UV-B-induced secondary conformational changes in lens alpha-crystallin

Protein Aggregation and Cataract: Role of Age-Related Modifications and Mutations in α-Crystallins

* The article is published as a part of the Special Issue "Protein Misfolding and Aggregation in Cataract Disorders" (Vol. 87, No. 2). ** To whom correspondence should be addressed. Cataract is a major cause of blindness. Due to the lack of protein turnover, lens proteins accumulate age-related and environmental modifications that alter their native conformation, leading to the formation of aggregation-prone intermediates, as well as insoluble and light-scattering aggregates, thus compromising lens transparency. The lens protein, α-crystallin, is a molecular chaperone that prevents protein aggregation, thereby maintaining lens transparency. However, mutations or post-translational modifications, such as oxidation, deamidation, truncation and crosslinking, can render α-crystallins ineffective and lead to the disease exacerbation. Here, we describe such mutations and alterations, as well as their consequences. Age-related modifications in α-crystallins affect their structure, oligomerization, and chaperone function. Mutations in α-crystallins can lead to the aggregation/intracellular inclusions attributable to the perturbation of structure and oligomeric assembly and resulting in the rearrangement of aggregation-prone regions. Such rearrangements can lead to the exposure of hitherto buried aggregation-prone regions, thereby populating aggregation-prone state(s) and facilitating amorphous/amyloid aggregation and/or inappropriate interactions with cellular components. Investigations of the mutation-induced changes in the structure, oligomer assembly, aggregation mechanisms, and interactomes of α-crystallins will be useful in fighting protein aggregation-related diseases.

Protection of human γD-crystallin protein from ultraviolet C-induced aggregation by ortho-vanillin

Cataract is known as one of the leading causes of vision impairment worldwide. While the detailed mechanism of cataratogenesis remains unclear, cataract is believed to be correlated with the aggregation and/or misfolding of human ocular lens proteins called crystallins. A 173-residue structural protein human γD-crystallin is a major γ-crystallin protein in the human eye lens and associated with the development of juvenile and mature-onset cataracts. This work is aimed at investigating the effect of a small molecule, e.g., ortho-vanillin, on human γD-crystallin aggregation upon exposure to ultraviolet-C irradiation. According to the findings of right-angle light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and gel electrophoresis, ortho-vanillin was demonstrated to dose-dependently suppress ultraviolet-C-triggered aggregation of human γD-crystallin. Results from the synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy, tryptophan fluorescence quenching, and molecular docking studies revealed the structural change of γD-crystallin induced by the interaction/binding between ortho-vanillin and protein. We believe the outcome from this work may contribute to the development of potential therapeutics for cataract.

UV-B induced fibrillization of crystallin protein mixtures

Environmental factors, mainly oxidative stress and exposure to sunlight, induce the oxidation, cross-linking, cleavage, and deamination of crystallin proteins, resulting in their aggregation and, ultimately, cataract formation. Various denaturants have been used to initiate the aggregation of crystallin proteins in vitro. All of these regimens, however, are obviously far from replicating conditions that exist in vivo that lead to cataract formation. In fact, it is our supposition that only UV-B radiation may mimic the observed in vivo cause of crystallin alteration leading to cataract formation. This means of inducing cataract formation may provide the most appropriate in vitro platform for in-depth study of the fundamental cataractous fibril properties and allow for testing of possible treatment strategies. Herein, we showed that cataractous fibrils can be formed using UV-B radiation from α:β:γ crystallin protein mixtures. Characterization of the properties of formed aggregates confirmed the development of amyloid-like fibrils, which are in cross-β-pattern and possibly in anti-parallel β-sheet arrangement. Furthermore, we were also able to confirm that the presence of the molecular chaperone, α-crystallin, was able to inhibit fibril formation, as observed for ‘naturally’ occurring fibrils. Finally, the time-dependent fibrillation profile was found to be similar to the gradual formation of age-related nuclear cataracts. This data provided evidence for the initiation of fibril formation from physiologically relevant crystallin mixtures using UV-B radiation, and that the formed fibrils had several traits similar to that expected from cataracts developing in vivo.

