1
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Ghosh D, Biswas A, Radhakrishna M. Advanced computational approaches to understand protein aggregation. BIOPHYSICS REVIEWS 2024; 5:021302. [PMID: 38681860 PMCID: PMC11045254 DOI: 10.1063/5.0180691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Protein aggregation is a widespread phenomenon implicated in debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cataracts, presenting complex hurdles for the field of molecular biology. In this review, we explore the evolving realm of computational methods and bioinformatics tools that have revolutionized our comprehension of protein aggregation. Beginning with a discussion of the multifaceted challenges associated with understanding this process and emphasizing the critical need for precise predictive tools, we highlight how computational techniques have become indispensable for understanding protein aggregation. We focus on molecular simulations, notably molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, spanning from atomistic to coarse-grained levels, which have emerged as pivotal tools in unraveling the complex dynamics governing protein aggregation in diseases such as cataracts, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. MD simulations provide microscopic insights into protein interactions and the subtleties of aggregation pathways, with advanced techniques like replica exchange molecular dynamics, Metadynamics (MetaD), and umbrella sampling enhancing our understanding by probing intricate energy landscapes and transition states. We delve into specific applications of MD simulations, elucidating the chaperone mechanism underlying cataract formation using Markov state modeling and the intricate pathways and interactions driving the toxic aggregate formation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Transitioning we highlight how computational techniques, including bioinformatics, sequence analysis, structural data, machine learning algorithms, and artificial intelligence have become indispensable for predicting protein aggregation propensity and locating aggregation-prone regions within protein sequences. Throughout our exploration, we underscore the symbiotic relationship between computational approaches and empirical data, which has paved the way for potential therapeutic strategies against protein aggregation-related diseases. In conclusion, this review offers a comprehensive overview of advanced computational methodologies and bioinformatics tools that have catalyzed breakthroughs in unraveling the molecular basis of protein aggregation, with significant implications for clinical interventions, standing at the intersection of computational biology and experimental research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepshikha Ghosh
- Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat 382355, India
| | - Anushka Biswas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat 382355, India
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2
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Mukherjee S, Poudyal M, Dave K, Kadu P, Maji SK. Protein misfolding and amyloid nucleation through liquid-liquid phase separation. Chem Soc Rev 2024; 53:4976-5013. [PMID: 38597222 DOI: 10.1039/d3cs01065a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is an emerging phenomenon in cell physiology and diseases. The weak multivalent interaction prerequisite for LLPS is believed to be facilitated through intrinsically disordered regions, which are prevalent in neurodegenerative disease-associated proteins. These aggregation-prone proteins also exhibit an inherent property for phase separation, resulting in protein-rich liquid-like droplets. The very high local protein concentration in the water-deficient confined microenvironment not only drives the viscoelastic transition from the liquid to solid-like state but also most often nucleate amyloid fibril formation. Indeed, protein misfolding, oligomerization, and amyloid aggregation are observed to be initiated from the LLPS of various neurodegeneration-related proteins. Moreover, in these cases, neurodegeneration-promoting genetic and environmental factors play a direct role in amyloid aggregation preceded by the phase separation. These cumulative recent observations ignite the possibility of LLPS being a prominent nucleation mechanism associated with aberrant protein aggregation. The present review elaborates on the nucleation mechanism of the amyloid aggregation pathway and the possible early molecular events associated with amyloid-related protein phase separation. It also summarizes the recent advancement in understanding the aberrant phase transition of major proteins contributing to neurodegeneration focusing on the common disease-associated factors. Overall, this review proposes a generic LLPS-mediated multistep nucleation mechanism for amyloid aggregation and its implication in neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Semanti Mukherjee
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India.
| | - Manisha Poudyal
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India.
| | - Kritika Dave
- Sunita Sanghi Centre of Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Pradeep Kadu
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India.
| | - Samir K Maji
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India.
- Sunita Sanghi Centre of Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
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3
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Abstract
The formation of amyloid fibrils is a complex phenomenon that remains poorly understood at the atomic scale. Herein, we perform extended unbiased all-atom simulations in explicit solvent of a short amphipathic peptide to shed light on the three mechanisms accounting for fibril formation, namely, nucleation via primary and secondary mechanisms, and fibril growth. We find that primary nucleation takes place via the formation of an intermediate state made of two laminated β-sheets oriented perpendicular to each other. The amyloid fibril spine subsequently emerges from the rotation of these β-sheets to account for peptides that are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the main axis of the fibril. Growth of this spine, in turn, takes place via a dock-and-lock mechanism. We find that peptides dock onto the fibril tip either from bulk solution or after diffusing on the fibril surface. The latter docking pathway contributes significantly to populate the fibril tip with peptides. We also find that side chain interactions drive the motion of peptides in the lock phase during growth, enabling them to adopt the structure imposed by the fibril tip with atomic fidelity. Conversely, the docked peptide becomes trapped in a local free energy minimum when docked-conformations are sampled randomly. Our simulations also highlight the role played by nonpolar fibril surface patches in catalyzing and orienting the formation of small cross-β structures. More broadly, our simulations provide important new insights into the pathways and interactions accounting for primary and secondary nucleation as well as the growth of amyloid fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharareh Jalali
- Department of Physics, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey 07102-1982, United States
| | - Ruoyao Zhang
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Mikko P Haataja
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
- Princeton Materials Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Cristiano L Dias
- Department of Physics, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey 07102-1982, United States
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4
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Wu K, Sun W, Li D, Diao J, Xiu P. Inhibition of Amyloid Nucleation by Steric Hindrance. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:10045-10054. [PMID: 36417323 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c06330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Despite recent experiments and simulations suggesting that small-molecule inhibitors and some post-translational modifications (e.g., glycosylation and ubiquitination) can suppress the pathogenic aggregation of proteins due to steric hindrance, the effect of steric hindrance on amyloid formation has not been systematically studied. Based on Monte Carlo simulations using a coarse-grained model for amyloidogenic proteins and a hard sphere acting as steric hindrance, we investigated how steric hindrance on proteins could affect amyloid formation, particularly two steps of primary nucleation, namely, oligomerization and conformational conversion into a β-sheet-enriched nucleus. We found that steric spheres played an inhibitory role in oligomerization with the effect proportional to the sphere radius RS, which we attributed to the decline in the nonspecific attractions between proteins. During the second step, small steric spheres facilitated the conformational conversion of proteins while large ones suppressed the conversion. The overall steric effect on amyloid nucleation was inhibitory regardless of RS. As RS increased, oligomeric assemblies changed from amorphous into sheet-like, structurally ordered species, reminiscent of the structure of amyloid fibrils. The oligomers with large RS were off-pathway with their ordered structures induced by the competition between steric hindrance and nonspecific attractions of soluble proteins. Interestingly, the equimolar mixture of proteins with and without steric hindrance amplified the sterically inhibitory effect by increasing the energy barrier of protein's conformational conversion. The physical mechanisms and biological implications of the above results are discussed. Our findings improve the current understanding of how nature regulates protein aggregation and amyloid formation by steric hindrance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Wu
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People's Republic of China.,School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.,Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou 325001, China.,Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267, United States of America
| | - Wuxuepeng Sun
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People's Republic of China
| | - Dechang Li
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiajie Diao
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267, United States of America
| | - Peng Xiu
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People's Republic of China
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5
