1
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Chen C, Yan ZS, Ma YQ, Ding HM. Effect of Terahertz Waves on the Structure of the Aβ42 Monomer, Dimer, and Protofibril: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:4128-4138. [PMID: 37983764 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00485] [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] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloid-β (Aβ) and its assemblies play important roles in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent studies conducted by experimental and computational researchers have extensively explored the structure, assembly, and influence of biomolecules and cell membranes on Aβ. However, the impact of terahertz waves on the structures of Aβ monomers and aggregates remains largely unexplored. In this study, we systematically investigate the molecular mechanisms by which terahertz waves affect the structure of the Aβ42 monomer, dimer, and tetramer through all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our findings indicate that terahertz waves at a specific frequency (42.55 THz) can enhance intramolecular and intermolecular interactions in the Aβ42 monomer and dimer, respectively, by resonating with the symmetric stretching mode of the -COO- groups and the symmetric bending/stretching mode of -CH3 groups. Consequently, the β-structure content of the Aβ42 monomer is greatly increased, and the binding energy between the monomers in the Aβ42 dimer is significantly enhanced. Additionally, our observations suggest that terahertz waves can mildly stabilize the structure of tetrameric protofibrils by enhancing the interactions among peripheral peptides. Furthermore, we also investigated the effect of the frequency of terahertz waves on the structure of Aβ42. The present study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of external fields on the biobehavior of Aβ42 peptides and may shed some light on the potential risks associated with electromagnetic field radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Chen
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Zeng-Shuai Yan
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Yu-Qiang Ma
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Hong-Ming Ding
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research, School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
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2
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Kaygisiz K, Rauch-Wirth L, Dutta A, Yu X, Nagata Y, Bereau T, Münch J, Synatschke CV, Weil T. Data-mining unveils structure-property-activity correlation of viral infectivity enhancing self-assembling peptides. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5121. [PMID: 37612273 PMCID: PMC10447463 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40663-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene therapy via retroviral vectors holds great promise for treating a variety of serious diseases. It requires the use of additives to boost infectivity. Amyloid-like peptide nanofibers (PNFs) were shown to efficiently enhance retroviral gene transfer. However, the underlying mode of action of these peptides remains largely unknown. Data-mining is an efficient method to systematically study structure-function relationship and unveil patterns in a database. This data-mining study elucidates the multi-scale structure-property-activity relationship of transduction enhancing peptides for retroviral gene transfer. In contrast to previous reports, we find that not the amyloid fibrils themselves, but rather µm-sized β-sheet rich aggregates enhance infectivity. Specifically, microscopic aggregation of β-sheet rich amyloid structures with a hydrophobic surface pattern and positive surface charge are identified as key material properties. We validate the reliability of the amphiphilic sequence pattern and the general applicability of the key properties by rationally creating new active sequences and identifying short amyloidal peptides from various pathogenic and functional origin. Data-mining-even for small datasets-enables the development of new efficient retroviral transduction enhancers and provides important insights into the diverse bioactivity of the functional material class of amyloids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kübra Kaygisiz
- Department Synthesis of Macromolecules, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Lena Rauch-Wirth
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Meyerhofstraße 1, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Arghya Dutta
- Department Polymer Theory, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Biochemistry II, Faculty of Medicine, Goethe University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Xiaoqing Yu
- Department Molecular Spectroscopy, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Yuki Nagata
- Department Molecular Spectroscopy, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Tristan Bereau
- Department Polymer Theory, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Heidelberg University, Philosophenweg 19, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jan Münch
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, Meyerhofstraße 1, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Christopher V Synatschke
- Department Synthesis of Macromolecules, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Tanja Weil
- Department Synthesis of Macromolecules, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany.
