1
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Zeng J, Tang Y, Dong X, Li F, Wei G. Influence of ALS-linked M337V mutation on the conformational ensembles of TDP-43 321-340 peptide monomer and dimer. Proteins 2024; 92:1059-1069. [PMID: 36841957 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
The transactive response (TAR) DNA/RNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) can self-assemble into both functional stress granules via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and pathogenic amyloid fibrillary aggregates that are closely linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Previous experimental studies reported that the low complexity domain (LCD) of TDP-43 plays an essential role in the LLPS and aggregation of the full-length protein, and it alone can also undergo LLPS to form liquid droplets mainly via intermolecular interactions in the 321-340 region. And the ALS-associated M337V mutation impairs LCD's LLPS and facilitates liquid-solid phase transition. However, the underlying atomistic mechanism is not well understood. Herein, as a first step to understand the M337V-caused LLPS disruption of TDP-43 LCD mediated by the 321-340 region and the fibrillization enhancement, we investigated the conformational properties of monomer/dimer of TDP-43321-340 peptide and its M337V mutant by performing extensive all-atom explicit-solvent replica exchange molecular dynamic simulations. Our simulations demonstrate that M337V mutation alters the residue regions with high helix/β-structure propensities and thus affects the conformational ensembles of both monomer and dimer. M337V mutation inhibits helix formation in the N-terminal Ala-rich region and the C-terminal mutation site region, while facilitating their long β-sheet formation, albeit with a minor impact on the average probability of both helix structure and β-structure. Further analysis of dimer system shows that M337V mutation disrupts inter-molecular helix-helix interactions and W334-W334 π-π stacking interactions which were reported to be important for the LLPS of TDP-43 LCD, whereas enhances the overall peptide residue-residue interactions and weakens peptide-water interactions, which is conducive to peptide fibrillization. This study provides mechanistic insights into the M337V-mutation-induced impairment of phase separation and facilitation of fibril formation of TDP-43 LCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiyuan Zeng
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yiming Tang
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuewei Dong
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Fangying Li
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guanghong Wei
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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2
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Wujieti B, Feng X, Liu E, Li D, Hao M, Zhou L, Cui W. A theoretical study on the activity and selectivity of IDO/TDO inhibitors. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:16747-16764. [PMID: 38818624 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp06036e] [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: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO) is a tryptophan (Trp) metabolic enzyme along the kynurenine (NFK) pathway. Under pathological conditions, IDO overexpressed by tumor cells causes depletion of tryptophan and the accumulation of metabolic products, which inhibit the local immune response and form immune escape. Therefore, the suppression of IDO activity is one of the strategies for tumor immunotherapy, and drug design for this target has been the focus of research for more than two decades. Apart from IDO, tryptophan dioxygenase (TDO) of the same family can also catalyze the same biochemical reaction in the human body, but it has different tissue distribution and substrate selectivity from IDO. Based on the principle of drug design with high potency and low cross-reactivity to specific targets, in this subject, the activity and selectivity of IDO and TDO toward small molecular inhibitors were studied from the perspective of thermodynamics and kinetics. The aim was to elucidate the structural requirements for achieving favorable biological activity and selectivity of IDO and TDO inhibitors. Specifically, the interactions of inhibitors from eight families with IDO and TDO were initially investigated through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations, and the thermodynamic data for binding of inhibitors were predicted by the molecular mechanics/generalized Born surface area (MM/GBSA) method. Secondly, we explored the free energy landscape of JKloops, the kinetic control element of IDO/TDO, using temperature replica exchange molecular dynamics (T-REMD) simulations and elucidated the connection between the rules of IDO/TDO conformational changes and the inhibitor selectivity mechanism. Furthermore, the binding and dissociation processes of the C1 inhibitor (NLG919) were simulated by the adaptive steering molecular dynamics (ASMD) method, which not only addressed the possible stable, metastable, and transition states for C1 inhibitor-IDO/TDO interactions, but also accurately predicted kinetic data for C1 inhibitor binding and dissociation. In conclusion, we have constructed a complete process from enzyme (IDO/TDO) conformational activation to inhibitor binding/dissociation and used the thermodynamic and kinetic data of each link as clues to verify the control mechanism of IDO/TDO on inhibitor selectivity. This is of great significance for us to understand the design principles of tumor immunotherapy drugs and to avoid drug resistance of immunotherapy drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baerlike Wujieti
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, YuQuan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Xinping Feng
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, YuQuan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Erxia Liu
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, YuQuan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Deqing Li
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, YuQuan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Mingtian Hao
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, YuQuan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Luqi Zhou
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, YuQuan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Wei Cui
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, YuQuan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
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3
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Sahayaraj AE, Abdul Vahid A, Dhara A, Babu AT, Vijayan V. Role of G326 in Determining the Aggregation Propensity of R3 Tau Repeat: Insights from Studies on R1R3 Tau Construct. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:4325-4335. [PMID: 38676652 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c00123] [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: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
The Microtubule-binding repeat region (MTBR) of Tau has been studied extensively due to its pathological implications in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease. The pathological property of MTBR is mainly due to the R3 repeat's high propensity for self-aggregation, highlighting the critical molecular grammar of the repeat. Utilizing the R1R3 construct (WT) and its G326E mutant (EE), we determine the distinct characteristics of various peptide segments that modulate the aggregation propensity of the R3 repeat using NMR spectroscopy. Through time-dependent experiments, we have identified 317KVTSKCGS324 in R3 repeat as the aggregation initiating motif (AIM) due to its role at the initial stages of aggregation. The G326E mutation induces changes in conformation and dynamics at the AIM, thereby effectively abrogating the aggregation propensity of the R1R3 construct. We further corroborate our findings through MD simulations and propose that AIM is a robust site of interest for tauopathy drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allwin Ebenezer Sahayaraj
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Arshad Abdul Vahid
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Asmita Dhara
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Ann Teres Babu
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Vinesh Vijayan
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
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4
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Arsiccio A, Liu X, Ganguly P, Buratto SK, Bowers MT, Shea JE. Effect of Cosolutes on the Aggregation of a Tau Fragment: A Combined Experimental and Simulation Approach. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:4022-4031. [PMID: 37129599 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c00433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The intrinsically disordered protein Tau represents the main component of neurofibrillary tangles that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. A small fragment of Tau, known as paired helical filament 6 (PHF6), is considered to be important for the formation of the β-structure core of the fibrils. Here we study the aggregation of this fragment in the presence of different cosolutes, including urea, TMAO, sucrose and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (2-HPβCD), using both experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. A novel implicit solvation approach (MIST - Model with Implicit Solvation Thermodynamics) is used, where an energetic contribution based on the concept of transfer free energies describes the effect of the cosolutes. The simulation predictions are compared to thioflavin-T and atomic force microscopy results, and the good agreement observed confirms the predictive ability of the computational approach herein proposed. Both simulations and experiments indicate that PHF6 aggregation is inhibited in the presence of urea and 2-HPβCD, while TMAO and sucrose stabilize associated conformations. The remarkable ability of HPβCD to inhibit aggregation represents an extremely promising result for future applications, especially considering the widespread use of this molecule as a drug carrier to the brain and as a solubilizer/excipient in pharmaceutical formulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Arsiccio