Effect of Moderate UVC Irradiation on Bovine Serum Albumin and Complex with Antimetabolite 5-Fluorouracil: Fluorescence Spectroscopic and Molecular Modelling Studies

The interaction of antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil (5FU) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) under UVC (253.7 nm) irradiation was investigated in the present study using UV-Vis spectroscopy, steady state/time resolved fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. The stability of protein was found to be very strong when BSA gets bind to 5FU and moreover it is compared with the free BSA under UVC irradiation. From the fluorescence spectroscopic study, the stability of the complex was found to acquire 2-fold stronger than free protein. From the molecular modelling studies, we came to know the hydrogen bonds between BSA and antimetabolite 5FU are strong, up to 70.4 J/m2 under UVC irradiation.

The modified action of triphenyllead chloride on UVB-induced effects in albumin and lipids

Previously we have shown a toxic effect of the organometallic compound triphenyllead (TPhPb) on cells. In the present study we evaluated the destructive effect of TPhPb on model systems--serum albumin and liposome membranes--alone and under UVB irradiation. UVB irradiation of bovine serum albumin results in protein S-S bond reduction, free SH- and CO- group formation and decrease in fluorescence intensity of tryptophans. Triphenyllead chloride alone and under UVB irradiation did not induce protein oxidation, measured as formation of carbonyl groups, in serum albumin; however, it decreased the content of SH- groups in both cases (alone and under UVB radiation) in a dose-dependent manner. It was found that triphenyllead chloride alone did not induce lipid peroxidation of liposomes but increased their fluidity. However, under UVB irradiation TPhPb dramatically enhances the pro-oxidant action of UVB in a manner dependent on concentration and intensity of radiation, and these effects were suppressed by Trolox. These results suggest that the toxicity of TPhPb under UVB irradiation is due to formation of radical forms of the compound and its disordered effects on the membrane structure.

Photosensitized effects of Rose Bengal on structure and function of lens protein "alpha-crystallin"

The conformational changes of the bovine lens protein "alpha-crystallin" have been investigated in the presence of the photosensitizer Rose Bengal (RB), in the dark as well as after visible light irradiation. Absorption and fluorescence emission spectra of RB [5 x 10(-6) M] and Fourier transform-IR spectra of alpha-crystallin [5 mg mL(-1)] were significantly altered upon RB alpha-crystallin complex formation. RB was found to bind to alpha-crystallin in a molecular pocket characterized by a low polarity, with Trp most likely involved in this interaction. The binding constant (K(b)) has been estimated to be of the order of 2.5 (mg/mL)(-1). The intrinsic fluorescence of alpha-crystallin was quenched through both dynamic and static mechanisms. Light-induced photosensitized effects showed structural modifications in alpha-crystallin, including tertiary and secondary structure (an increase in unordered structure) alterations. Notwithstanding those photoinduced structural variations detected in alpha-crystallin when complexed with RB, the protein still retains its ability to play the role of chaperone for beta-crystallin.

Infrared microspectroscopy study of gamma-irradiated and H2O2-treated human cells

PURPOSE

Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FT-IRM), which allows simultaneous detection of biochemical changes in the various cellular compartments, was used as a new analytical tool to study early radiation- and oxidation-induced cellular damage at the molecular level in single human cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

HaCaT keratinocytes were given a single dose of 6 Gy (137Cs) or 650 microM H2O2, neither of which is cytotoxic (neutral red assay) but both of which result in less than 10% clonogenic survival, and deposited on zinc sulphur (ZnS) windows for infra-red (IR) spectra acquisition, immediately and 2 h after treatment. DNA damage was assessed by comet assays in alkaline conditions.

RESULTS

Comet assays showed that the yield of DNA damage was higher after H2O2 treatment than after gamma-irradiation. The comparison between spectra of irradiated and H2O2-treated cells showed common changes, but H2O2 treatment presented a broader spectrum of cellular oxidation than ionizing radiation. The bands characteristic of deoxyribose/ribose in nucleic acids centered at 966 and 997 cm(-1), the bands characteristic of nucleic acid bases centered at 1572, 1599, and 1691 cm(-1), as well as the bands characteristic of ordered secondary structure of DNA centered at 1713-1716 cm(-1), were changed in absorbance, sometimes accompanied by a shift. The bands characteristic of proteins centered at 1515, 1530, 1544 and 1640 cm(-1) were changed in absorbance indicating a decrease in secondary structure of proteins. Moreover, the absorbance of the bands at 1515 and 1630 cm(-1) was correlated the yield of reactive oxygen species. Two hours after both treatments most changes were persistent, suggesting either irreversible or not easily repaired damage or persistent oxidative stress.