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3
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Wu KY, Doan D, Medrano M, Chang CEA. Modeling structural interconversion in Alzheimers' amyloid beta peptide with classical and intrinsically disordered protein force fields. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:10005-10022. [PMID: 34152264 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1939163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of the aggregation mechanism in amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42) peptide is imperative for developing therapeutic drugs to prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease. Because of the high flexibility and lack of native tertiary structures of Aβ42, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations may help elucidate the peptide's dynamics with atomic details and collectively improve ensembles not seen in experiments. We applied microsecond-timescale MD simulations to investigate the dynamics and conformational changes of Aβ42 by using a newly developed Amber force field (ff14IDPSFF). We compared the ff14IDPSFF and the regular ff14SB force field by examining the conformational changes of two distinct Aβ42 monomers in explicit solvent. Conformational ensembles obtained by simulations depend on the force field and initial structure, Aβ42α-helix or Aβ42β-strand. The ff14IDPSFF sampled a high ratio of disordered structures and diverse β-strand secondary structures; in contrast, ff14SB favored helicity during the Aβ42α-helix simulations. The conformations obtained from Aβ42β-strand simulations maintained a balanced content in the disordered and helical structures when simulated by ff14SB, but the conformers clearly favored disordered and β-sheet structures simulated by ff14IDPSFF. The results obtained with ff14IDPSFF qualitatively reproduced the NMR chemical shifts well. In-depth peptide and cluster analysis revealed some characteristic features that may be linked to early onset of the fibril-like structure. The C-terminal region (mainly M35-V40) featured in-registered anti-parallel β-strand (β-hairpin) conformations with tested systems. Our work should expand the knowledge of force field and structure dependency in MD simulations and reveals the underlying structural mechanism-function relationship in Aβ42 peptides. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kingsley Y Wu
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - David Doan
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Marco Medrano
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Chia-En A Chang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
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4
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Tang X, Han W. Multiscale Exploration of Concentration-Dependent Amyloid-β(16-21) Amyloid Nucleation. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:5009-5016. [PMID: 35649244 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c00685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Atomic descriptions of peptide aggregation nucleation remain lacking due to the difficulty of exploring complex configurational spaces on long time scales. To elucidate this process, we develop a multiscale approach combining a metadynamics-based method with cluster statistical mechanics to derive concentration-dependent free energy surfaces of nucleation at near-atomic resolution. A kinetic transition network of nucleation is then constructed and employed to systematically explore nucleation pathways and kinetics through stochastic simulations. This approach is applied to describe Aβ16-21 amyloid nucleation, revealing a two-step mechanism involving disordered aggregates at millimolar concentration, and an unexpected mechanism at submillimolar concentrations that exhibits kinetics reminiscent of classical nucleation but atypical pathways involving growing clusters with structured cores wrapped by disordered surface. When this atypical mechanism is operative, critical nucleus size can be reflected by the nucleation reaction order. Collectively, our approach paves the way for a more quantitative and detailed understanding of peptide aggregation nucleation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Wei Han
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518132, China
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5
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Cai X, Han W. Development of a Hybrid-Resolution Force Field for Peptide Self-Assembly Simulations: Optimizing Peptide-Peptide and Peptide-Solvent Interactions. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:2744-2760. [PMID: 35561002 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Atomic descriptions of peptide self-assembly are crucial to an understanding of disease-related peptide aggregation and the design of peptide-assembled materials. Obtaining these descriptions through computer simulation is challenging because current force fields, which were not designed for this process and are often unable to describe correctly peptide self-assembly behavior and the sequence dependence. Here, we developed a framework using dipeptide aggregation as a model system to improve force fields for simulations of self-assembly. Aggregation-related structural properties were designed and used to guide the optimization of peptide-peptide and peptide-solvent interactions. With this framework, we developed a self-assembly force field, termed PACE-ASM, by reoptimizing a hybrid-resolution force field that was originally developed for folding simulation. With its applicability in folding simulations, the new PACE was used to simulate the self-assembly of two disease-related short peptides, Aβ16-21 and PHF6, into β-sheet-rich cross-β amyloids. These simulations reproduced the crystal structures of Aβ16-21 and PHF6 amyloids at near-atomic resolution and captured the difference in packing orientations between the two sequences, a task which is challenging even with all-atom force fields. Apart from cross-β amyloids, the self-assembly of emerging helix-rich cross-α amyloids by another peptide PSMα3 can also be correctly described with the new PACE, manifesting the versatility of the force field. We demonstrated that the ability of the PACE-ASM to model peptide self-assembly is based largely on its improved description of peptide-peptide and peptide-solvent interactions. This was achieved with our optimization framework that can readily identify and address the deficiency in describing these interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Wei Han
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China.,Institute of Chemical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518132, China
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6
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Singh K, Kaur A, Goyal D, Goyal B. Mechanistic insights into the mitigation of Aβ aggregation and protofibril destabilization by a D–enantiomeric decapeptide rk10. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:21975-21994. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp02601e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
According to clinical studies, the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is linked to the abnormal aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides into toxic soluble oligomers, protofibrils as well as mature fibrils....