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Xing Y, Andrikopoulos N, Zhang Z, Sun Y, Ke PC, Ding F. Modulating Nanodroplet Formation En Route to Fibrillization of Amyloid Peptides with Designed Flanking Sequences. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:4179-4191. [PMID: 36137260 PMCID: PMC9618360 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00642] [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] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Soluble oligomers populating early amyloid aggregation can be regarded as nanodroplets of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). Amyloid peptides typically contain hydrophobic aggregation-prone regions connected by hydrophilic linkers and flanking sequences, and such a sequence hydropathy pattern drives the formation of supramolecular structures in the nanodroplets and modulates subsequent fibrillization. Here, we studied LLPS and fibrillization of coarse-grained amyloid peptides with increasing flanking sequences. Nanodroplets assumed lamellar, cylindrical micellar, and spherical micellar structures with increasing peptide hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratios, and such morphologies governed subsequent fibrillization processes. Adding glycine-serine repeats as flanking sequences to Aβ16-22, the amyloidogenic core of amyloid-β, our computational predictions of morphological transitions were corroborated experimentally. The uncovered inter-relationships between the peptide sequence pattern, oligomer/nanodroplet morphology, and fibrillization pathway, kinetics, and structure may contribute to our understanding of pathogenic amyloidosis in aging, facilitate future efforts ameliorating amyloidosis through peptide engineering, and aid in the design of novel amyloid-based functional nanobiomaterials and nanocomposites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanting Xing
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
| | - Nicholas Andrikopoulos
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Zhenzhen Zhang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
| | - Yunxiang Sun
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
- Department of Physics, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Pu Chun Ke
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Nanomedicine Center, The GBA National Institute for Nanotechnology Innovation, 136 Kaiyuan Avenue, Guangzhou, 510700, China
| | - Feng Ding
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
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6
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Roy M, Nath AK, Pal I, Dey SG. Second Sphere Interactions in Amyloidogenic Diseases. Chem Rev 2022; 122:12132-12206. [PMID: 35471949 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Amyloids are protein aggregates bearing a highly ordered cross β structural motif, which may be functional but are mostly pathogenic. Their formation, deposition in tissues and consequent organ dysfunction is the central event in amyloidogenic diseases. Such protein aggregation may be brought about by conformational changes, and much attention has been directed toward factors like metal binding, post-translational modifications, mutations of protein etc., which eventually affect the reactivity and cytotoxicity of the associated proteins. Over the past decade, a global effort from different groups working on these misfolded/unfolded proteins/peptides has revealed that the amino acid residues in the second coordination sphere of the active sites of amyloidogenic proteins/peptides cause changes in H-bonding pattern or protein-protein interactions, which dramatically alter the structure and reactivity of these proteins/peptides. These second sphere effects not only determine the binding of transition metals and cofactors, which define the pathology of some of these diseases, but also change the mechanism of redox reactions catalyzed by these proteins/peptides and form the basis of oxidative damage associated with these amyloidogenic diseases. The present review seeks to discuss such second sphere modifications and their ramifications in the etiopathology of some representative amyloidogenic diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2Dm), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), and prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhuparna Roy
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Arnab Kumar Nath
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Ishita Pal
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Somdatta Ghosh Dey
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
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7
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Sorokina SA, Shifrina ZB. Dendrimers as Antiamyloid Agents. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14040760. [PMID: 35456594 PMCID: PMC9031116 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14040760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Dendrimer–protein conjugates have significant prospects for biological applications. The complexation changes the biophysical behavior of both proteins and dendrimers. The dendrimers could influence the secondary structure of proteins, zeta-potential, distribution of charged regions on the surface, the protein–protein interactions, etc. These changes offer significant possibilities for the application of these features in nanotheranostics and biomedicine. Based on the dendrimer–protein interactions, several therapeutic applications of dendrimers have emerged. Thus, the formation of stable complexes retains the disordered proteins on the aggregation, which is especially important in neurodegenerative diseases. To clarify the origin of these properties and assess the efficiency of action, the mechanism of protein–dendrimer interaction and the nature and driving force of binding are considered in this review. The review outlines the antiamyloid activity of dendrimers and discusses the effect of dendrimer structures and external factors on their antiamyloid properties.
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8
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Co NT, Li MS, Krupa P. Computational Models for the Study of Protein Aggregation. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2340:51-78. [PMID: 35167070 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1546-1_4] [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
Protein aggregation has been studied by many groups around the world for many years because it can be the cause of a number of neurodegenerative diseases that have no effective treatment. Obtaining the structure of related fibrils and toxic oligomers, as well as describing the pathways and main factors that govern the self-organization process, is of paramount importance, but it is also very difficult. To solve this problem, experimental and computational methods are often combined to get the most out of each method. The effectiveness of the computational approach largely depends on the construction of a reasonable molecular model. Here we discussed different versions of the four most popular all-atom force fields AMBER, CHARMM, GROMOS, and OPLS, which have been developed for folded and intrinsically disordered proteins, or both. Continuous and discrete coarse-grained models, which were mainly used to study the kinetics of aggregation, are also summarized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nguyen Truong Co
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Institute for Computational Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Pawel Krupa
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
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9
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Banerjee A, Lu CY, Dutt M. A hybrid coarse-grained model for structure, solvation and assembly of lipid-like peptides. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 24:1553-1568. [PMID: 34940778 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp04205j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Reconstituted photosynthetic proteins which are activated upon exposure to solar energy hold enormous potential for powering future solid state devices and solar cells. The functionality and integration of these proteins into such devices has been successfully enabled by lipid-like peptides. Yet, a fundamental understanding of the organization of these peptides with respect to the photosynthetic proteins and themselves remains unknown and is critical for guiding the design of such light-activated devices. This study investigates the relative organization of one such peptide sequence V6K2 (V: valine and K: lysine) within assemblies. Given the expansive spatiotemporal scales associated with this study, a hybrid coarse-grained (CG) model which captures the structure, conformation and aggregation of the peptide is adopted. The CG model uses a combination of iterative Boltzmann inversion and force matching to provide insight into the relative organization of V6K2 in assemblies. The CG model reproduces the structure of a V6K2 peptide sequence along with its all atom (AA) solvation structure. The relative organization of multiple peptides in an assembly, as captured by CG simulations, is in agreement with corresponding results from AA simulations. Also, a backmapping procedure reintroduces the AA details of the peptides within the aggregates captured by the CG model to demonstrate the relative organization of the peptides. Furthermore, a large number of peptides self-assemble into an elongated micelle in the CG simulation, which is consistent with experimental findings. The coarse-graining procedure is tested for transferability to longer peptide sequences, and hence can be extended to other amphiphilic peptide sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akash Banerjee
- Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
| | - Chien Yu Lu
- Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
| | - Meenakshi Dutt
- Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
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10
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Szała-Mendyk B, Molski A. Diverse Aggregation Kinetics Predicted by a Coarse-Grained Peptide Model. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:7587-7597. [PMID: 34251838 PMCID: PMC8389928 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c00290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Protein and peptide
aggregation is a ubiquitous phenomenon with
implications in medicine, pharmaceutical industry, and materials science.