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Xikun Liu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Pritam Ganguly
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Steven K Buratto
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Michael T Bowers
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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5
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Tan Y, Chen Y, Liu X, Tang Y, Lao Z, Wei G. Dissecting how ALS-associated D290V mutation enhances pathogenic aggregation of hnRNPA2 286-291 peptides: Dynamics and conformational ensembles. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 241:124659. [PMID: 37119915 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
The aggregation of RNA binding proteins, including hnRNPA1/2, TDP-43 and FUS, is heavily implicated in causing or increasing disease risk for a series of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A recent experimental study demonstrated that an ALS-related D290V mutation in the low complexity domain (LCD) of hnRNPA2 can enhance the aggregation propensity of wild type (WT) hnRNPA2286-291 peptide. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Herein, we investigated effects of D290V mutation on aggregation dynamics of hnRNPA2286-291 peptide and the conformational ensemble of hnRNPA2286-291 oligomers by performing all-atom molecular dynamic and replica-exchange molecular dynamic simulations. Our simulations demonstrate that D290V mutation greatly reduces the dynamics of hnRNPA2286-291 peptide and that D290V oligomers possess higher compactness and β-sheet content than WT, indicative of mutation-enhanced aggregation capability. Specifically, D290V mutation strengthens inter-peptide hydrophobic, main-chain hydrogen bonding and side-chain aromatic stacking interactions. Those interactions collectively lead to the enhancement of aggregation capability of hnRNPA2286-291 peptides. Overall, our study provides insights into the dynamics and thermodynamic mechanisms underlying D290V-induced disease-causing aggregation of hnRNPA2286-291, which could contribute to better understanding of the transitions from reversible condensates to irreversible pathogenic aggregates of hnRNPA2 LCD in ALS-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Tan
- Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Yujie Chen
- Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Xianshi Liu
- Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Yiming Tang
- Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Zenghui Lao
- Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Guanghong Wei
- Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China.
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6
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Tang J, Zou Y, Gong Y, Xu Z, Wan J, Wei G, Zhang Q. Molecular Mechanism in the Disruption of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy-Related R3-R4 Tau Protofibril by Quercetin and Gallic Acid: Similarities and Differences. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:897-908. [PMID: 36749931 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a unique progressive neurodegenerative tauopathy pathologically related to the aggregation of the tau protein to neurofibrillary tangles. Disrupting tau oligomers (protofibril) is a promising strategy to prevent CTE. Quercetin (QE) and gallic acid (GA), two polyphenol small molecules abundant in natural crops, were proved to inhibit recombinant tau and the R3 fragment of human full-length tau in vitro. However, their disruptive effect on CTE-related protofibril and the underlying molecular mechanism remain elusive. Cryo-electron microscopy resolution reveals that the R3-R4 fragment of tau forms the core of the CTE-related tau protofibril. In this study, we conducted extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations on CTE-related R3-R4 tau protofibril with and without QE/GA molecules. The results disclose that both QE and GA can disrupt the global structure of the protofibril, while GA shows a relatively strong effect. The binding sites, exact binding patterns, and disruptive modes for the two molecules show similarities and differences. Strikingly, both QE and GA can insert into the hydrophobic cavity of the protofibril, indicating they have the potential to compete for the space in the cavity with aggregation cofactors unique to CTE-related protofibril and thus impede the further aggregation of the tau protein. Due to relatively short time scale, our study captures the early disruptive mechanism of CTE-related R3-R4 tau protofibril by QE/GA. However, our research does provide valuable knowledge for the design of supplements or drugs to prevent or delay the development of CTE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxing Tang
- School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Zou
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, 886 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Yehong Gong
- School of Sports Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhengdong Xu
- School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiaqian Wan
- School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Guanghong Wei
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingwen Zhang
- School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
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7
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Man VH, He X, Han F, Cai L, Wang L, Niu T, Zhai J, Ji B, Gao J, Wang J. Phosphorylation at Ser289 Enhances the Oligomerization of Tau Repeat R2. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:1351-1361. [PMID: 36786552 PMCID: PMC10032562 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
In tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), aberrant phosphorylation causes the dissociation of tau proteins from microtubules. The dissociated tau then aggregates into sequent forms from soluble oligomers to paired helical filaments and insoluble neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). NFTs is a hallmark of AD, while oligomers are found to be the most toxic form of the tau aggregates. Therefore, understanding tau oligomerization with regard to abnormal phosphorylation is important for the therapeutic development of AD. In this study, we investigated the impact of phosphorylated Ser289, one of the 40 aberrant phosphorylation sites of full-length tau proteins, on monomeric and dimeric structures of tau repeat R2 peptides. We carried out intensive replica exchange molecular dynamics simulation with a total simulation time of up to 0.1 ms. Our result showed that the phosphorylation significantly affected the structures of both the monomer and the dimer. For the monomer, the phosphorylation enhanced ordered-disordered structural transition and intramolecular interaction, leading to more compactness of the phosphorylated R2 compared to the wild-type one. As to the dimer, the phosphorylation increased intermolecular interaction and β-sheet formation, which can accelerate the oligomerization of R2 peptides. This result suggests that the phosphorylation at Ser289 is likely to promote tau aggregation. We also observed a phosphorylated Ser289-Na+-phosphorylated Ser289 bridge in the phosphorylated R2 dimer, suggesting an important role of cation ions in tau aggregation. Our findings suggest that phosphorylation at Ser289 should be taken into account in the inhibitor screening of tau oligomerization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viet Hoang Man
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Xibing He
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Fengyang Han
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Lianjin Cai
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Luxuan Wang
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Taoyu Niu
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Jingchen Zhai
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Beihong Ji
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Jie Gao
- Department
of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University
Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Junmei Wang
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
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8
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Man VH, He X, Gao J, Wang J. Phosphorylation of Tau R2 Repeat Destabilizes Its Binding to Microtubules: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:458-467. [PMID: 36669127 PMCID: PMC10032563 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Phosphorylation, the most popular post-translational modification of tau protein, plays an important role in regulating tau physiological functions. However, aberrant phosphorylation attenuates the binding affinity of tau to a microtubule (MT), resulting in MT destabilization followed by accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. There are in total 85 potential phosphorylation sites in a full-length tau protein, and about half of them are abnormal as they occur in tau of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain only. In this work, we investigated the impact of abnormal Ser289, Ser293, and Ser289/Ser293 phosphorylation on tau R2-MT binding and the conformation of tau R2 using molecular dynamics simulation. We found that the phosphorylation significantly affected R2-MT interaction and reduced the binding affinity of tau R2 peptides to MTs. Free energy decomposition analysis suggested that the post-translational modified residues themselves made a significant contribution to destabilize tau repeat R2-MT binding. Therefore, the phosphorylation may attenuate the binding affinity of tau to MTs. Additionally, the phosphorylation also enhanced helix-coil transition of monomeric R2 peptides, which may result in the acceleration of tau aggregation. Since these phosphorylated sites have not been examined in previous experimental studies, our finding through all-atom molecular dynamics simulations and free energy analysis can inspire experimental scientists to investigate the impact of the phosphorylation on MT binding and aggregation of full-length tau and the pathological roles of the phosphorylation at those sites in AD development through in vitro/in vivo assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viet Hoang Man