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7
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Nguyen PH, Derreumaux P. Computer Simulations Aimed at Exploring Protein Aggregation and Dissociation. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2340:175-196. [PMID: 35167075 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1546-1_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Protein aggregation can lead to well-defined structures that are functional, but is also the cause of the death of neuron cells in many neurodegenerative diseases. The complexity of the molecular events involved in the aggregation kinetics of amyloid proteins and the transient and heterogeneous characters of all oligomers prevent high-resolution structural experiments. As a result, computer simulations have been used to determine the atomic structures of amyloid proteins at different association stages as well as to understand fibril dissociation. In this chapter, we first review the current computer simulation methods used for aggregation with some atomistic and coarse-grained results aimed at better characterizing the early formed oligomers and amyloid fibril formation. Then we present the applications of non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to comprehend the dissociation of protein assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080, CNRS, Université de Paris, Paris, France
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080, CNRS, Université de Paris, Paris, France.
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
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8
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Nguyen PH, Tufféry P, Derreumaux P. Dynamics of Amyloid Formation from Simplified Representation to Atomistic Simulations. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2405:95-113. [PMID: 35298810 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1855-4_5] [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] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibril formation is an intrinsic property of short peptides, non-disease proteins, and proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Aggregates of the Aβ and tau proteins, the α-synuclein protein, and the prion protein are observed in the brain of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and prion disease patients, respectively. Due to the transient short-range and long-range interactions of all species and their high aggregation propensities, the conformational ensemble of these devastating proteins, the exception being for the monomeric prion protein, remains elusive by standard structural biology methods in bulk solution and in lipid membranes. To overcome these limitations, an increasing number of simulations using different sampling methods and protein models have been performed. In this chapter, we first review our main contributions to the field of amyloid protein simulations aimed at understanding the early aggregation steps of short linear amyloid peptides, the conformational ensemble of the Aβ40/42 dimers in bulk solution, and the stability of Aβ aggregates in lipid membrane models. Then we focus on our studies on the interactions of amyloid peptides/inhibitors to prevent aggregation, and long amyloid sequences, including new results on a monomeric tau construct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong Hoang Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, CNRS, Université de Paris, UPR 9080, Paris, France
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Pierre Tufféry
- Université de Paris, BFA, UMR 8251, CNRS, ERL U1133, Inserm, RPBS, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, CNRS, Université de Paris, UPR 9080, Paris, France.