An important issue in peptide aggregation is the molecular mechanism
of aggregate nucleation and growth. In many experimental studies,
sigmoidal kinetics curves show a clear lag phase ascribed to nucleation;
however, experimental studies also show downhill kinetics curves,
where the monomers decay continuously and no lag phase can be seen.
In this work, we study peptide aggregation kinetics using a coarse-grained
implicit solvent model introduced in our previous work. Our simulations
explore the hypothesis that the interplay between interchain attraction
and intrachain bending stiffness controls the aggregation kinetics
and transient aggregate morphologies. Indeed, our model reproduces
the aggregation modes seen in experiment: no observed aggregation,
nucleated aggregation, and rapid downhill aggregation. We find that
the interaction strength is the primary parameter determining the
aggregation mode, whereas the stiffness is a secondary parameter modulating
the transient morphologies and aggregation rates: more attractive
and stiff chains aggregate more rapidly and the transient morphologies
are more ordered. We also explore the effects of the initial monomer
concentration and the chain length. As the concentration decreases,
the aggregation mode shifts from downhill to nucleated and no-aggregation.
This concentration effect is in line with an experimental observation
that the transition between downhill and nucleated kinetics is concentration-dependent.
We find that longer peptides can aggregate at conditions where short
peptides do not aggregate at all. It supports an experimental observation
that the elongation of a homopeptide, e.g., polyglutamine, can increase
the aggregation propensity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beata Szała-Mendyk
- Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Umultowska 89b, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Andrzej Molski
- Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Umultowska 89b, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
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11
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Gomes GN, Levine ZA. Defining the Neuropathological Aggresome across in Silico, in Vitro, and ex Vivo Experiments. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:1974-1996. [PMID: 33464098 PMCID: PMC8362740 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c09193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The loss of proteostasis over the life course is associated with a wide range of debilitating degenerative diseases and is a central hallmark of human aging. When left unchecked, proteins that are intrinsically disordered can pathologically aggregate into highly ordered fibrils, plaques, and tangles (termed amyloids), which are associated with countless disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type II diabetes, cancer, and even certain viral infections. However, despite significant advances in protein folding and solution biophysics techniques, determining the molecular cause of these conditions in humans has remained elusive. This has been due, in part, to recent discoveries showing that soluble protein oligomers, not insoluble fibrils or plaques, drive the majority of pathological processes. This has subsequently led researchers to focus instead on heterogeneous and often promiscuous protein oligomers. Unfortunately, significant gaps remain in how to prepare, model, experimentally corroborate, and extract amyloid oligomers relevant to human disease in a systematic manner. This Review will report on each of these techniques and their successes and shortcomings in an attempt to standardize comparisons between protein oligomers across disciplines, especially in the context of neurodegeneration. By standardizing multiple techniques and identifying their common overlap, a clearer picture of the soluble neuropathological aggresome can be constructed and used as a baseline for studying human disease and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory-Neal Gomes
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
- Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Zachary A. Levine
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
- Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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12
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Xing Y, Nandakumar A, Kakinen A, Sun Y, Davis TP, Ke PC, Ding F. Amyloid Aggregation under the Lens of Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:368-378. [PMID: 33356290 PMCID: PMC7855599 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Increasing experiments suggest that amyloid peptides can undergo liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) before the formation of amyloid fibrils. However, the exact role of LLPS in amyloid aggregation at the molecular level remains elusive. Here, we investigated the LLPS and amyloid fibrillization of a coarse-grained peptide, capable of capturing fundamental properties of amyloid aggregation over a wide range of concentrations in molecular dynamics simulations. On the basis of the Flory-Huggins theory of polymer solutions, we determined the binodal and spinodal concentrations of LLPS in the low-concentration regime, ϕBL and ϕSL, respectively. Only at concentrations above ϕBL, peptides formed metastable or stable oligomers corresponding to the high-density liquid phase (HDLP) in LLPS, out of which the nucleated conformational conversion to fibril seeds occurred. Below ϕSL, the HDLP was metastable and transient, and the subsequent fibrillization process followed the traditional nucleation and elongation mechanisms. Only above ϕSL, the HDLP became stable, and the initial fibril nucleation and growth were governed by the high local peptide concentrations. The predicted saturation of amyloid aggregation half-times with increasing peptide concentration to a constant, instead of the traditional power-law scaling to zero, was confirmed by simulations and by a thioflavin-T kinetic assay and the transmission electron microscopy of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) aggregation. Our study provides a unified picture of amyloid aggregation for a wide range of concentrations within the framework of LLPS, which may help us better understand the etiology of amyloid diseases, where the amyloid protein concentration can vary by ∼9 orders of magnitude depending on the organ location and facilitate the engineering of novel amyloid-based functional materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanting Xing
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Aparna Nandakumar
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Aleksandr Kakinen
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia
| | - Yunxiang Sun
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Thomas P. Davis
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia
| | - Pu Chun Ke
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Pu Chu Ke, ; Feng Ding,
| | - Feng Ding
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
- Pu Chu Ke, ; Feng Ding,
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13
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Milardi D, Gazit E, Radford SE, Xu Y, Gallardo RU, Caflisch A, Westermark GT, Westermark P, Rosa CL, Ramamoorthy A. Proteostasis of Islet Amyloid Polypeptide: A Molecular Perspective of Risk Factors and Protective Strategies for Type II Diabetes. Chem Rev 2021; 121:1845-1893. [PMID: 33427465 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The possible link between hIAPP accumulation and β-cell death in diabetic patients has inspired numerous studies focusing on amyloid structures and aggregation pathways of this hormone. Recent studies have reported on the importance of early oligomeric intermediates, the many roles of their interactions with lipid membrane, pH, insulin, and zinc on the mechanism of aggregation of hIAPP. The challenges posed by the transient nature of amyloid oligomers, their structural heterogeneity, and the complex nature of their interaction with lipid membranes have resulted in the development of a wide range of biophysical and chemical approaches to characterize the aggregation process. While the cellular processes and factors activating hIAPP-mediated cytotoxicity are still not clear, it has recently been suggested that its impaired turnover and cellular processing by proteasome and autophagy may contribute significantly toward toxic hIAPP accumulation and, eventually, β-cell death. Therefore, studies focusing on the restoration of hIAPP proteostasis may represent a promising arena for the design of effective therapies. In this review we discuss the current knowledge of the structures and pathology associated with hIAPP self-assembly and point out the opportunities for therapy that a detailed biochemical, biophysical, and cellular understanding of its aggregation may unveil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Milardi
- Istituto di Cristallografia, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via P. Gaifami 18, 95126 Catania, Italy
| | - Ehud Gazit
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Sheena E Radford
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Yong Xu
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Rodrigo U Gallardo
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Amedeo Caflisch
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zürich, Zürich CH-8057, Switzerland
| | - Gunilla T Westermark
- Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Per Westermark
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Carmelo La Rosa
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy
| | - Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy
- Biophysics, Department of Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 41809-1055, United States
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14
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Abstract
Self-assembly of proteins and peptides into the amyloid fold is a widespread phenomenon in the natural world. The structural hallmark of self-assembly into amyloid fibrillar assemblies is the cross-beta motif, which conveys distinct morphological and mechanical properties. The amyloid fibril formation has contrasting results depending on the organism, in the sense that it can bestow an organism with the advantages of mechanical strength and improved functionality or, on the contrary, could give rise to pathological states. In this chapter we review the existing information on amyloid-like peptide aggregates, which could either be derived from protein sequences, but also could be rationally or de novo designed in order to self-assemble into amyloid fibrils under physiological conditions. Moreover, the development of self-assembled fibrillar biomaterials that are tailored for the desired properties towards applications in biomedical or environmental areas is extensively analyzed. We also review computational studies predicting the amyloid propensity of the natural amino acid sequences and the structure of amyloids, as well as designing novel functional amyloid materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Kokotidou