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania15261, United States
| | - Xibing He
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania15261, United States
| | - Jie Gao
- Department
of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University
Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio43210, United States
| | - Junmei Wang
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening
Center, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania15261, United States
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9
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He X, Man VH, Gao J, Wang J. Investigation of the Structure of Full-Length Tau Proteins with Coarse-Grained and All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:209-217. [PMID: 36563129 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau proteins not only have many important biological functions but also are associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it is still a challenge to identify the atomic structure of full-length tau proteins due to their lengthy and disordered characteristics and the factor that there are no crystal structures of full-length tau proteins available. We performed multi- and large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of the full-length tau monomer (the 2N4R isoform and 441 residues) in aqueous solution under biological conditions with coarse-grained and all-atom force fields. The obtained atomic structures produced radii of gyration and chemical shifts that are in excellent agreement with those of experiment. The generated monomer structure ensemble would be very useful for further studying the oligomerization mechanism and discovering tau oligomerization inhibitors, which are important events in AD drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xibing He
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Viet Hoang Man
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Jie Gao
- Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Junmei Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
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10
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Zou Y, Guan L, Tan J, Qi B, Wang Y, Zhang Q, Sun Y. Atomistic Insights into the Inhibitory Mechanism of Tyrosine Phosphorylation against the Aggregation of Human Tau Fragment PHF6. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:335-345. [PMID: 36594671 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c07568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Abnormal aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau into intracellular fibrillary inclusions is characterized as the hallmark of tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The hexapeptide 306VQIVYK311 (PHF6) of R3 plays an important role in the aggregation of tau. Recent experimental studies reported that phosphorylation of residue tyrosine 310 (Y310) could decrease the propensity of PHF6 to form fibrils and inhibit tau aggregation. However, the underlying inhibitory mechanism is not well understood. In this work, we systematically investigated the influences of phosphorylation on the conformational ensembles and oligomerization dynamics of PHF6 by performing extensive all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our replica exchange MD simulations demonstrate that Y310 phosphorylation could effectively suppress the formation of β-structure and shift PHF6 oligomers toward coil-rich aggregates. The interaction analyses show that hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions among PHF6 peptides, as well as Y310-Y310 π-π stacking and I308-Y310 CH-π interactions, are weakened by phosphorylation. Additional microsecond MD simulations show that Y310 phosphorylation could inhibit the oligomerization of PHF6 by preventing the formation of large β-sheet oligomers and multi-layer β-sheet aggregates. This study provides mechanistic insights into the phosphorylation-inhibited tau aggregation, which may be helpful for the in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zou
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, 886 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Lulu Guan
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, 886 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingwang Tan
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, 886 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Bote Qi
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, 886 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Physics, Ningbo University, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315211, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingwen Zhang
- College of Physical Education and Training, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunxiang Sun
- Department of Physics, Ningbo University, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315211, People's Republic of China
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11
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Sahayaraj AE, Viswanathan R, Pinhero F, Abdul Vahid A, Vijayan V. Sequence-Dependent Conformational Properties of PGGG Motif in Tau Repeats: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Narrow Pick Filament. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:136-147. [PMID: 36512636 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Tauopathies are a class of neurodegenerative diseases correlated with the presence of pathological Tau fibrils as a diagnostic marker. The microtubule-binding repeat region of Tau protein, which includes R1, R2, R3, and R4 repeats, constitutes the core of these fibrils. Each repeat consists of a semiconserved C-terminal hexapeptide flanked by KxGS and PGGG motifs. Previous studies have shown the influence of these peptides on protein aggregation, yet their repeat-specific properties are less explored. Using molecular dynamics, we probed the sequence-specific influence of the C-terminal hexapeptide (264ENLKHQ269) in determining the compact local conformation of the R1 repeat of the narrow Pick filament (NPF) with a homologous E264G mutation. In addition to that, we also studied the influence of 262S phosphorylation on this conformation as the phosphorylation is proposed to alleviate the pathogenesis of Pick's disease. Interestingly, we determined that E264G mutation induces a conformational shift of 270PGGG273 from a turn to a random coil. This conformational dependence is experimentally verified with the R1R3-E264G mutant construct, which displayed accelerated aggregation compared with the R1R3 wild-type construct. A significant delay in aggregation of the R1R3-G326E mutant further demonstrates the importance of 326G in determining the conformation of the R3 repeat. Thus, we conclude that the conformational properties of the PGGG motif in Tau repeats are strongly dependent on the repeat-specific sequence of the C-terminal hexapeptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allwin Ebenezer Sahayaraj
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Renjith Viswanathan
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Faina Pinhero
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Arshad Abdul Vahid
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Vinesh Vijayan
- School of Chemistry, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala PO, Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
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12
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Khalifa J, Bourgault S, Gaudreault R. Interactions of Polyphenolic Gallotannins with Amyloidogenic Polypeptides Associated with Alzheimer's Disease: From Molecular Insights to Physiological Significance. Curr Alzheimer Res 2023; 20:603-617. [PMID: 38270140 DOI: 10.2174/0115672050277001231213073043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Polyphenols are natural compounds abundantly found in plants. They are known for their numerous benefits to human health, including antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory activities. Interestingly, many studies have revealed that polyphenols can also modulate the formation of amyloid fibrils associated with disease states and can prevent the formation of cytotoxic oligomer species. In this review, we underline the numerous effects of four hydrolysable gallotannins (HGTs) with high conformational flexibility, low toxicity, and multi-targeticity, e.g., tannic acid, pentagalloyl glucose, corilagin, and 1,3,6-tri-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, on the aggregation of amyloidogenic proteins associated with the Alzheimer's Disease (AD). These HGTs have demonstrated interesting abilities to reduce, at different levels, the formation of amyloid fibrils involved in AD, including those assembled from the amyloid β-peptide, the tubulin-associated unit, and the islet amyloid polypeptide. HGTs were also shown to disassemble pre-formed fibrils and to diminish cognitive decline in mice. Finally, this manuscript highlights the importance of further investigating these naturally occurring HGTs as promising scaffolds to design molecules that can interfere with the formation of proteotoxic oligomers and aggregates associated with AD pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihane Khalifa
- Département de Chimie, Université du Québec à Montréal, 2101 Rue Jeanne-Mance, Montréal, QC, H2X 2J6, Canada
- Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering and Applications, PROTEO, Canada
- Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials (QCAM), 3420 University Street, Montréal, QC, H2X 3Y7, Canada
| | - Steve Bourgault