CONCLUSION

As we previously demonstrated in radiation-induced apoptosis studies, these results show that FT-IRM, in correlation with other cellular biology techniques, might be useful for assessing immediate radiation- and oxidative-induced damage to nucleic acids and proteins in single human cells.

Fourier transform IR attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy studies of cysteine-induced changes in secondary conformations of bovine serum albumin after UV-B irradiation

Fourier transform IR spectroscopy equipped with attenuated total reflection was used to investigate the cysteine-induced alteration of the protein secondary structure of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aqueous solution before and after UV-B irradiation. Several amino acids were also studied. The results indicate the unchanged IR spectra of BSA coincubated with amino acids, except cysteine, did not change after 72-h UV-B irradiation. There was no difference in the IR spectrum of the unirradiated BSA coincubated with cysteine. A shoulder at 1620 cm(-1) attributed to the intermolecular beta-sheet structure was observed for the IR spectrum of BSA coincubated with cysteine after 72-h UV-B irradiation. Moreover, the peak intensity at 1303 cm(-1) that is due the alpha-helix structure was reduced, but the peak intensity at 1247 cm(-1) corresponding to beta-sheet structures was increased. Longer UV-B exposure for a BSA solution coincubated with cysteine changed the BSA solution from clear to viscous to gel form in which a transparent gel and another white gel were simultaneously observed. A gradual IR spectral alteration was found for BSA coincubated with cysteine and subjected to increased UV-B irradiation. The longer UV-B irradiation yielded increased intensity at 1620 cm(-1). The second-derivative IR peaks at 1655, 1631, and 1548 cm(-1) were shifted to 1650, 1620, and 1544 cm(-1), respectively, by the increase of UV-B irradiation, suggesting a progressive transformation from an alpha-helix to an intermolecular beta-sheet structure for BSA coincubated with cysteine. This strongly implies that longer UV-B exposure time for the BSA solution in the presence of cysteine did alter the protein secondary structures of BSA more, thus inducing gel formation by protein aggregation.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy used to evidence the prevention of beta-sheet formation of amyloid beta(1-40) peptide by a short amyloid fragment

Reflectance Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy was applied to study the prevention of beta-sheet formation of amyloid beta (Abeta)(1-40) peptide by co-incubation with a hexapeptide containing a KLVFF sequence (Abeta(15-20) fragment). Second-derivative spectral analysis was used to locate the position of the overlapping components of the amide I band of Abeta peptide and assigned them to different secondary components. The result indicates that each intact sample of Abeta(15-20) fragment or Abeta(1-40) peptide previously incubated in distilled water at 37 degrees C transformed their secondary structure from 1649 (1651) or 1653cm(-1) to 1624cm(-1), suggesting the transformation from alpha-helix and/or random coil structures to beta-sheet structure. By co-incubating both samples with different molar ratio in distilled water at 37 degrees C, the structural transformation was not found for Abeta(1-40) peptide after 24h-incubation. But the beta-sheet formation of Abeta(1-40) peptide after 48h-incubation was evidenced from the appearance of the IR peak at 1626cm(-1) by adding a little amount of Abeta(15-20) fragment. There was no beta-sheet formation of Abeta(1-40) peptide after addition with much amount of Abeta(15-20) fragment, however, suggesting the higher amount of Abeta(15-20) fragment used might inhibit the beta-sheet formation of Abeta(1-40) peptide. The more Abeta(15-20) fragment used made the more stable structure of Abeta(1-40) peptide and the less beta-sheet formation of Abeta(1-40) peptide. The study indicates that the reflectance FT-IR microspectroscopy can easily evidence the prevention of beta-sheet formation of Abeta(1-40) peptide by a short amyloid fragment.