- University of Crete, Department of Materials Science and Technology Voutes Campus GR-70013 Heraklion Crete Greece
- FORTH, Institute for Electronic Structure and Laser N. Plastira 100 GR 70013 Heraklion Greece
| | - P. Tamamis
- Texas A&M University, Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering College Station Texas 77843-3122 USA
| | - A. Mitraki
- University of Crete, Department of Materials Science and Technology Voutes Campus GR-70013 Heraklion Crete Greece
- FORTH, Institute for Electronic Structure and Laser N. Plastira 100 GR 70013 Heraklion Greece
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15
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Illig AM, Strodel B. Performance of Markov State Models and Transition Networks on Characterizing Amyloid Aggregation Pathways from MD Data. J Chem Theory Comput 2020; 16:7825-7839. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander-Maurice Illig
- Institute of Biological Information Processing: Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52428 Jülich, 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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16
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Taylor AIP, Gahan LD, Chakrabarti B, Staniforth RA. A two-step biopolymer nucleation model shows a nonequilibrium critical point. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:025102. [PMID: 32668930 DOI: 10.1063/5.0009394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Biopolymer self-assembly pathways are complicated by the ability of their monomeric subunits to adopt different conformational states. This means nucleation often involves a two-step mechanism where the monomers first condense to form a metastable intermediate, which then converts to a stable polymer by conformational rearrangement of constituent monomers. Nucleation intermediates play a causative role in amyloid diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. While existing mathematical models neglect the conversion dynamics, experiments show that conversion events frequently occur on comparable timescales to the condensation of intermediates and growth of mature polymers and thus cannot be ignored. We present a model that explicitly accounts for simultaneous assembly and conversion. To describe conversion, we propose an experimentally motivated initiation-propagation mechanism in which the stable phase arises locally within the intermediate and then spreads by nearest-neighbor interactions, in a manner analogous to one-dimensional Glauber dynamics. Our analysis shows that the competing timescales of assembly and conversion result in a nonequilibrium critical point, separating a regime where intermediates are kinetically unstable from one where conformationally mixed intermediates accumulate. This strongly affects the accumulation rate of the stable biopolymer phase. Our model is uniquely able to explain experimental phenomena such as the formation of mixed intermediates and abrupt changes in the scaling exponent γ, which relates the total monomer concentration to the accumulation rate of the stable phase. This provides a first step toward a general model of two-step biopolymer nucleation, which can quantitatively predict the concentration and composition of biologically crucial intermediates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander I P Taylor
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Lianne D Gahan
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Buddhapriya Chakrabarti
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Rosemary A Staniforth
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
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17
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Theoretical and computational advances in protein misfolding. ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2020; 118:1-31. [PMID: 31928722 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2019.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
Misfolded proteins escape the cellular quality control mechanism and fail to fold properly or remain correctly folded leading to a loss in their functional specificity. Thus misfolding of proteins cause a large number of very different diseases ranging from errors in metabolism to various types of complex neurodegenerative diseases. A theoretical and computational perspective of protein misfolding is presented with a special emphasis on its salient features, mechanism and consequences. These insights quantitatively analyze different determinants of misfolding, that may be applied to design disease specific molecular targets.
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18
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Computational studies of protein aggregation mediated by amyloid: Fibril elongation and secondary nucleation. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2020; 170:461-504. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2019.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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19
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Shinobu A, Kobayashi C, Matsunaga Y, Sugita Y. Building a macro-mixing dual-basin Gō model using the Multistate Bennett Acceptance Ratio. Biophys Physicobiol 2019; 16:310-321. [PMID: 31984186 PMCID: PMC6975896 DOI: 10.2142/biophysico.16.0_310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The dual-basin Gō-model is a structural-based coarsegrained model for simulating a conformational transition between two known structures of a protein. Two parameters are required to produce a dual-basin potential mixed using two single-basin potentials, although the determination of mixing parameters is usually not straightforward. Here, we have developed an efficient scheme to determine the mixing parameters using the Multistate Bennett Acceptance Ratio (MBAR) method after short simulations with a set of parameters. In the scheme, MBAR allows us to predict observables at various unsimulated conditions, which are useful to improve the mixing parameters in the next round of iterative simulations. The number of iterations that are necessary for obtaining the converged mixing parameters are significantly reduced in the scheme. We applied the scheme to two proteins, the glutamine binding protein and the ribose binding protein, for showing the effectiveness in the parameter determination. After obtaining the converged parameters, both proteins show frequent conformational transitions between open and closed states, providing the theoretical basis to investigate structure-dynamics-function relationships of the proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Shinobu
- Computational Biophysics Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
| | - Chigusa Kobayashi
- Computational Biophysics Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Matsunaga
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
| | - Yuji Sugita
- Computational Biophysics Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
- Theoretical Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Function Simulation, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
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20
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Sorokina SA, Stroylova YY, Tishina SA, Shifrina ZB, Muronetz VI. Promising anti-amyloid behavior of cationic pyridylphenylene dendrimers: Role of structural features and mechanism of action. Eur Polym J 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2019.03.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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21
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Ilie IM, Caflisch A. Simulation Studies of Amyloidogenic Polypeptides and Their Aggregates. Chem Rev 2019; 119:6956-6993. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ioana M. Ilie
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zürich, Zürich CH-8057, Switzerland
| | - Amedeo Caflisch
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zürich, Zürich CH-8057, Switzerland
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22
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Mondal B, Reddy G. Cosolvent Effects on the Growth of Protein Aggregates Formed by a Single Domain Globular Protein and an Intrinsically Disordered Protein. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:1950-1960. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b11128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Balaka Mondal
- Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
| | - Govardhan Reddy
- Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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23
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Li B, Zhang R, Shi X. Aggregation of amyloid peptides into fibrils driven by nanoparticles and their curvature effect. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:1784-1790. [PMID: 30624452 DOI: 10.1039/c8cp07211f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Fibrillation of amyloid peptides induces human diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, which has become a huge challenge. Some nanoparticles (NPs) could enhance peptide fibrillation by decreasing the lag time, yet how the size and shape of NPs affect amyloid fibrillation as well as the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we investigated amyloid fibrillation on the surface of spherical NPs and cylindrical nanorods (NRs) of different sizes using coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulations. We focused on the curvature effect of NPs/NRs on the adsorption and fibrillation of peptide chains due to the size/shape difference. As the size of the NPs/NRs increases, the number of assembled peptide chains shows a non-monotonic tendency, and there is an optimal size for the highest adsorption. In most cases, the NRs could adsorb more peptides than the NPs of the same diameter due to the lower curvature. The mechanism beneath these observations was elucidated from a thermodynamic point of view. Our findings could provide a physical basis for the adsorption and fibrillation of amyloid peptides on NPs, and guide the design of future curvature-dependent NP-based amyloid treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Li
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Nanoscience, CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchy Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
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24
