was reported previously, the interaction of NFs with phospholipid membranes represented a crucial factor to determine the cellular association and toxicity of the NFs. In contrast to NFs, no changes were observed with varying EG chain length on the interaction of the building block peptide with the DPPC membrane. The results obtained herein can provide a design guideline on the formulation of β-sheet peptide NFs, which may broaden its potential.
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Abdelrahman S, Alghrably M, Lachowicz JI, Emwas AH, Hauser CAE, Jaremko M. "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger": Future Applications of Amyloid Aggregates in Biomedicine. Molecules 2020; 25:E5245. [PMID: 33187056 PMCID: PMC7696280 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25225245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloid proteins are linked to the pathogenesis of several diseases including Alzheimer's disease, but at the same time a range of functional amyloids are physiologically important in humans. Although the disease pathogenies have been associated with protein aggregation, the mechanisms and factors that lead to protein aggregation are not completely understood. Paradoxically, unique characteristics of amyloids provide new opportunities for engineering innovative materials with biomedical applications. In this review, we discuss not only outstanding advances in biomedical applications of amyloid peptides, but also the mechanism of amyloid aggregation, factors affecting the process, and core sequences driving the aggregation. We aim with this review to provide a useful manual for those who engineer amyloids for innovative medicine solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherin Abdelrahman
- Laboratory for Nanomedicine, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Mawadda Alghrably
- Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Joanna Izabela Lachowicz
- Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Policlinico Universitario, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Abdul-Hamid Emwas
- Core Labs, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Charlotte A. E. Hauser
- Laboratory for Nanomedicine, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Mariusz Jaremko
- Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia;
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6
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Kumar S, Hause G, Binder WH. Bifunctional Peptide-Polymer Conjugate-Based Fibers via a One-Pot Tandem Disulfide Reduction Coupled to a Thio-Bromo "Click" Reaction. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:19020-19028. [PMID: 32775904 PMCID: PMC7408259 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c02326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
In view of the potential applications of fibers in material sciences and biomedicine, an effective synthetic strategy is described to construct peptide-based bifunctional polymeric conjugates for supramolecular self-association in solution. A direct coupling method of an α-acyl-brominated peptide Phe-Phe-Phe-Phe (FFFF) with a disulfide-bridged polymeric scaffold of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (M n,GPC = 8700 g mol-1, Đ = 2.02) is reported to readily prepare the bi-headed conjugate FFFF-PEG-FFFF (M n,GPC = 3800 g mol-1, Đ = 1.10) via a one-pot, tandem disulfide reduction (based on tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP)) coupled to a thio-bromo "click" reaction. The conjugate was investigated via transmission electron microscopy to exploit supramolecular fibril formation and solvent-dependent structuring into macroscale fibers via fibril-fibril interactions and interfibril cross-linking-induced bundling. Circular dichroism spectroscopic analysis is further performed to investigate β-sheet motifs in such fibrous scaffolds. Overall, this synthetic approach opens an attractive approach for a simplified synthesis of PEG-containing peptide conjugates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonu Kumar
- Macromolecular
Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Science II (Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics),
Institute of Chemistry, Martin Luther University
Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Danckelmann-Platz 4, Halle (Saale) D-06120, Germany
- Department
of Applied Sciences (Chemistry), Punjab
Engineering College (Deemed to be University), Sector 12, Chandigarh 160012, India
| | - Gerd Hause
- Biocenter, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Weinbergweg 22, Halle (Saale) D-06120, Germany
| | - Wolfgang H. Binder
- Macromolecular
Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Science II (Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics),
Institute of Chemistry, Martin Luther University
Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Danckelmann-Platz 4, Halle (Saale) D-06120, Germany
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7
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Waku T, Nishigaki S, Kitagawa Y, Koeda S, Kawabata K, Kunugi S, Kobori A, Tanaka N. Effect of the Hydrophilic-Hydrophobic Balance of Antigen-Loaded Peptide Nanofibers on Their Cellular Uptake, Cellular Toxicity, and Immune Stimulatory Properties. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:E3781. [PMID: 31382455 PMCID: PMC6696487 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20153781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Revised: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, nanofibers (NFs) formed from antigenic peptides conjugated to β-sheet-forming peptides have attracted much attention as a new generation of vaccines. However, studies describing how the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of NF components affects cellular interactions of NFs are limited. In this report, three different NFs were prepared by self-assembly of β-sheet-forming peptides conjugated with model antigenic peptides (SIINFEKL) from ovalbumin and hydrophilic oligo-ethylene glycol (EG) of differing chain lengths (6-, 12- and 24-mer) to investigate the effect of EG length of antigen-loaded NFs on their cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and dendritic cell (DC)-stimulation ability. We used an immortal DC line, termed JAWS II, derived from bone marrow-derived DCs of a C57BL/6 p53-knockout mouse. The uptake of NFs, consisting of the EG 12-mer by DCs, was the most effective and activated DC without exhibiting significant cytotoxicity. Increasing the EG chain length significantly reduced cellular entry and DC activation by NFs. Conversely, shortening the EG chain enhanced DC activation but increased toxicity and impaired water-dispersibility, resulting in low cellular uptake. These results show that the interaction of antigen-loaded NFs with cells can be tuned by the EG length, which provides useful design guidelines for the development of effective NF-based vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomonori Waku
- Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Gosyokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
| | - Saki Nishigaki
- Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Gosyokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Yuichi Kitagawa
- Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Gosyokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Sayaka Koeda
- Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Gosyokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Kazufumi Kawabata
- Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Gosyokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Shigeru Kunugi
- Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Gosyokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Akio Kobori
- Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Gosyokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Naoki Tanaka
- Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Gosyokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
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8
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Urban JM, Ho J, Piester G, Fu R, Nilsson BL. Rippled β-Sheet Formation by an Amyloid-β Fragment Indicates Expanded Scope of Sequence Space for Enantiomeric β-Sheet Peptide Coassembly. Molecules 2019; 24:E1983. [PMID: 31126069 PMCID: PMC6571685 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24101983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In 1953, Pauling and Corey predicted that enantiomeric β-sheet peptides would coassemble into so-called "rippled" β-sheets, in which the β-sheets would consist of alternating l- and d-peptides. To date, this phenomenon has been investigated primarily with amphipathic peptide sequences composed of alternating hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acid residues. Here, we show that enantiomers of a fragment of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide that does not follow this sequence pattern, amyloid-β (16-22), readily coassembles into rippled β-sheets. Equimolar mixtures of enantiomeric amyloid-β (16-22) peptides assemble into supramolecular structures that exhibit distinct morphologies from those observed by self-assembly of the single enantiomer pleated β-sheet fibrils. Formation of rippled β-sheets composed of alternating l- and d-amyloid-β (16-22) is confirmed by isotope-edited infrared spectroscopy and solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Sedimentation analysis reveals that rippled β-sheet formation by l- and d-amyloid-β (16-22) is energetically favorable relative to self-assembly into corresponding pleated β-sheets. This work illustrates that coassembly of enantiomeric β-sheet peptides into rippled β-sheets is not limited to peptides with alternating hydrophobic/hydrophilic sequence patterns, but that a broader range of sequence space is available for the design and preparation of rippled β-sheet materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer M Urban
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0216, USA.
| | - Janson Ho
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0216, USA.
| | - Gavin Piester
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0216, USA.
| | - Riqiang Fu
- The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University, 1800 East Paul Dirac Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA.
| | - Bradley L Nilsson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0216, USA.
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9
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Khan RU, Wang L, Yu H, Abdin ZU, Haq F, Haroon M, Naveed KUR, Elshaarani T, Fahad S, Ren S, Wang J. Synthesis of polyorganophosphazenes and fabrication of their blend microspheres and micro/nanofibers as drug delivery systems. INT J POLYM MATER PO 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/00914037.2019.1581203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rizwan Ullah Khan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Li Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Haojie Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Zain-Ul- Abdin
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Fazal Haq
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Muhammad Haroon
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Kaleem-Ur-Rehman Naveed
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Tarig Elshaarani
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Shah Fahad
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Sicong Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Jun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
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10
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Abstract
Self-assembled peptide nanostructures have been increasingly exploited as functional materials for applications in biomedicine and energy. The emergent properties of these nanomaterials determine the applications for which they can be exploited. It has recently been appreciated that nanomaterials composed of multicomponent coassembled peptides often display unique emergent properties that have the potential to dramatically expand the functional utility of peptide-based materials. This review presents recent efforts in the development of multicomponent peptide assemblies. The discussion includes multicomponent assemblies derived from short low molecular weight peptides, peptide amphiphiles, coiled coil peptides, collagen, and β-sheet peptides. The design, structure, emergent properties, and applications for these multicomponent assemblies are presented in order to illustrate the potential of these formulations as sophisticated next-generation bio-inspired materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle M Raymond
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0216, USA.
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11
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Dudukovic NA, Hudson BC, Paravastu AK, Zukoski CF. Self-assembly pathways and polymorphism in peptide-based nanostructures. NANOSCALE 2018; 10:1508-1516. [PMID: 29303206 DOI: 10.1039/c7nr06724k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Dipeptide derivative molecules can self-assemble into space-filling nanofiber networks at low volume fractions (<1%), allowing the formation of molecular gels with tunable mechanical properties. The self-assembly of dipeptide-based molecules is reminiscent of pathological amyloid fibril formation by naturally occurring polypeptides. Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-diphenylalanine (Fmoc-FF) is the most widely studied such molecule, but the thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena giving rise to Fmoc-FF gel formation remain poorly understood. We have previously presented evidence that the gelation process is a first order phase transition characterized by low energy barriers to nucleation, short induction times, and rapid quasi-one-dimensional crystal growth, stemming from solvent-solute interactions and highly specific molecular packing. Here, we discuss the phase behavior of Fmoc-FF in different solvents. We find that Fmoc-FF gel formation can be induced in apolar solvents, in addition to previously established pathways in aqueous systems. We further show that in certain solvent systems anisotropic crystals (nanofibers) are an initial metastable state, after which macroscopic crystal aggregates with no preferred axis of growth are formed. The molecular conformation is sensitive to solvent composition during assembly, indicating that Fmoc-FF may be a simple model system to study complex thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena involved in peptide self-assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikola A Dudukovic
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA 94551, USA.