Photosensitized structural modifications of the lens protein alpha-crystallin: do all modifications impair chaperone-like activity?

Among chaperone-like functioning proteins, the lens alpha-crystallins are of particular interest because they are not renewed, and even minor alterations can hurt their function of maintaining the proper refractive index and avoiding cataract formation in the lens. Several reports have suggested the occurrence of remarkable structural modifications in lens proteins in the presence of endogenous and exogenous sensitizers upon exposure to light. In particular, it has been shown in vitro that hypericin, the active ingredient of Hypericum, can bind to and, in the presence of light, cause the photopolymerization of alpha-crystallin. On the basis of these results it has also been suggested that a subsequent significant impairment of the protein function can occur. Using absorption and emission spectroscopic techniques, as well as circular dichroism, we have studied the structural modifications of alpha-crystallin resulting from its interaction with hypericin after irradiation with visible light. To investigate the chaperone-like function of alpha-crystallin, the heat-induced aggregation kinetics of another lens protein, betaLow-crystallin, was monitored by measuring the apparent absorption due to scattering at 360 nm as a function of time, and no apparent damage to its functional role was observed. Spectroscopic results, on the contrary, show a prominent reduction in both tryptophan and hypericin fluorescence emission intensity after light irradiation, suggesting an alteration in the tryptophan microenvironment and a high degree of packing of the chromophore due to photoinduced modification of the molecular framework. Control experiments on alpha-crystallin structurally modified by light in the presence of hypericin indicated that the protein still retains its ability to chaperone both lens crystallins and insulin.

Secondary conformations and temperature effect on structural transformation of amyloid beta (1-28), (1-40) and (1-42) peptides

Secondary structure of three amyloid b-peptides [A beta(1-28), A beta(1-40) and A beta(1-42)] in the solid state was respectively determined by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy. Their thermal-dependent structural transformation were also investigated by FT-IR microspectroscopy equipped with a thermal analyzer. The present result demonstrates that the solid-state A beta(1-28), A beta(1-40) and A beta(1-42) peptides showed a significant IR spectral difference in the amide I and II bands. The secondary conformation of A beta(1-28) peptide was the combination of major beta-sheet and minor alpha-helix with little random coil structures, but A beta(1-40) peptide showed the co-existence of major beta-sheet and minor random coil with little alpha-helix structures. A beta(1-42) peptide mainly consisted of the predominant b-sheet structure. Although the intact A beta(1-28), A beta(1-40) or A beta(1-42) peptide exhibits a different secondary structure, a similar beta-conformation may form after thermal treatment. A thermal-dependent transition was found for solid A beta(1-28) and A beta(1-40) peptides near 40 degrees C and 45 degrees C, respectively. There was no transition temperature for solid A beta(1-42) peptide, however, due to only a very little level of alpha-helix and random coil structure containing in the solid A beta(1-42) peptide. The thermal denaturation plays an important role in the structural transformation from alpha-helix/random coil to beta-sheet.

Thermal-induced changes in the secondary conformation of superoxide dismutase containing different metal ions

The thermal stability of three superoxide dismutases (SODs) with different metal ions (Mn, Cu/Zn, Fe) in the solid state was studied by a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy combined with thermal analyzer. The IR spectra showed a maximum peak at 1652 cm(-1) for all the native SODs in the amide I band, suggesting a predominant random coil with less alpha-helix structures. By heating each sample, a shoulder at 1631 cm(-1) in the amide I band gradually appeared from 45 degrees C for Fe SOD and from 50 degrees C for Mn SOD but another shoulder at 1639 cm(-1) appeared from 50 degrees C for Cu/Zn SOD. The peak at 1631 cm(-1) is due to the intermolecular beta-sheet structure, but the peak at 1639 cm(-1) corresponds to the major intramolecular beta-sheet with less random coil structure. This reveals that in the first heating process the transformation from random coil/alpha-helix structure to beta-sheet structure initiated from around 45-50 degrees C. There was about 16-22% compositional change resulting from that transformation. However, both additional shoulders stood there and did not restore to their original spectra even with cooling to room temperature, suggesting the denaturation and irreversible properties of the solid SODs after heating. The thermal-dependent denaturation and irreversibility of Mn SOD, Cu/Zn SOD and Fe SOD were clearly evidenced by the increase in intramolecular and intermolecular beta-sheet structure.