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
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9
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Samantray S, Strodel B. The Effects of Different Glycosaminoglycans on the Structure and Aggregation of the Amyloid-β (16-22) Peptide. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:5511-5525. [PMID: 34027669 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c00868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Aggregates of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide are implicated as a causative substance in Alzheimer's disease. Molecular dynamics simulations provide valuable contributions for elucidating the conformational transitions of monomeric and aggregated forms of Aβ be it in solution or in the presence of other molecules. Here, we study the effects of four different glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), three sulfated ones and a nonsulfated one, on the aggregation of Aβ16-22. From experiments, it has been suggested that GAGs, which belong to the main components of the brain's extracellular space, favor amyloid fibril formation. Our simulation results reveal that the binding of Aβ16-22 to the GAGs is driven by electrostatic attraction between the negative GAG charges and the positively charged K16 of Aβ16-22. While these interactions have only minor effects on the GAG and Aβ16-22 conformations at the 1 Aβ16-22/1 GAG ratio, at the 2:2 stoichiometry the aggregation of Aβ16-22 is considerably changed. In solution, the aggregation of Aβ16-22 is strongly influenced by K16-E22 attraction, leading to antiparallel β-sheets. In the presence of GAGs, on the other hand, the interaction of K16 with the GAGs increases the importance of the hydrophobic interactions during Aβ16-22 aggregation, which in turn yields parallel alignments. A templating and ordering effect of the GAGs on the Aβ16-22 aggregates is observed. In summary, this study provides new insight at the atomic level on GAG-amyloid interactions, strengthening the view that sulfation of the GAGs plays a major role in this context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suman Samantray
- Institute of Biological Information Processing: Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany.,AICES Graduate School, RWTH Aachen University, Schinkelstraße 2, 52062 Aachen, Germany
| | - Birgit Strodel
- Institute of Biological Information Processing: Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany.,Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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10
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Barrera EE, Zonta F, Pantano S. Dissecting the role of glutamine in seeding peptide aggregation. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:1595-1602. [PMID: 33868596 PMCID: PMC8039506 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Poly glutamine and glutamine-rich peptides play a central role in a plethora of pathological aggregation events. However, biophysical characterization of soluble oligomers -the most toxic species involved in these processes- remains elusive due to their structural heterogeneity and dynamical nature. Here, we exploit the high spatio-temporal resolution of coarse-grained simulations as a computational microscope to characterize the aggregation propensity and morphology of a series of polyglutamine and glutamine-rich peptides. Comparative analysis of ab-initio aggregation pinpointed a double role for glutamines. In the first phase, glutamines mediate seeding by pairing monomeric peptides, which serve as primers for higher-order nucleation. According to the glutamine content, these low molecular-weight oligomers may then proceed to create larger aggregates. Once within the aggregates, buried glutamines continue to play a role in their maturation by optimizing solvent-protected hydrogen bonds networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Exequiel E. Barrera
- Instituto de Histología y Embriología (IHEM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), CC56, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (UNCuyo), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Francesco Zonta
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
| | - Sergio Pantano
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
- Biomolecular Simulations Group, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, CP 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
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11
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Nguyen PH, Ramamoorthy A, Sahoo BR, Zheng J, Faller P, Straub JE, Dominguez L, Shea JE, Dokholyan NV, De Simone A, Ma B, Nussinov R, Najafi S, Ngo ST, Loquet A, Chiricotto M, Ganguly P, McCarty J, Li MS, Hall C, Wang Y, Miller Y, Melchionna S, Habenstein B, Timr S, Chen J, Hnath B, Strodel B, Kayed R, Lesné S, Wei G, Sterpone F, Doig AJ, Derreumaux P. Amyloid Oligomers: A Joint Experimental/Computational Perspective on Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Type II Diabetes, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Chem Rev 2021; 121:2545-2647. [PMID: 33543942 PMCID: PMC8836097 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 368] [Impact Index Per Article: 122.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Protein misfolding and aggregation is observed in many amyloidogenic diseases affecting either the central nervous system or a variety of peripheral tissues. Structural and dynamic characterization of all species along the pathways from monomers to fibrils is challenging by experimental and computational means because they involve intrinsically disordered proteins in most diseases. Yet understanding how amyloid species become toxic is the challenge in developing a treatment for these diseases. Here we review what computer, in vitro, in vivo, and pharmacological experiments tell us about the accumulation and deposition of the oligomers of the (Aβ, tau), α-synuclein, IAPP, and superoxide dismutase 1 proteins, which have been the mainstream concept underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), type II diabetes (T2D), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research, respectively, for many years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy
- Biophysics and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055, United States
| | - Bikash R Sahoo
- Biophysics and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055, United States
| | - Jie Zheng
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, United States
| | - Peter Faller
- Institut de Chimie, UMR 7177, CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, 4 rue Blaise Pascal, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - John E Straub
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Laura Dominguez
- Facultad de Química, Departamento de Fisicoquímica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Nikolay V Dokholyan
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
- Department of Chemistry, and Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Alfonso De Simone
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K
- Molecular Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples 80138, Italy
| | - Buyong Ma
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
- Sackler Institute of Molecular Medicine, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Saeed Najafi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Son Tung Ngo
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics & Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Antoine Loquet
- Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects, (UMR5248 CBMN), CNRS, Université Bordeaux, Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Mara Chiricotto
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K
| | - Pritam Ganguly
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - James McCarty
- Chemistry Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington 98225, United States
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute for Computational Science and Technology, SBI Building, Quang Trung Software City, Tan Chanh Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Carol Hall
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States
| | - Yiming Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States
| | - Yifat Miller
- Department of Chemistry and The Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel
| | | | - Birgit Habenstein
- Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects, (UMR5248 CBMN), CNRS, Université Bordeaux, Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Stepan Timr
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Jiaxing Chen
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
| | - Brianna Hnath
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
| | - Birgit Strodel
- Institute of Complex Systems: Structural Biochemistry (ICS-6), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Rakez Kayed
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, United States
| | - Sylvain Lesné
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Guanghong Wei
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Science, Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Fabio Sterpone
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Andrew J Doig
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
- Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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12
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Kaur A, Goyal D, Goyal B. An α-helix mimetic oligopyridylamide, ADH-31, modulates Aβ 42 monomer aggregation and destabilizes protofibril structures: insights from molecular dynamics simulations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:28055-28073. [PMID: 33289734 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp04672h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD), an epidemic growing worldwide due to no effective medical aid available in the market, is a neurological disorder. AD is known to be directly associated with the toxicity of amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregates. In search of potent inhibitors of Aβ aggregation, Hamilton and co-workers reported an α-helix mimetic, ADH-31, which acts as a powerful antagonist of Aβ42 aggregation. To identify the key interactions between protein-ligand complexes and to gain insights into the inhibitory mechanism of ADH-31 against Aβ42 aggregation, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed in the present study. The MD simulations highlighted that ADH-31 showed distinct binding capabilities with residues spanning from the N-terminal to the central hydrophobic core (CHC) region of Aβ42 and restricted the conformational transition of the helix-rich structure of Aβ42 into another form of secondary structures (coil/turn/β-sheet). Hydrophobic contacts, hydrogen bonding and π-π interaction contribute to the strong binding between ADH-31 and Aβ42 monomer. The Dictionary of Secondary Structure of Proteins (DSSP) analysis highlighted that the probability of helical content increases from 38.5% to 50.2% and the turn content reduces from 14.7% to 6.2% with almost complete loss of the β-sheet structure (4.5% to 0%) in the Aβ42 monomer + ADH-31 complex. The per-residue binding free energy analysis demonstrated that Arg5, Tyr10, His14, Gln15, Lys16, Val18, Phe19 and Lys28 residues of Aβ42 are responsible for the favourable binding free energy in Aβ42 monomer + ADH-31 complex, which is consistent with the 2D HSQC NMR of the Aβ42 monomer that depicted a change in the chemical shift of residues spanning from Glu11 to Phe20 in the presence of ADH-31. The MD simulations highlighted the prevention of sampling of amyloidogenic β-strand conformations in Aβ42 trimer in the presence of ADH-31 as well as the ability of ADH-31 to destabilize Aβ42 trimer and protofibril structures. The lower binding affinity between Aβ42 trimer chains in the presence of ADH-31 highlights the destabilization of the Aβ42 trimer structure. Overall, MD results highlighted that ADH-31 inhibited Aβ42 aggregation by constraining Aβ peptides into helical conformation and destabilized Aβ42 trimer as well as protofibril structures. The present study provides a theoretical insight into the atomic level details of the inhibitory mechanism of ADH-31 against Aβ42 aggregation as well as protofibril destabilization and could be implemented in the structure-based drug design of potent therapeutic agents for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anupamjeet Kaur
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib-140406, Punjab, India.