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Faridi A, Sun Y, Okazaki Y, Peng G, Gao J, Kakinen A, Faridi P, Zhao M, Javed I, Purcell AW, Davis TP, Lin S, Oda R, Ding F, Ke PC. Mitigating Human IAPP Amyloidogenesis In Vivo with Chiral Silica Nanoribbons. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2018; 14:e1802825. [PMID: 30369028 PMCID: PMC6263833 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201802825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Revised: 08/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils generally display chirality, a feature which has rarely been exploited in the development of therapeutics against amyloid diseases. This study reports, for the first time, the use of mesoscopic chiral silica nanoribbons against the in vivo amyloidogenesis of human islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), the peptide whose aggregation is implicated in type 2 diabetes. The thioflavin T assay and transmission electron microscopy show accelerated IAPP fibrillization through elimination of the nucleation phase and shortening of the elongation phase by the nanostructures. Coarse-grained simulations offer complementary molecular insights into the acceleration of amyloid aggregation through their nonspecific binding and directional seeding with the nanostructures. This accelerated IAPP fibrillization translates to reduced toxicity, especially for the right-handed silica nanoribbons, as revealed by cell viability, helium ion microscopy, as well as zebrafish embryo survival, developmental, and behavioral assays. This study has implicated the potential of employing chiral nanotechnologies against the mesoscopic enantioselectivity of amyloid proteins and their associated diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ava Faridi
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Biomedical Multidisciplinary Innovation Research Institute, Shanghai East Hospital State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Yunxiang Sun
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Yutaka Okazaki
- Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 2 rue Robert Escarpit, 33607, Pessac, France
| | - Guotao Peng
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Biomedical Multidisciplinary Innovation Research Institute, Shanghai East Hospital State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Jie Gao
- Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 2 rue Robert Escarpit, 33607, Pessac, France
| | - Aleksandr Kakinen
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Pouya Faridi
- Infection and Immunity Program & Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Mei Zhao
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Biomedical Multidisciplinary Innovation Research Institute, Shanghai East Hospital State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Ibrahim Javed
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Anthony W Purcell
- Infection and Immunity Program & Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Thomas P Davis
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Sijie Lin
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Biomedical Multidisciplinary Innovation Research Institute, Shanghai East Hospital State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Reiko Oda
- Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 2 rue Robert Escarpit, 33607, Pessac, France
| | - Feng Ding
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Pu Chun Ke
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
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25
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Ilie IM, Caflisch A. Disorder at the Tips of a Disease-Relevant Aβ42 Amyloid Fibril: A Molecular Dynamics Study. J Phys Chem B 2018; 122:11072-11082. [PMID: 29965774 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b05236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
We present a simulation study of the early events of peptide dissociation from a fibril of the Alzheimer's Aβ42 peptide. The fibril consists of layers of two adjacent Aβ42 peptides each folded in an S-shaped structure which has been determined by solid state NMR spectroscopy of a monomorphic disease-relevant species. Multiple molecular dynamics runs (16 at 310 K and 15 at 370 K) were carried out starting from an 18-peptide protofibril for a cumulative sampling of about 15 μs. The simulations show structural stability of the fibrillar core and an overall increase in the twist to about 3 degrees. The N-terminal segment 1-14 is disordered in all peptides. At both ends of the fibril, the central segment 21-29, which includes part of the β2 strand, dissociates in some of the simulations. The β1 and β3 strands, residues 15-20 and 35-41, respectively, are structurally stable. The transient binding of the N-terminal stretch to the β3 strand of the adjacent peptide at the tip is likely to contribute to the arrest phase of the stop-and-go mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioana M Ilie
- Department of Biochemistry , University of Zürich , 8057 Zürich , Switzerland
| | - Amedeo Caflisch
- Department of Biochemistry , University of Zürich , 8057 Zürich , Switzerland
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26
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Ilie IM, den Otter WK, Briels WJ. The attachment of α-synuclein to a fiber: A coarse-grain approach. J Chem Phys 2018; 146:115102. [PMID: 28330339 DOI: 10.1063/1.4978297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We present simulations of the amyloidogenic core of α-synuclein, the protein causing Parkinson's disease, as a short chain of coarse-grain patchy particles. Each particle represents a sequence of about a dozen amino acids. The fluctuating secondary structure of this intrinsically disordered protein is modelled by dynamic variations of the shape and interaction characteristics of the patchy particles, ranging from spherical with weak isotropic attractions for the disordered state to spherocylindrical with strong directional interactions for a β-sheet. Flexible linkers between the particles enable sampling of the tertiary structure. This novel model is applied here to study the growth of an amyloid fibril, by calculating the free energy profile of a protein attaching to the end of a fibril. The simulation results suggest that the attaching protein readily becomes trapped in a mis-folded state, thereby inhibiting further growth of the fibril until the protein has readjusted to conform to the fibril structure, in line with experimental findings and previous simulations on small fragments of other proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioana M Ilie
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter K den Otter
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Wim J Briels
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
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27
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Ilie IM, Nayar D, den Otter WK, van der Vegt NFA, Briels WJ. Intrinsic Conformational Preferences and Interactions in α-Synuclein Fibrils: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2018; 14:3298-3310. [PMID: 29715424 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b00183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Amyloid formation by the intrinsically disordered α-synuclein protein is the hallmark of Parkinson's disease. We present atomistic Molecular Dynamics simulations of the core of α-synuclein using enhanced sampling techniques to describe the conformational and binding free energy landscapes of fragments implicated in fibril stabilization. The theoretical framework is derived to combine the free energy profiles of the fragments into the reaction free energy of a protein binding to a fibril. Our study shows that individual fragments in solution have a propensity toward attaining non-β conformations, indicating that in a fibril β-strands are stabilized by interactions with other strands. We show that most dimers of hydrogen-bonded fragments are unstable in solution, while hydrogen bonding stabilizes the collective binding of five fragments to the end of a fibril. Hydrophobic effects make further contributions to the stability of fibrils. This study is the first of its kind where structural and binding preferences of the five major fragments of the hydrophobic core of α-synuclein have been investigated. This approach improves sampling of intrinsically disordered proteins, provides information on the binding mechanism between the core sequences of α-synuclein, and enables the parametrization of coarse grained models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioana M Ilie
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology , University of Twente , 7500 AE Enschede , the Netherlands.,MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology , 7500 AE Enschede , the Netherlands.,Department of Biochemistry , University of Zürich , 8057 Zürich , Switzerland
| | - Divya Nayar
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Center of Smart Interfaces , Technische Universität Darmstadt , 64287 Darmstadt , Germany
| | - Wouter K den Otter
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology , University of Twente , 7500 AE Enschede , the Netherlands.,MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology , 7500 AE Enschede , the Netherlands.,Multi Scale Mechanics, Faculty of Engineering Technology , University of Twente , 7500 AE Enschede , the Netherlands
| | - Nico F A van der Vegt
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Center of Smart Interfaces , Technische Universität Darmstadt , 64287 Darmstadt , Germany
| | - Wim J Briels
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology , University of Twente , 7500 AE Enschede , the Netherlands.,Forschungszentrum Jülich , ICS-3 , D-52428 Jülich , Germany
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28
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Kurochkin IV, Guarnera E, Berezovsky IN. Insulin-Degrading Enzyme in the Fight against Alzheimer's Disease. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2017; 39:49-58. [PMID: 29132916 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2017.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Revised: 10/18/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
After decades of research and clinical trials there is still no cure for Alzheimer's disease (AD). While impaired clearance of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides is considered as one of the major causes of AD, it was recently complemented by a potential role of other toxic amyloidogenic species. Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is the proteolytic culprit of various β-forming peptides, both extracellular and intracellular. On the basis of demonstrated allosteric activation of IDE against Aβ, it is possible to propose a new strategy for the targeted IDE-based cleansing of different toxic aggregation-prone peptides. Consequently, specific allosteric activation of IDE coupled with state-of-the-art compound delivery and CRISP-Cas9 technique of transgene insertion can be instrumental in the fight against AD and related neurodegenerative maladies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor V Kurochkin
- Sysmex Corporation, 4-4-4 Takatsukadai, Nishi-ku, Kobe 651-2271, Japan
| | - Enrico Guarnera
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, 07-01, Matrix, Singapore 138671
| | - Igor N Berezovsky
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, 07-01, Matrix, Singapore 138671; Department of Biological Sciences (DBS), National University of Singapore (NUS), 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117579.