Pressure-induced transformation of alpha-helix to beta-sheet in the secondary structures of amyloid beta (1-40) peptide exacerbated by temperature

The effect of pressure on the conformational structure of amyloid beta (1-40) peptide (A beta(1-40)), exacerbated with or without temperature, was determined by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy. The result indicates the shift of the maximum peak of amide I band of intact solid A beta(1-40) from 1655 cm(-1) (alpha-helix) to 1647-1643 cm(-1) (random coil) with the increase of the mechanical pressure. A new peak at 1634 cm(-1) assigned to beta-antiparallel sheet structure was also evident. Furthermore, the peak at 1540 cm(- 1) also shifted to 1527 (1529) cm(-1) in amide II band. The former was assigned to the combination of alpha-helix and random coil structures, and the latter was due to beta-sheet structure. Changes in the composition of each component in the deconvoluted and curve-fitted amide I band of the compressed A beta(1-40) samples were obtained from 33% to 22% for alpha-helix/random coil structures and from 47% to 57% for beta-sheet structure with the increase of pressure, respectively. This demonstrates that pressure might induce the conformational transition from alpha-helix to random coil and to beta- sheet structure. The structural transformation of the compressed A beta(1-40) samples was synergistically influenced by the combined effects of pressure and temperature. The thermal-induced formation of beta-sheet structure was significantly dependent on the pressures applied. The smaller the pressure applied the faster the beta-sheet structure transformed. The thermal-dependent transition temperatures of solid A beta(1-40) prepared by different pressures were near 55-60 degrees C.

Temperature-induced conformational changes in amyloid beta(1-40) peptide investigated by simultaneous FT-IR microspectroscopy with thermal system

Temperature-dependent secondary structures of the amyloid beta(1-40) peptide in the solid state were studied by simultaneous Fourier transform infrared/differential scanning calorimetry (FT-IR/DSC) microspectroscopic system with the heating-cooling-reheating cycle. The result indicates that a thermal transition temperature at 45 degrees C was easily obtained from the three-dimensional plot of the transmission FT-IR spectra as a function of temperature. Furthermore, the thermal-dependent conformational transformations, due to denaturation and aggregation, of solid amyloid beta(1-40) were mainly evidenced by reducing the compositions from 37 to 20-24% for alpha-helical and random coil structures but increasing the components from 27 to 45% for intermolecular beta-sheet structures. Thermal-irreversible behavior and a poor thermal stability of solid amyloid beta(1-40) were also observed from the poor restoration of the secondary conformational changes in the heated sample.

Chaperone-like activity of a synthetic peptide toward oxidized gamma-crystallin

alphaA-Crystallin can function like a molecular chaperone. We recently reported that the alphaA-crystallin sequence, KFVIFLDVKHFSPEDLTVK (peptide-1, residues 70-88) by itself possesses chaperone-like (anti-aggregating) activity during a thermal denaturation assay. Based on the above data we proposed that the peptide-1 sequence was the functional site in alphaA-crystallin. In this study we investigated the specificity of peptide-1 against gamma-crystallin aggregation in the presence of H2O2 and CuSO4. Peptide-1 was able to completely protect against the oxidation-induced aggregation of gamma-crystallin. Removal of N-terminal Lys or the replacement of Lys with Asp (DFVIFLDVKHFSPEDLTVK, peptide-2) did not alter the anti-aggregation property of peptide-1. However, deletion of KF residues from the N-terminus of peptide-1 resulted in a significant loss of its anti-aggregation property. Bio-gel P-30 size-exclusion chromatography of gamma-crystallin incubated with peptide-2 under oxidative conditions revealed that a major portion of the peptide elutes in the void volume region along with gamma-crystallin, suggesting the binding of the peptide to the protein. Peptide-1 and -2 were also able to prevent the UV-induced aggregation of gamma-crystallin. These data indicate that the same amino acid sequence in alphaA-crystallin is likely to be responsible for suppressing the heat-denatured, oxidatively modified and UV-induced aggregation of proteins.