- Département de Chimie, Université du Québec à Montréal, 2101 Rue Jeanne-Mance, Montréal, QC, H2X 2J6, Canada
- Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering and Applications, PROTEO, Canada
| | - Roger Gaudreault
- Département de Chimie, Université du Québec à Montréal, 2101 Rue Jeanne-Mance, Montréal, QC, H2X 2J6, Canada
- Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials (QCAM), 3420 University Street, Montréal, QC, H2X 3Y7, Canada
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13
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Zou Y, Qi B, Tan J, Sun Y, Gong Y, Zhang Q. Mechanistic insight into the disruption of Tau R3-R4 protofibrils by curcumin and epinephrine: an all-atom molecular dynamics study. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:20454-20465. [PMID: 35993190 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp02353a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The accumulation of Tau protein aggregates is a pathological hallmark of tauopathy, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Inhibiting Tau aggregation or disrupting preformed Tau fibrils is considered one of the rational therapeutic strategies to combat tauopathy. Previous studies reported that curcumin (Cur, a molecule of a labile natural product) and epinephrine (EP, an important neurotransmitter) could effectively inhibit the formation of Tau fibrillar aggregates and disassociate preformed fibrils. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we performed multiple molecular dynamics simulations for 17.5 μs in total to investigate the influence of Cur and EP on the C-shaped Tau protofibril associated with CTE. Our simulations show that the protofibrillar pentamer is the smallest stable Tau R3-R4 protofibril. Taking the pentamer as a protofibril model, we found that both Cur and EP molecules could affect the shape of the Tau pentamer by changing the β2-β3 and β7-β8 angles, leading to a more extended structure. Cur and EP display a disruptive effect on the local β-sheets and the formation of hydrogen bonds, and thus destabilize the global protofibril structure. The contact number analysis shows that Cur has a higher binding affinity with the Tau pentamer than EP, especially in the nucleating segment PHF6. Hydrophobic, π-π and cation-π interactions together facilitate the binding of Cur and EP with the Tau pentamer. Cur exhibits stronger hydrophobic and π-π interactions with Tau than EP, and EP displays a stronger cation-π interaction. Our findings provide molecular insights into the disruptive mechanisms of the Tau R3-R4 protofibrils by curcumin and epinephrine, which may be useful for the design of effective drug candidates for the treatment of CTE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zou
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, P. R. China.
| | - Bote Qi
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, P. R. China.
| | - Jingwang Tan
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, P. R. China.
| | - Yunxiang Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China.,Department of Physics, Ningbo University, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang, P. R. China
| | - Yehong Gong
- School of Sports Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, P. R. China
| | - Qingwen Zhang
- College of Physical Education and Training, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, P. R. China
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14
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Nguyen PH, Derreumaux P. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Tau Amyloid Fibril Core Dimer at the Surface of a Lipid Bilayer Model: I. In Alzheimer's Disease. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:4849-4856. [PMID: 35759677 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c02836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A tau R3-R4 domain spanning residues 306-378 was shown to form an amyloid fibril core of a full-length tau in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Recently, we studied the dynamics of a tau R3-R4 monomer at the surface of a lipid bilayer model and revealed deep insertion of the amino acids spanning the PHF6 motif (residues 306-311) and its flanking residues. Here, we explore the membrane-associated conformational ensemble of a tau R3-R4 dimer by means of atomistic molecular dynamics. Similar to the monomer simulation, the R3-R4 dimer has the propensity to form β-hairpin-like conformation. Unlike the monomer, the dimer shows insertion of the C-terminal R4 region and transient adsorption of the PHF6 motif. Taken together, these results reveal the multiplicity of adsorption and insertion modes of tau into membranes depending on its oligomer size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- CNRS, Université Paris Cité, UPR 9080, Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- CNRS, Université Paris Cité, UPR 9080, Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 75005 Paris, France
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15
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Pal S, Roy R, Paul S. Deciphering the Role of ATP on PHF6 Aggregation. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:4761-4775. [PMID: 35759245 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01768] [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
The aggregation of Tau protein, which are involved in Alzheimer's disease, are associated with the self-assembly of the hexapeptide sequence, paired helical filament 6 (PHF6) from repeat 3 of Tau. In order to treat Alzheimer's disease and other such tauopathies, one of the therapeutic strategies is to inhibit aggregation of Tau and its nucleating segments. Therefore, we have studied the effect of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on the aggregation of PHF6. ATP has, interestingly, demonstrated its ability to inhibit and dissolve protein aggregates. Using classical molecular dynamics simulations, we observed that the hydrophobic core of PHF6 segment displays extended β-sheet conformation, which stabilizes PHF6 aggregates. However, the distribution of ATP around the vicinity of the peptides enables PHF6 to remain discrete and attain random coil conformers. The interpeptide interactions are substituted by PHF6-ATP interactions through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions (including π-π stacking). Furthermore, the adenosine moiety of ATP contributes more than the triphosphate chain toward PHF6-ATP interaction. Ultimately, this work establishes the inhibitory activity of ATP against Tau aggregation; hence, the therapeutic effect of ATP should be explored further in regard to the effective treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saikat Pal
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781039, India
| | - Rituparna Roy
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781039, India
| | - Sandip Paul
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781039, India
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16
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Nguyen PH, Derreumaux P. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Tau R3-R4 Domain Monomer in the Bulk Solution and at the Surface of a Lipid Bilayer Model. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:3431-3438. [PMID: 35476504 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The aggregation of the tau protein plays a significant role in Alzheimer's disease, and the tau R3-R4 domain spanning residues 306-378 was shown to form the amyloid fibril core of a full-length tau. The conformations of the tau R3-R4 monomer in the bulk solution and at the surface of membranes are unknown. In this study, we address these questions by means of atomistic molecular dynamics. The simulations in the bulk solution show a very heterogeneous ensemble of conformations with low β and helical contents. The tau R3-R4 monomer has the propensity to form transient β-hairpins within the R3 repeat and between the R3 and R4 repeats and parallel β-sheets spanning the R3 and R4 repeats. The simulations also show that the surface of the membrane does not induce β-sheet insertion and leads to an ensemble of structures very different from those in the bulk solution. They also reveal the dynamical properties of the membrane-bound state of the tau R3-R4 monomer, enabling insertion of the residues 306-318 and 376-378.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- CNRS, Université Paris Cité, UPR 9080, Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- CNRS, Université Paris Cité, UPR 9080, Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 75005 Paris, France
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17
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Nguyen PH, Derreumaux P. Computer Simulations Aimed at Exploring Protein Aggregation and Dissociation. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2340:175-196. [PMID: 35167075 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1546-1_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Protein aggregation can lead to well-defined structures that are functional, but is also the cause of the death of neuron cells in many neurodegenerative diseases. The complexity of the molecular events involved in the aggregation kinetics of amyloid proteins and the transient and heterogeneous characters of all oligomers prevent high-resolution structural experiments. As a result, computer simulations have been used to determine the atomic structures of amyloid proteins at different association stages as well as to understand fibril dissociation. In this chapter, we first review the current computer simulation methods used for aggregation with some atomistic and coarse-grained results aimed at better characterizing the early formed oligomers and amyloid fibril formation. Then we present the applications of non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to comprehend the dissociation of protein assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080, CNRS, Université de Paris, Paris, France
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080, CNRS, Université de Paris, Paris, France.