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29
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Levine ZA, Shea JE. Simulations of disordered proteins and systems with conformational heterogeneity. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2016; 43:95-103. [PMID: 27988422 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2016.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 11/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and protein regions can facilitate a wide variety of complex physiological processes such as binding, signaling, and formation of membraneless organelles. They can however also play pathological roles by aggregating into cytotoxic oligomers and fibrils. Characterizing the structure and function of disordered proteins is an onerous task, primarily because these proteins adopt transient structures, which are difficult to capture in experiments. Simulations have emerged as a powerful tool for interpreting and augmenting experimental measurements of IDPs. In this review we focus on computer simulations of disordered protein structures, functions, assemblies, and emerging questions that, taken together, give an overview of the field as it exists today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary A Levine
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; Department of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; Department of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
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30
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Orr AA, Wördehoff MM, Hoyer W, Tamamis P. Uncovering the Binding and Specificity of β-Wrapins for Amyloid-β and α-Synuclein. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:12781-12794. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b08485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Asuka A. Orr
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3122, United States
| | - Michael M. Wördehoff
- Institut
für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40204 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Hoyer
- Institut
für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40204 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute
of Structural Biochemistry (ICS-6), Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Phanourios Tamamis
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3122, United States
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31
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Šarić A, Michaels TCT, Zaccone A, Knowles TPJ, Frenkel D. Kinetics of spontaneous filament nucleation via oligomers: Insights from theory and simulation. J Chem Phys 2016; 145:211926. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4965040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Anđela Šarić
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for the
Physics of Living Systems, University College London,
Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas C. T. Michaels
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138,
USA
| | - Alessio Zaccone
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge, Pembroke St., Cambridge CB2 3RA, United Kingdom
| | - Tuomas P. J. Knowles
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Daan Frenkel
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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32
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Deidda G, Jonnalagadda SVR, Spies JW, Ranella A, Mossou E, Forsyth VT, Mitchell EP, Bowler MW, Tamamis P, Mitraki A. Self-Assembled Amyloid Peptides with Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) Motifs As Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2016; 3:1404-1416. [DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.6b00570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Graziano Deidda
- Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Heraklion 70013, Greece
- Institute
of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL), Foundation for Research and Technology−Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion 70013, Greece
| | - Sai Vamshi R. Jonnalagadda
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3122, United States
| | - Jacob W. Spies
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3122, United States
| | - Anthi Ranella
- Institute
of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL), Foundation for Research and Technology−Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion 70013, Greece
| | - Estelle Mossou
- Institut Laue Langevin, 6 rue
Jules Horowitz, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
- Faculty of
Natural Sciences/Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - V. Trevor Forsyth
- Institut Laue Langevin, 6 rue
Jules Horowitz, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
- Faculty of
Natural Sciences/Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Edward P. Mitchell
- Faculty of
Natural Sciences/Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, 38043 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Matthew W. Bowler
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Grenoble Outstation, 71 avenue des Martyrs, CS 90181, F-38042 Grenoble, France
- Unit
for Virus Host Cell Interactions, Université Grenoble Alpes−EMBL-CNRS, 71 avenue des Martyrs, CS 90181, F-38042 Grenoble, France
| | - Phanourios Tamamis
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3122, United States
| | - Anna Mitraki
- Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Heraklion 70013, Greece
- Institute
of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL), Foundation for Research and Technology−Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion 70013, Greece
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33
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Nguyen PH, Sterpone F, Pouplana R, Derreumaux P, Campanera JM. Dimerization Mechanism of Alzheimer Aβ 40 Peptides: The High Content of Intrapeptide-Stabilized Conformations in A2V and A2T Heterozygous Dimers Retards Amyloid Fibril Formation. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:12111-12126. [PMID: 27933940 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b10722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomerization is associated with the origin and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). While the A2V mutation enhances aggregation kinetics and toxicity, mixtures of wild-type (WT) and A2V, and also WT and A2T, peptides retard fibril formation and protect against AD. In this study, we simulate the equilibrium ensemble of WT:A2T Aβ40 dimer by means of extensive atomistic replica exchange molecular dynamics and compare our results with previous equivalent simulations of A2V:A2V, WT:WT, and WT:A2V Aβ40 dimers for a total time scale of nearly 0.1 ms. Qualitative comparison of the resulting thermodynamic properties, such as the relative binding free energies, with the reported experimental kinetic and thermodynamic data affords us important insight into the conversion from slow-pathway to fast-pathway dimer conformations. The crucial reaction coordinate or driving force of such transformation turns out to be related to hydrophobic interpeptide interactions. Analysis of the equilibrium ensembles shows that the fast-pathway conformations contain interpeptide out-of-register antiparallel β-sheet structures at short interpeptide distances. In contrast, the slow-pathway conformations are formed by the association of peptides at large interpeptide distances and high intrapeptide compactness, such as conformations containing intramolecular three-stranded β-sheets which sharply distinguish fast (A2V:A2V and WT:WT) and slow (WT:A2T and WT:A2V) amyloid-forming sequences. Also, this analysis leads us to predict that a molecule stabilizing the intramolecular three-stranded β-sheet or inhibiting the formation of an interpeptide β-sheet spanning residues 17-20 and 31-37 would further reduce fibril formation and probably the cytotoxicity of Aβ species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080 CNRS, IBPC, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité , 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Fabio Sterpone
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080 CNRS, IBPC, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité , 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Ramon Pouplana
- Departament de Fisicoquímica, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona , 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080 CNRS, IBPC, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité , 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France.,IUF (Institut Universitaire de France) , 103 Boulevard Michel, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Josep M Campanera
- Departament de Fisicoquímica, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona , 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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34
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Musiani F, Giorgetti A. Protein Aggregation and Molecular Crowding: Perspectives From Multiscale Simulations. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 329:49-77. [PMID: 28109331 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ircmb.2016.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Cells are extremely crowded environments, thus the use of diluted salted aqueous solutions containing a single protein is too simplistic to mimic the real situation. Macromolecular crowding might affect protein structure, folding, shape, conformational stability, binding of small molecules, enzymatic activity, interactions with cognate biomolecules, and pathological aggregation. The latter phenomenon typically leads to the formation of amyloid fibrils that are linked to several lethal neurodegenerative diseases, but that can also play a functional role in certain organisms. The majority of molecular simulations performed before the last few years were conducted in diluted solutions and were restricted both in the timescales and in the system dimensions by the available computational resources. In recent years, several computational solutions were developed to get close to physiological conditions. In this review we summarize the main computational techniques used to tackle the issue of protein aggregation both in a diluted and in a crowded environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Musiani
- Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
| | - A Giorgetti
- Applied Bioinformatics Group, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
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35
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Muttathukattil AN, Reddy G. Osmolyte Effects on the Growth of Amyloid Fibrils. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:10979-10989. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b09215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aswathy N. Muttathukattil
- Solid State and Structural
Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, Karnataka, India