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Ramis R, Ortega-Castro J, Vilanova B, Adrover M, Frau J. Unraveling the NaCl Concentration Effect on the First Stages of α-Synuclein Aggregation. Biomacromolecules 2020; 21:5200-5212. [PMID: 33140640 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Intraneuronal aggregation of the intrinsically disordered protein α-synuclein is at the core of Parkinson's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. Several reports show that the concentration of salts in the medium heavily affects its aggregation rate and fibril morphology, but a characterization of the individual monomeric conformations underlying these effects is still lacking. In this work, we have applied our α-synuclein-optimized coarse-grained molecular dynamics approach to decipher the structural features of the protein monomer under a range of NaCl concentrations (0.0-1.0 M). The results show that key intramolecular contacts between the terminal domains are lost at intermediate concentrations (leading to extended conformations likely to fibrillate), but recovered at high concentrations (leading to compact conformations likely to evolve toward amorphous aggregates). The pattern of direct interactions of the terminal α-synuclein domains with Na+ and Cl- ions plays a key role in explaining this effect. Our results are consistent with a recent study reporting a fibrillation enhancement at moderate NaCl concentrations but an inhibition at higher concentrations. The present work will contribute to improving our understanding of the structural features of monomeric α-synuclein, determining its NaCl-induced fibrillation propensity and the molecular basis of synucleinopathies, necessary for the future development of disease-halting therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Ramis
- Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Departament de Química, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.,Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears (IdISBa), 07020 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Joaquín Ortega-Castro
- Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Departament de Química, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.,Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears (IdISBa), 07020 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Bartolomé Vilanova
- Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Departament de Química, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.,Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears (IdISBa), 07020 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Miquel Adrover
- Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Departament de Química, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.,Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears (IdISBa), 07020 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Juan Frau
- Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Departament de Química, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.,Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears (IdISBa), 07020 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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Gera J, Paragi G. Fluorescence-Labeled Amyloid Beta Monomer: A Molecular Dynamical Study. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25153524. [PMID: 32752239 PMCID: PMC7435871 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25153524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The aggregation process of the Amyloidβ (Aβ) peptide is one of the central questions in Alzheimers’s research. Fluorescence-labeled single-molecule detection is a novel technique concerning the early stage investigation of Aβ aggregation, where the labeling dyes are covalently bound to the Aβ monomer. As the influence of the dye on the conformational space of the Aβ monomer can be significant, its effect on the seeding process is an open question. The applied fluorescent molecule continuously switches between an active (ON) and an inactive (OFF) state, where the latter supports an extra rotational restriction at many commercially available dyes. However, only a few theoretical studies simulated the Aβ monomer in the presence of a dye and none of them considered the difference between the ON and the OFF states. Therefore, we examined the impact of a selected fluorescence dye (Alexa 568) on the conformational space of the monomeric Aβ(1–42) peptide in its ON and OFF state by replica exchange molecular dynamic simulations. Investigations on secondary structure elements as well as dye-peptide contact analysis for the monomers are presented. Experimental and theoretical NMR shifts were contrasted to qualify the calculation protocol and theoretical values of the labeled and the non-labeled peptide were also compared. We found that the first five residues have higher helical propensity in the presence of the dye, and electrostatic properties could strongly affect the connection between the dye and the peptide parts.