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
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18
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Nguyen PH, Tufféry P, Derreumaux P. Dynamics of Amyloid Formation from Simplified Representation to Atomistic Simulations. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2405:95-113. [PMID: 35298810 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1855-4_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibril formation is an intrinsic property of short peptides, non-disease proteins, and proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Aggregates of the Aβ and tau proteins, the α-synuclein protein, and the prion protein are observed in the brain of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and prion disease patients, respectively. Due to the transient short-range and long-range interactions of all species and their high aggregation propensities, the conformational ensemble of these devastating proteins, the exception being for the monomeric prion protein, remains elusive by standard structural biology methods in bulk solution and in lipid membranes. To overcome these limitations, an increasing number of simulations using different sampling methods and protein models have been performed. In this chapter, we first review our main contributions to the field of amyloid protein simulations aimed at understanding the early aggregation steps of short linear amyloid peptides, the conformational ensemble of the Aβ40/42 dimers in bulk solution, and the stability of Aβ aggregates in lipid membrane models. Then we focus on our studies on the interactions of amyloid peptides/inhibitors to prevent aggregation, and long amyloid sequences, including new results on a monomeric tau construct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong Hoang Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, CNRS, Université de Paris, UPR 9080, Paris, France
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Pierre Tufféry
- Université de Paris, BFA, UMR 8251, CNRS, ERL U1133, Inserm, RPBS, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, CNRS, Université de Paris, UPR 9080, Paris, France.
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
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19
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Zou Y, Guan L. Unraveling the Influence of K280 Acetylation on the Conformational Features of Tau Core Fragment: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:801577. [PMID: 34966788 PMCID: PMC8710698 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.801577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Abnormal aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein Tau is closely associated with tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The hexapeptide 275VQIINK280 (PHF6*), a fibril-nucleating core motif of Tau, has been shown to play a vital role in the aggregation of Tau. Mounting experiment evidence demonstrated the acetylation of a single-lysine residue K280 in the PHF6* was a critical event for the formation of pathological Tau amyloid deposits. However, the underlying mechanisms by which K280 acetylation affects Tau aggregation at the atomic level remain elusive. In this work, we performed replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the influence of acetylation of K280 on the aggregation of PHF6*. Our simulations show that acetylation of K280 not only enhances the self-assembly capability of PHF6* peptides but also increases the β-sheet structure propensity of the PHF6*. The inter-molecular interactions among PHF6* peptides are strengthened by the acetylation of K280, resulting in an increased ordered β-sheet-rich conformations of the PHF6* assemblies along with a decrease of the structural diversity. The residue-pairwise contact frequency analysis shows that K280 acetylation increases the interactions among the hydrophobic chemical groups from PHF6* peptides, which promotes the aggregation of PHF6*. This study offers mechanistic insights into the effects of acetylation on the aggregation of PHF6*, which will be helpful for an in-depth understanding of the relationship between acetylation and Tau aggregation at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zou
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lulu Guan
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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20
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Man VH, He X, Gao J, Wang J. Effects of All-Atom Molecular Mechanics Force Fields on Amyloid Peptide Assembly: The Case of PHF6 Peptide of Tau Protein. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:6458-6471. [PMID: 34491058 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations play a vital role in revealing the mechanism of amyloid aggregation that is crucial to the therapeutic agent development for Alzheimer's Disease. However, the accuracy of MD simulation results strongly depends on the force field employed. In our previous benchmark for 17 all-atom force fields on modeling of amyloid aggregation using the Aβ16-22 dimer, we showed that AMBER14SB and CHARMM36m are suitable force fields for amyloid aggregation simulation, while GROMOS54a7 and OPLSAA are not good for the task. In this work, we continue assessing the applicability of atomistic force fields on amyloid aggregation using the VQIVYK (PHF6) peptide which is essential for tau-protein aggregation. Although, both Aβ16-22 and PHF6 peptides formed fibrils in vitro, the PHF6 fibrils are parallel β-sheets, while the Aβ16-22 fibrils are antiparallel β-sheets. We performed an all-atom large-scale MD simulation in explicit water on the PHF6 dimer and octa-peptides systems using five mainstream force fields, including AMBER99SB-disp, AMBER14SB, CHARMM36m, GROMOS54a7, and OPLSAA. The accumulated simulation time is 0.2 ms. Our result showed that the β-sheet structures of PHF6 peptides sampled by AMBER99SB-disp, AMBER14SB, GROMOS54a7, and OPLSAA are in favor of the antiparallel β-sheets, while the dominant type of β-sheet structures is parallel β-sheet by using CHARMM36m. Among the five force fields, CHARMM36m provides the strongest CH-π interaction that was observed in an NMR study. The comparison between our results and experimental observation indicates that CHARMM36m achieved the best performance on modeling the aggregation of PHF6 peptides. In summary, CHARMM36m is currently the most suitable force field for studying the aggregation of both amyloid-β and Tau through MD simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viet Hoang Man
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Xibing He
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Jie Gao
- Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Junmei Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Computational Chemical Genomics Screening Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
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21
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Dong X, Qi R, Qiao Q, Li X, Li F, Wan J, Zhang Q, Wei G. Heparin remodels the microtubule-binding repeat R3 of Tau protein towards fibril-prone conformations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:20406-20418. [PMID: 34494046 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp02651h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Abnormal aggregation of proteins into pathological amyloid fibrils is implicated in a wide range of devastating human neurodegenerative diseases. Intracellular fibrillary inclusions formed by Tau protein are characterized as the hallmark of tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Heparin has been often used to trigger Tau aggregation in in vitro studies. However, the conformational changes induced by heparin and the underlying mechanism of promotion of Tau aggregation by heparin are not well understood. Structural characterization of Tau oligomers in the early stage of fibrillation is of great importance but remains challenging due to their dynamic and heterogeneous nature. R3, the third microtubule-binding repeat of Tau, contains the fibril-nucleating core (PHF6) and is crucial for Tau aggregation. In this study, utilizing extensive all-atom replica-exchange molecular dynamic simulations, we explored the conformational ensembles of R3 monomer/dimer in the absence and presence of heparin. Our results show that without heparin, both monomeric and dimeric R3 preferentially adopt collapsed β-sheet-containing conformations and PHF6 plays an important role in the formation of interchain β-sheet structures, while in the presence of heparin, R3 can populate relatively extended disordered states where chain dimension is similar to that of R3 in Tau filaments. Through electrostatic, hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions, heparin has a preference for interacting with residues V306/Q307/K317/K321/H329/H330/K331 which distribute throughout the entire sequence of R3, in turn acting as a template to extend R3 conformations. More importantly, heparin alters intramolecular/intermolecular interaction patterns of R3 and increases the intermolecular contact regions. Our results suggest that heparin remodels the conformations of R3 towards fibril-prone structures by increasing chain dimension and intermolecular contact regions, which may shed light on the atomic mechanism of heparin-induced amyloid fibrillization of Tau protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuewei Dong