| | - Govardhan Reddy
- Solid State and Structural
Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, Karnataka, India
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36
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Ranganathan S, Maji SK, Padinhateeri R. Defining a Physical Basis for Diversity in Protein Self-Assemblies Using a Minimal Model. J Am Chem Soc 2016; 138:13911-13922. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b06433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Srivastav Ranganathan
- Department of Biosciences
and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Samir K. Maji
- Department of Biosciences
and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Ranjith Padinhateeri
- Department of Biosciences
and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
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37
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Berezovsky IN, Guarnera E, Zheng Z. Basic units of protein structure, folding, and function. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 128:85-99. [PMID: 27697476 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2016] [Revised: 09/05/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Study of the hierarchy of domain structure with alternative sets of domains and analysis of discontinuous domains, consisting of remote segments of the polypeptide chain, raised a question about the minimal structural unit of the protein domain. The hypothesis on the decisive role of the polypeptide backbone in determining the elementary units of globular proteins have led to the discovery of closed loops. It is reviewed here how closed loops form the loop-n-lock structure of proteins, providing the foundation for stability and designability of protein folds/domain and underlying their co-translational folding. Simplified protein sequences are considered here with the aim to explore the basic principles that presumably dominated the folding and stability of proteins in the early stages of structural evolution. Elementary functional loops (EFLs), closed loops with one or few catalytic residues, are, in turn, units of the protein function. They are apparent descendants of the prebiotic ring-like peptides, which gave rise to the first functional folds/domains being fused in the beginning of the evolution of protein structure. It is also shown how evolutionary relations between protein functional superfamilies and folds delineated with the help of EFLs can contribute to establishing the rules for design of desired enzymatic functions. Generalized descriptors of the elementary functions are proposed to be used as basic units in the future computational design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor N Berezovsky
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences (DBS), National University of Singapore (NUS), 8 Medical Drive, 117579, Singapore.
| | - Enrico Guarnera
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
| | - Zejun Zheng
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
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38
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Ilie IM, den Otter WK, Briels WJ. A coarse grained protein model with internal degrees of freedom. Application to α-synuclein aggregation. J Chem Phys 2016; 144:085103. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4942115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ioana M. Ilie
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands
- MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter K. den Otter
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands
- MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- Multi Scale Mechanics, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Wim J. Briels
- Computational Chemical Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands
- MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, ICS, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
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39
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Ranganathan S, Ghosh D, Maji SK, Padinhateeri R. A minimal conformational switching-dependent model for amyloid self-assembly. Sci Rep 2016; 6:21103. [PMID: 26883720 PMCID: PMC4756677 DOI: 10.1038/srep21103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2015] [Accepted: 01/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyloid formation is associated with various pathophysiological conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases as well as many useful functions. The hallmark of amyloid assemblies is a conformational transition of the constituent proteins into a β - sheet rich filament. Accounting for this conformational transition in amyloidogenic proteins, we develop an analytically solvable model that can probe the dynamics of an ensemble of single filaments. Using the theory and Monte Carlo simulations, we show the presence of two kinetic regimes for the growth of a self-assembling filament – switching-dependent and –independent growth regimes. We observe a saturation in fibril elongation velocities at higher concentrations in the first regime, providing a novel explanation to the concentration-independence of growth velocities observed experimentally. We also compute the length fluctuation of the filaments to characterize aggregate heterogeneity. From the early velocities and length fluctuation, we propose a novel way of estimating the conformational switching rate. Our theory predicts a kinetic phase diagram that has three distinct phases – short oligomers/monomers, disordered aggregates and β -rich filaments. The model also predicts the force generation potential and the intermittent growth of amyloid fibrils evident from single molecular experiments. Our model could contribute significantly to the physical understanding of amyloid aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dhiman Ghosh
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India
| | - Samir K Maji
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India
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40
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Kobayashi C, Matsunaga Y, Koike R, Ota M, Sugita Y. Domain Motion Enhanced (DoME) Model for Efficient Conformational Sampling of Multidomain Proteins. J Phys Chem B 2015; 119:14584-93. [PMID: 26536148 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b07668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Large conformational changes of multidomain proteins are difficult to simulate using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) due to the slow time scale. We show that a simple modification of the structure-based coarse-grained (CG) model enables a stable and efficient MD simulation of those proteins. "Motion Tree", a tree diagram that describes conformational changes between two structures in a protein, provides information on rigid structural units (domains) and the magnitudes of domain motions. In our new CG model, which we call the DoME (domain motion enhanced) model, interdomain interactions are defined as being inversely proportional to the magnitude of the domain motions in the diagram, whereas intradomain interactions are kept constant. We applied the DoME model in combination with the Go model to simulations of adenylate kinase (AdK). The results of the DoME-Go simulation are consistent with an all-atom MD simulation for 10 μs as well as known experimental data. Unlike the conventional Go model, the DoME-Go model yields stable simulation trajectories against temperature changes and conformational transitions are easily sampled despite domain rigidity. Evidently, identification of domains and their interfaces is useful approach for CG modeling of multidomain proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chigusa Kobayashi
- RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, 6-7-1 minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 640-0047, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Matsunaga
- RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, 6-7-1 minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 640-0047, Japan
| | - Ryotaro Koike
- Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University , Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
| | - Motonori Ota
- Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University , Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
| | - Yuji Sugita
- RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, 6-7-1 minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 640-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center, 7-1-26 minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 640-0047, Japan
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41
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Protein N-homocysteinylation: From cellular toxicity to neurodegeneration. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2015; 1850:2239-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2015.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Revised: 08/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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42
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Morriss-Andrews A, Shea JE. Computational Studies of Protein Aggregation: Methods and Applications. Annu Rev Phys Chem 2015; 66:643-66. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-physchem-040513-103738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Physics and
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106;
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43
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Jana AK, Sengupta N. Aβ self-association and adsorption on a hydrophobic nanosurface: competitive effects and the detection of small oligomers via electrical response. SOFT MATTER 2015; 11:269-279. [PMID: 25407676 DOI: 10.1039/c4sm01845a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is impeded by the lack of effective early diagnostic methods. Small, soluble Aβ globulomers play a major role in AD neurotoxicity, and detecting their presence in aqueous fluids could lead to suitable sensors. We evaluate the adsorption behavior of small Aβ oligomers on the surface of a single walled carbon nanotube of high curvature. While the intrinsic self-assembly propensity of Aβ is markedly hindered by adsorption, the oligomeric units show high degrees of surface immobilization. Immobilized complexes are capable of oligomeric growth, but with a shifted monomer-oligomer equilibrium compared to the free states. In the presence of an ionic solution and suitable external electric fields, magnitudes of the current blockades are found to be sensitive to the oligomeric number of the adsorbed complex. However, this sensitivity gradually diminishes with increasing oligomeric size. The results provide a proof-of-concept basis for further investigations in the design of sensors for detecting the toxic small oligomers of Aβ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asis K Jana
- Physical Chemistry Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411008, India.