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Affiliation(s)
- János Gera
- Department of Medical Chemistry, University of Szeged, H-6720 Dóm square 8, 6720 Szeged, Hungary;
| | - Gábor Paragi
- MTA-SZTE Biomimetic Systems Research Group, Department of Medical Chemistry, University of Szeged, H-6720 Dóm square 8, 6720 Szeged, Hungary
- Institute of Physics, University of Pecs, H-7624 Ifjusag utja 6, 7624 Pecs, Hungary
- Correspondence: or ; Tel.: +36-62-544-4593
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Kaur A, Kaur A, Goyal D, Goyal B. How Does the Mono-Triazole Derivative Modulate Aβ 42 Aggregation and Disrupt a Protofibril Structure: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:15606-15619. [PMID: 32637837 PMCID: PMC7331201 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c01825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Clinical studies have identified that abnormal self-assembly of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide into toxic fibrillar aggregates is associated with the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The most acceptable therapeutic approach to stop the progression of AD is to inhibit the formation of β-sheet-rich structures. Recently, we designed and evaluated a series of novel mono-triazole derivatives 4(a-x), where compound 4v was identified as the most potent inhibitor of Aβ42 aggregation and disaggregates preformed Aβ42 fibrils significantly. Moreover, 4v strongly averts the Cu2+-induced Aβ42 aggregation and disaggregates the preformed Cu2+-induced Aβ42 fibrils, halts the generation of reactive oxygen species, and shows neuroprotective effects in SH-SY5Y cells. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of inhibition of Aβ42 aggregation by 4v and disaggregation of preformed Aβ42 fibrils remains obscure. In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed to explore the conformational ensemble of the Aβ42 monomer and a pentameric protofibril structure of Aβ42 in the presence of 4v. The MD simulations highlighted that 4v binds preferentially at the central hydrophobic core region of the Aβ42 monomer and chains D and E of the Aβ42 protofibril. The dictionary of secondary structure of proteins analysis indicated that 4v retards the conformational conversion of the helix-rich structure of the Aβ42 monomer into the aggregation-prone β-sheet conformation. The binding free energy calculated by the molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area method revealed an energetically favorable process with ΔG binding = -44.9 ± 3.3 kcal/mol for the Aβ42 monomer-4v complex. The free energy landscape analysis highlighted that the Aβ42 monomer-4v complex sampled conformations with significantly higher helical contents (35 and 49%) as compared to the Aβ42 monomer alone (17%). Compound 4v displayed hydrogen bonding with Gly37 (chain E) and π-π interactions with Phe19 (chain D) of the Aβ42 protofibril. Further, the per-residue binding free energy analysis also highlighted that Phe19 (chain D) and Gly37 (chain E) of the Aβ42 protofibril showed the maximum contribution in the binding free energy. The decreased binding affinity and residue-residue contacts between chains D and E of the Aβ42 protofibril in the presence of 4v indicate destabilization of the Aβ42 protofibril structure. Overall, the structural information obtained through MD simulations indicated that 4v stabilizes the native helical conformation of the Aβ42 monomer and persuades a destabilization in the protofibril structure of Aβ42. The results of the study will be useful in the rational design of potent inhibitors against amyloid aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amandeep Kaur
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib 140406, Punjab, India
| | - Anupamjeet Kaur
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib 140406, Punjab, India
| | - Deepti Goyal
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib 140406, Punjab, India
| | - Bhupesh Goyal
- School
of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Thapar
Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
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Frigori RB, Barroso da Silva FL, Carvalho PPD, Alves NA. Occurrence of Biased Conformations as Precursors of Assembly States in Fibril Elongation of Amyloid-β Fibril Variants: An In Silico Study. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:2798-2805. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c01360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rafael B. Frigori
- Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Rua Cristo Rei 19, Toledo 85902-490, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Fernando L. Barroso da Silva
- Departamento de Ciências Biomoleculares, FCFRP, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida do Café, s/no, Ribeirão Preto 14040-903, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Patrícia P. D. Carvalho
- Departamento de Fı́sica, FFCLRP, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Nelson A. Alves
- Departamento de Fı́sica, FFCLRP, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, São Paulo, Brazil
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