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China.
| | - Ruxi Qi
- Cryo-EM Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Qin Qiao
- Digital Medical Research Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Xuhua Li
- MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China
| | - Fangying Li
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jiaqian Wan
- College of Physical Education and Training, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingwen Zhang
- College of Physical Education and Training, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Guanghong Wei
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, People's Republic of China.
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22
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Zhu L, Gong Y, Lju H, Sun G, Zhang Q, Qian Z. Mechanisms of melatonin binding and destabilizing the protofilament and filament of tau R3-R4 domains revealed by molecular dynamics simulation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:20615-20626. [PMID: 34514491 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp03142b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau protein is considered to be an important pathological characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Failure of medicine targeting Aβ has drawn more attention to the influence of tau protein and its fibrillization on neurodegeneration. Increasing evidence shows that melatonin (Mel) can effectively inhibit the formation of tau fibrils and disassemble preformed tau fibrils. However, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. In this work, we investigated the kinetics of melatonin binding and destabilizing the tetrameric protofilament and octameric filament of tau R3-R4 domains by performing microsecond all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that Mel is able to disrupt the C-shaped structure of the tau protofilament and filament, and destabilizes the association between N- and C-termini. Mel predominantly binds to β1 and β6-β8 regions and favors contact with the elongation surface, which is dominantly driven by hydrogen bonding interactions and facilitated by other interactions. The strong π-π stacking interaction of Mel with Y310 impedes the intramolecular CH-π interaction between I308 and Y310, and the cation-π interaction of Mel with R379 interferes with the formation of the D348-R379 salt bridge. Moreover, Mel occupies the protofilament surface in the tetrameric protofilament and prevents the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between residues K331 and Q336 in the octameric filament. Our work provides molecular insights into Mel hindering tau fibrillization or destabilizing the protofilament and filament, and the revealed inhibitory mechanisms provide useful clues for the design of efficient anti-amyloid agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences (Ministry of Education) and School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, China.
| | - Yehong Gong
- College of Physical Education and Training, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Hao Lju
- Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences (Ministry of Education) and School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, China.
| | - Gongwu Sun
- Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences (Ministry of Education) and School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, China.
| | - Qingwen Zhang
- College of Physical Education and Training, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Zhenyu Qian
- Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences (Ministry of Education) and School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, 399 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, China.
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23
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The impact of caffeine on tau-tau interaction: LSPR detection, structural modification and molecular dynamics simulation. J Mol Liq 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.115914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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24
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Chatterjee P, Le T, Bui HTD, Cho MK, Ham S. Atomic Level Investigations of Early Aggregation of Tau43 in Water I. Conformational Propensity of Monomeric Tau43. B KOREAN CHEM SOC 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/bkcs.12338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Prathit Chatterjee
- Department of Chemistry The Research Institute of Natural Sciences, Sookmyung Women's University, Cheongpa‐ro 47‐Gil 100, Yongsan‐Ku Seoul 04310 Korea
| | - Thi‐Diem Le
- Department of Chemistry The Research Institute of Natural Sciences, Sookmyung Women's University, Cheongpa‐ro 47‐Gil 100, Yongsan‐Ku Seoul 04310 Korea
| | - Huong T. D. Bui
- Department of Chemistry The Research Institute of Natural Sciences, Sookmyung Women's University, Cheongpa‐ro 47‐Gil 100, Yongsan‐Ku Seoul 04310 Korea
| | - Myung Keun Cho
- Department of Chemistry The Research Institute of Natural Sciences, Sookmyung Women's University, Cheongpa‐ro 47‐Gil 100, Yongsan‐Ku Seoul 04310 Korea
- Department of Chemistry College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Gwanak‐ro 1, Gwanak‐ku Seoul 08826 Korea
| | - Sihyun Ham
- Department of Chemistry The Research Institute of Natural Sciences, Sookmyung Women's University, Cheongpa‐ro 47‐Gil 100, Yongsan‐Ku Seoul 04310 Korea
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25
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Candelise N, Scaricamazza S, Salvatori I, Ferri A, Valle C, Manganelli V, Garofalo T, Sorice M, Misasi R. Protein Aggregation Landscape in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Clinical Relevance and Future Applications. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22116016. [PMID: 34199513 PMCID: PMC8199687 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22116016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Intrinsic disorder is a natural feature of polypeptide chains, resulting in the lack of a defined three-dimensional structure. Conformational changes in intrinsically disordered regions of a protein lead to unstable β-sheet enriched intermediates, which are stabilized by intermolecular interactions with other β-sheet enriched molecules, producing stable proteinaceous aggregates. Upon misfolding, several pathways may be undertaken depending on the composition of the amino acidic string and the surrounding environment, leading to different structures. Accumulating evidence is suggesting that the conformational state of a protein may initiate signalling pathways involved both in pathology and physiology. In this review, we will summarize the heterogeneity of structures that are produced from intrinsically disordered protein domains and highlight the routes that lead to the formation of physiological liquid droplets as well as pathogenic aggregates. The most common proteins found in aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases and their structural variability will be addressed. We will further evaluate the clinical relevance and future applications of the study of the structural heterogeneity of protein aggregates, which may aid the understanding of the phenotypic diversity observed in neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niccolò Candelise
- Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (I.S.); (A.F.); (C.V.)