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44
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Abstract
Protein oligomers have been implicated as toxic agents in a wide range of amyloid-related diseases. However, it has remained unsolved whether the oligomers are a necessary step in the formation of amyloid fibrils or just a dangerous byproduct. Analogously, it has not been resolved if the amyloid nucleation process is a classical one-step nucleation process or a two-step process involving prenucleation clusters. We use coarse-grained computer simulations to study the effect of nonspecific attractions between peptides on the primary nucleation process underlying amyloid fibrillization. We find that, for peptides that do not attract, the classical one-step nucleation mechanism is possible but only at nonphysiologically high peptide concentrations. At low peptide concentrations, which mimic the physiologically relevant regime, attractive interpeptide interactions are essential for fibril formation. Nucleation then inevitably takes place through a two-step mechanism involving prefibrillar oligomers. We show that oligomers not only help peptides meet each other but also, create an environment that facilitates the conversion of monomers into the β-sheet-rich form characteristic of fibrils. Nucleation typically does not proceed through the most prevalent oligomers but through an oligomer size that is only observed in rare fluctuations, which is why such aggregates might be hard to capture experimentally. Finally, we find that the nucleation of amyloid fibrils cannot be described by classical nucleation theory: in the two-step mechanism, the critical nucleus size increases with increases in both concentration and interpeptide interactions, which is in direct contrast with predictions from classical nucleation theory.
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45
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Yang YI, Gao YQ. Computer Simulation Studies of Aβ37–42 Aggregation Thermodynamics and Kinetics in Water and Salt Solution. J Phys Chem B 2014; 119:662-70. [DOI: 10.1021/jp502169b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Y. Isaac Yang
- Institute of Theoretical
and Computational Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yi Qin Gao
- Institute of Theoretical
and Computational Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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46
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Morriss-Andrews A, Shea JE. Simulations of Protein Aggregation: Insights from Atomistic and Coarse-Grained Models. J Phys Chem Lett 2014; 5:1899-908. [PMID: 26273871 DOI: 10.1021/jz5006847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
This Perspective highlights recent computational approaches to protein aggregation, from coarse-grained models to atomistic simulations, using the islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) as a case study. We review salient open questions where simulations can make an impact, discuss the successes and challenges met by simulations, and explore new directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Morriss-Andrews
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-9510, United States
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-9510, United States
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47
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Humenik M, Magdeburg M, Scheibel T. Influence of repeat numbers on self-assembly rates of repetitive recombinant spider silk proteins. J Struct Biol 2014; 186:431-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2014.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2014] [Revised: 03/11/2014] [Accepted: 03/12/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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48
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Abstract
By focusing on essential features, while averaging over less important details, coarse-grained (CG) models provide significant computational and conceptual advantages with respect to more detailed models. Consequently, despite dramatic advances in computational methodologies and resources, CG models enjoy surging popularity and are becoming increasingly equal partners to atomically detailed models. This perspective surveys the rapidly developing landscape of CG models for biomolecular systems. In particular, this review seeks to provide a balanced, coherent, and unified presentation of several distinct approaches for developing CG models, including top-down, network-based, native-centric, knowledge-based, and bottom-up modeling strategies. The review summarizes their basic philosophies, theoretical foundations, typical applications, and recent developments. Additionally, the review identifies fundamental inter-relationships among the diverse approaches and discusses outstanding challenges in the field. When carefully applied and assessed, current CG models provide highly efficient means for investigating the biological consequences of basic physicochemical principles. Moreover, rigorous bottom-up approaches hold great promise for further improving the accuracy and scope of CG models for biomolecular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- W G Noid
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
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49
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Rezaei-Ghaleh N, Amininasab M, Giller K, Kumar S, Stündl A, Schneider A, Becker S, Walter J, Zweckstetter M. Turn Plasticity Distinguishes Different Modes of Amyloid-β Aggregation. J Am Chem Soc 2014; 136:4913-9. [DOI: 10.1021/ja411707y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nasrollah Rezaei-Ghaleh
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department
for NMR-based Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Mehriar Amininasab
- Department
of Cell
and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Karin Giller
- Department
for NMR-based Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sathish Kumar
- Department
of Neurology, University of Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Anne Stündl
- Department
of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anja Schneider
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Nanoscale
Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, University Medical
Center, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
- Department
of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Becker
- Department
for NMR-based Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jochen Walter
- Department
of Neurology, University of Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Markus Zweckstetter
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department
for NMR-based Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Nanoscale
Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, University Medical
Center, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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50
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Redler RL, Shirvanyants D, Dagliyan O, Ding F, Kim DN, Kota P, Proctor EA, Ramachandran S, Tandon A, Dokholyan NV. Computational approaches to understanding protein aggregation in neurodegeneration. J Mol Cell Biol 2014; 6:104-15. [PMID: 24620031 DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mju007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The generation of toxic non-native protein conformers has emerged as a unifying thread among disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Atomic-level detail regarding dynamical changes that facilitate protein aggregation, as well as the structural features of large-scale ordered aggregates and soluble non-native oligomers, would contribute significantly to current understanding of these complex phenomena and offer potential strategies for inhibiting formation of cytotoxic species. However, experimental limitations often preclude the acquisition of high-resolution structural and mechanistic information for aggregating systems. Computational methods, particularly those combine both all-atom and coarse-grained simulations to cover a wide range of time and length scales, have thus emerged as crucial tools for investigating protein aggregation. Here we review the current state of computational methodology for the study of protein self-assembly, with a focus on the application of these methods toward understanding of protein aggregates in human neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L Redler
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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