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12
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Betush RJ, Urban JM, Nilsson BL. Balancing hydrophobicity and sequence pattern to influence self-assembly of amphipathic peptides. Biopolymers 2018; 110. [PMID: 29292825 DOI: 10.1002/bip.23099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Revised: 12/01/2017] [Accepted: 12/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Amphipathic peptides with alternating polar and nonpolar amino acid sequences efficiently self-assemble into functional β-sheet fibrils as long as the nonpolar residues have sufficient hydrophobicity. For example, the Ac-(FKFE)2 -NH2 peptide rapidly self-assembles into β-sheet bilayer nanoribbons, while Ac-(AKAE)2 -NH2 fails to self-assemble under similar conditions due to the significantly reduced hydrophobicity and β-sheet propensity of Ala relative to Phe. Herein, we systematically explore the effect of substituting only two of the four Ala residues at various positions in the Ac-(AKAE)2 -NH2 peptide with amino acids of increasing hydrophobicity, β-sheet potential, and surface area (including Phe, 1-naphthylalanine (1-Nal), 2-naphthylalanine (2-Nal), cyclohexylalanine (Cha), and pentafluorophenylalanine (F5 -Phe)) on the self-assembly propensity of the resulting sequences. It was found that double Phe variants, regardless of the position of substitution, failed to self-assemble under the conditions used in this study. In contrast, all double 1-Nal and 2-Nal variants readily self-assembled, albeit at differing rates depending on the substitution patterns. To determine whether this was due to hydrophobicity or side chain surface area, we also prepared double Cha and F5 -Phe variant peptides (both side chain groups are more hydrophobic than Phe). Each of these variants also underwent effective self-assembly, with the aromatic F5 -Phe peptides doing so with greater efficiency. These findings provide insight into the role of amino acid hydrophobicity and sequence pattern on self-assembly proclivity of amphipathic peptides and on how targeted substitutions of nonpolar residues in these sequences can be exploited to tune the characteristics of the resulting self-assembled materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ria J Betush
- Department of Chemistry, Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania
| | - Jennifer M Urban
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
| | - Bradley L Nilsson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
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13
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Wei G, Su Z, Reynolds NP, Arosio P, Hamley IW, Gazit E, Mezzenga R. Self-assembling peptide and protein amyloids: from structure to tailored function in nanotechnology. Chem Soc Rev 2017; 46:4661-4708. [PMID: 28530745 PMCID: PMC6364806 DOI: 10.1039/c6cs00542j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 531] [Impact Index Per Article: 75.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Self-assembled peptide and protein amyloid nanostructures have traditionally been considered only as pathological aggregates implicated in human neurodegenerative diseases. In more recent times, these nanostructures have found interesting applications as advanced materials in biomedicine, tissue engineering, renewable energy, environmental science, nanotechnology and material science, to name only a few fields. In all these applications, the final function depends on: (i) the specific mechanisms of protein aggregation, (ii) the hierarchical structure of the protein and peptide amyloids from the atomistic to mesoscopic length scales and (iii) the physical properties of the amyloids in the context of their surrounding environment (biological or artificial). In this review, we will discuss recent progress made in the field of functional and artificial amyloids and highlight connections between protein/peptide folding, unfolding and aggregation mechanisms, with the resulting amyloid structure and functionality. We also highlight current advances in the design and synthesis of amyloid-based biological and functional materials and identify new potential fields in which amyloid-based structures promise new breakthroughs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Wei
- Faculty of Production Engineering, University of Bremen, Bremen,
Germany
| | - Zhiqiang Su
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing
University of Chemical Technology, China
| | - Nicholas P. Reynolds
- ARC Training Centre for Biodevices, Swinburne University of
Technology, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Paolo Arosio
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH-Zurich,
Switzerland
| | | | - Ehud Gazit
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Israel
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- Department of Health Science and Technology, ETH-Zurich,
Switzerland
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14
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Tran-Cong-Miyata Q. In Focus section: Polymer Research at Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT), Japan. POLYM INT 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/pi.5248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qui Tran-Cong-Miyata
- Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering; Kyoto Institute of Technology; Matsugasaki Kyoto 606-858 JAPAN
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