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 00133 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-338-891-2668
| | - Silvia Scaricamazza
- Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (I.S.); (A.F.); (C.V.)
| | - Illari Salvatori
- Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (I.S.); (A.F.); (C.V.)
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, 00161 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (T.G.); (M.S.); (R.M.)
| | - Alberto Ferri
- Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (I.S.); (A.F.); (C.V.)
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Cristiana Valle
- Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (I.S.); (A.F.); (C.V.)
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Manganelli
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, 00161 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (T.G.); (M.S.); (R.M.)
| | - Tina Garofalo
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, 00161 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (T.G.); (M.S.); (R.M.)
| | - Maurizio Sorice
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, 00161 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (T.G.); (M.S.); (R.M.)
| | - Roberta Misasi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, 00161 Rome, Italy; (V.M.); (T.G.); (M.S.); (R.M.)
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26
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He H, Liu Y, Sun Y, Ding F. Misfolding and Self-Assembly Dynamics of Microtubule-Binding Repeats of the Alzheimer-Related Protein Tau. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2916-2925. [PMID: 34032430 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Pathological aggregation of intrinsically disordered tau protein, driven by the interactions between microtubule-binding (MTB) domains, is associated with Alzheimer's disease. The MTB domain contains either three or four repeats with sequence similarities. Compared to amyloid β, many aspects of the misfolding and aggregation mechanisms of tau are largely unknown. In this study, we systematically investigated the dynamics of monomer misfolding and dimerization of each MTB repeat using atomistic discrete molecular dynamic simulations. Our results revealed that all the four repeat monomers (R1-R4) were very dynamic, featuring frequent conformational conversion and lacking stable conformations. While R1, R2, and R4 monomers occasionally adopted partially helical conformations, R3 monomers frequently formed β-sheets. In dimerization simulations, R3 displayed the strongest aggregation propensity with high β-sheet contents, while R1 was the least prone to aggregation. The R2 and R4 dimers contained both helix and β-sheet structures. The β-sheets in R4 assemblies were dominant with β-hairpin conformation. In R2 and R3 dimers, intermolecular β-sheets were mainly driven by residues around the paired helical filament (PHF) regions. Residues around the PHF6* in R2 and PHF6 in R3 had significantly higher intermolecular contacts than other regions, suggesting that these residues play a key role in the amyloid aggregation of tau. Our results on the structural ensembles and early aggregation dynamics of each tau MTB repeat will help understand the nucleation and fibrillization of tau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan He
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Yuying Liu
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Yunxiang Sun
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States
| | - Feng Ding
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States
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27
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Rani L, Mallajosyula SS. Phosphorylation-Induced Structural Reorganization in Tau-Paired Helical Filaments. ACS Chem Neurosci 2021; 12:1621-1631. [PMID: 33877805 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Taupathies involve the deposition of abnormal tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the human brain. The abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau dissociates from microtubules and forms insoluble aggregates known as paired helical filaments (PHFs), highlighting the importance of post-translational modifications in taupathies. The present study examines the factors responsible for the structural stability of PHFs in native as well as in phosphorylated and O-GlcNAcylated tau. We carried out molecular dynamics simulations on the R3-R4 repeat domains of the human tau protein to gain atomic insights into the key noncovalent interactions responsible for their unique dimeric C-shaped structure. The structural effects upon post-translational modification were found to be prominent for phosphorylation when compared with O-GlcNAcylation. O-GlcNAcylated tau was found to retain the "C conformation" observed in the native tau PHF, whereas upon phosphorylation, we observed a conformational transition to a more opened "H conformation". We found that this conformational transition is brought about by the loss of a key salt bridge between Lys353 and Asp358 due to the phosphorylation at Ser356 that results in the reorganization of the dimeric interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lata Rani
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar 382355, Gujarat, India
| | - Sairam S. Mallajosyula
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar 382355, Gujarat, India
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28
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Leonard C, Phillips C, McCarty J. Insight Into Seeded Tau Fibril Growth From Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Alzheimer's Disease Protofibril Core. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:624302. [PMID: 33816551 PMCID: PMC8017153 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.624302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggregates of the microtubule associated tau protein are a major constituent of neurofibrillary lesions that define Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology. Increasing experimental evidence suggests that the spread of tau neurofibrillary tangles results from a prion-like seeding mechanism in which small oligomeric tau fibrils template the conversion of native, intrinsically disordered, tau proteins into their pathological form. By using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we investigate the stability and dissociation thermodynamics of high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of both the AD paired-helical filament (PHF) and straight filament (SF). Non-equilibrium steered MD (SMD) center-of-mass pulling simulations are used to probe the stability of the protofibril structure and identify intermolecular contacts that must be broken before a single tau peptide can dissociate from the protofibril end. Using a combination of exploratory metadynamics and umbrella sampling, we investigate the complete dissociation pathway and compute a free energy profile for the dissociation of a single tau peptide from the fibril end. Different features of the free energy surface between the PHF and SF protofibril result from a different mechanism of tau unfolding. Comparison of wild-type tau PHF and post-translationally modified pSer356 tau shows that phosphorylation at this site changes the dissociation free energy surface of the terminal peptide. These results demonstrate how different protofibril morphologies template the folding of endogenous tau in distinct ways, and how post-translational modification can perturb the folding mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cass Leonard
- Department of Chemistry, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, United States
| | - Christian Phillips
- Department of Chemistry, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, United States
| | - James McCarty
- Department of Chemistry, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, United States
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29
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Nguyen PH, Ramamoorthy A, Sahoo BR, Zheng J, Faller P, Straub JE, Dominguez L, Shea JE, Dokholyan NV, De Simone A, Ma B, Nussinov R, Najafi S, Ngo ST, Loquet A, Chiricotto M, Ganguly P, McCarty J, Li MS, Hall C, Wang Y, Miller Y, Melchionna S, Habenstein B, Timr S, Chen J, Hnath B, Strodel B, Kayed R, Lesné S, Wei G, Sterpone F, Doig AJ, Derreumaux P. Amyloid Oligomers: A Joint Experimental/Computational Perspective on Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Type II Diabetes, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Chem Rev 2021; 121:2545-2647. [PMID: 33543942 PMCID: PMC8836097 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 386] [Impact Index Per Article: 128.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Protein misfolding and aggregation is observed in many amyloidogenic diseases affecting either the central nervous system or a variety of peripheral tissues. Structural and dynamic characterization of all species along the pathways from monomers to fibrils is challenging by experimental and computational means because they involve intrinsically disordered proteins in most diseases. Yet understanding how amyloid species become toxic is the challenge in developing a treatment for these diseases. Here we review what computer, in vitro, in vivo, and pharmacological experiments tell us about the accumulation and deposition of the oligomers of the (Aβ, tau), α-synuclein, IAPP, and superoxide dismutase 1 proteins, which have been the mainstream concept underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), type II diabetes (T2D), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research, respectively, for many years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy
- Biophysics and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055, United States
| | - Bikash R Sahoo
- Biophysics and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055, United States
| | - Jie Zheng
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, United States
| | - Peter Faller
- Institut de Chimie, UMR 7177, CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, 4 rue Blaise Pascal, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - John E Straub
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Laura Dominguez
- Facultad de Química, Departamento de Fisicoquímica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Nikolay V Dokholyan
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
- Department of Chemistry, and Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Alfonso De Simone
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K
- Molecular Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples 80138, Italy
| | - Buyong Ma
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
- Sackler Institute of Molecular Medicine, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Saeed Najafi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Son Tung Ngo
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics & Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Antoine Loquet
- Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects, (UMR5248 CBMN), CNRS, Université Bordeaux, Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Mara Chiricotto
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K
| | - Pritam Ganguly
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - James McCarty
- Chemistry Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington 98225, United States
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute for Computational Science and Technology, SBI Building, Quang Trung Software City, Tan Chanh Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Carol Hall
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States
| | - Yiming Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States
| | - Yifat Miller
- Department of Chemistry and The Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel
| | | | - Birgit Habenstein
- Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects, (UMR5248 CBMN), CNRS, Université Bordeaux, Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Stepan Timr
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Jiaxing Chen
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
| | - Brianna Hnath
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
| | - Birgit Strodel
- Institute of Complex Systems: Structural Biochemistry (ICS-6), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Rakez Kayed
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, United States
| | - Sylvain Lesné
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Guanghong Wei
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Science, Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Fabio Sterpone
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Andrew J Doig
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
- Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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30
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Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the destabilization mechanism of Alzheimer's disease-related tau R3-R4 Protofilament by norepinephrine. Biophys Chem 2021; 271:106541. [PMID: 33515860 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2021.106541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Aggregation of Tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles is associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) which has no cure yet. Clearing neurofibrillary tangles is one of major therapeutic strategies. Experimental studies reported that norepinephrine (NE) has the ability to disrupt Tau filament and cause Tau degradation. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Herein, we performed molecular dynamic simulations to investigate the influence of NE on the C-shaped Tau R3-R4 protofilament. Our simulations show that NE compound destabilizes Tau protofilament by mostly disrupting β6/β8 and altering the β2-β3 and β6-β7 angles. NE binds mainly with aromatic residues Y310/P312/H374/F378 through ππ stacking and charged residues E338/E342/D348/D358/E372 via hydrogen-bonding interactions. Our results, together with the findings that exercise can markedly increase NE level, suggest that exercise might be a potent therapy against AD. This study reveals the disruptive mechanism of Tau protofilament by NE molecules, which may provide new clues for AD drug candidate design.
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31
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Arya S, Ganguly P, Arsiccio A, Claud SL, Trapp B, Schonfeld GE, Liu X, Lazar Cantrell K, Shea JE, Bowers MT. Terminal Capping of an Amyloidogenic Tau Fragment Modulates Its Fibrillation Propensity. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:8772-8783. [PMID: 32816481 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c05768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Aberrant protein folding leading to the formation of characteristic cross-β-sheet-rich amyloid structures is well known for its association with a variety of debilitating human diseases. Often, depending upon amino acid composition, only a small segment of a large protein participates in amyloid formation and is in fact capable of self-assembling into amyloid, independent of the rest of the protein. Therefore, such peptide fragments serve as useful model systems for understanding the process of amyloid formation. An important factor that has often been overlooked while using peptides to mimic full-length protein is the charge on the termini of these peptides. Here, we show the influence of terminal charges on the aggregation of an amyloidogenic peptide from microtubule-associated protein Tau, implicated in Alzheimer's disease and tauopathies. We found that modification of terminal charges by capping the peptide at one or both of the termini drastically modulates the fibrillation of the hexapeptide sequence paired helical filament 6 (PHF6) from repeat 3 of Tau, both with and without heparin. Without heparin, the PHF6 peptide capped at both termini and PHF6 capped only at the N-terminus self-assembled to form amyloid fibrils. With heparin, all capping variants of PHF6, except for PHF6 with both termini free, formed typical amyloid fibrils. However, the rate and extent of aggregation both with and without heparin as well as the morphology of aggregates were found to be highly dependent on the terminal charges. Our molecular dynamics simulations on PHF6 capping variants corroborated our experiments and provided critical insights into the mechanism of PHF6 self-assembly. Overall, our results emphasize the importance of terminal modifications in fibrillation of small peptide fragments and provide significant insights into the aggregation of a small Tau fragment, which is considered essential for Tau filament assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shruti Arya
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Pritam Ganguly
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Andrea Arsiccio
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Sarah L Claud
- Department of Chemistry, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California 93108, United States
| | - Benjamin Trapp
- Neon Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Grace E Schonfeld
- Department of Chemistry, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California 93108, United States
| | - Xikun Liu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Kristi Lazar Cantrell
- Department of Chemistry, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California 93108, United States
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Michael T Bowers
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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32
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Structures of the intrinsically disordered Aβ, tau and α-synuclein proteins in aqueous solution from computer simulations. Biophys Chem 2020; 264:106421. [PMID: 32623047 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2020.106421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) play many biological roles in the human proteome ranging from vesicular transport, signal transduction to neurodegenerative diseases. The Aβ and tau proteins, and the α-synuclein protein, key players in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, respectively are fully disordered at the monomer level. The structural heterogeneity of the monomeric and oligomeric states and the high self-assembly propensity of these three IDPs have precluded experimental structural determination. Simulations have been used to determine the atomic structures of these IDPs. In this article, we review recent computer models to capture the equilibrium ensemble of Aβ, tau and α-synuclein proteins at different association steps in aqueous solution and present new results of the PEP-FOLD framework on α-synuclein monomer.
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