Dewetting Transitions in the Self-Assembly of Two Amyloidogenic β-Sheets and the Importance of Matching Surfaces

Inhibition of Amyloid Nucleation by Steric Hindrance

Despite recent experiments and simulations suggesting that small-molecule inhibitors and some post-translational modifications (e.g., glycosylation and ubiquitination) can suppress the pathogenic aggregation of proteins due to steric hindrance, the effect of steric hindrance on amyloid formation has not been systematically studied. Based on Monte Carlo simulations using a coarse-grained model for amyloidogenic proteins and a hard sphere acting as steric hindrance, we investigated how steric hindrance on proteins could affect amyloid formation, particularly two steps of primary nucleation, namely, oligomerization and conformational conversion into a β-sheet-enriched nucleus. We found that steric spheres played an inhibitory role in oligomerization with the effect proportional to the sphere radius R_S, which we attributed to the decline in the nonspecific attractions between proteins. During the second step, small steric spheres facilitated the conformational conversion of proteins while large ones suppressed the conversion. The overall steric effect on amyloid nucleation was inhibitory regardless of R_S. As R_S increased, oligomeric assemblies changed from amorphous into sheet-like, structurally ordered species, reminiscent of the structure of amyloid fibrils. The oligomers with large R_S were off-pathway with their ordered structures induced by the competition between steric hindrance and nonspecific attractions of soluble proteins. Interestingly, the equimolar mixture of proteins with and without steric hindrance amplified the sterically inhibitory effect by increasing the energy barrier of protein's conformational conversion. The physical mechanisms and biological implications of the above results are discussed. Our findings improve the current understanding of how nature regulates protein aggregation and amyloid formation by steric hindrance.

Turning the structure of the Aβ42 peptide by different functionalized carbon nanotubes: a molecular dynamics simulation study

Functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can inhibit the self-assembly of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides. Under abnormal conditions, the structure of the Aβ peptides undergoes a fundamental transformation, and this transformation will induce conformational conversions of other polymerized Aβ peptides. Here, we explore the interactions between different functionalized CNTs and Aβ₄₂ peptides by molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that compared to the original CNTs, the highly functionalized CNTs induce different adsorption patterns of the peptides. This adsorption pattern destroys the α-helix structure and increases the β-turn and random coil content significantly. The hydrogen bonds formed by the peptide and water molecules or CNTs further reveal the reasons for the structural transformation of the peptide. Due to electrostatic interactions and π-π stacking interactions, some amino acids (such as Phe4, Lys16, Phe20, and Lys28) are tightly fixed on the surfaces, and other amino acids move around these amino acids to accelerate the unfolding and denaturation of the peptide. Our research shows that functionalized CNTs have excellent potential to inhibit the abnormal aggregation of Aβ₄₂ peptides. Our research also provides theoretical guidance in the design and synthesis of carbon nanomedicines for protein conformation diseases.

Lanosterol reduces the aggregation propensity of ultraviolet-damaged human γD-crystallins: a molecular dynamics study

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced oxidation of tryptophan (Trp) to kynurenine (KN) (TRP > KN) in human γD-crystallins (HγD-Crys) promotes the conversion of proteins into partially unfolded species that act as important precursors for sequential large-scale aggregation. Herein, we report that lanosterol shows protective activity to the structure of the TRP > KN mutant HγD-Crys, particularly its N-terminal domain (N-td), by using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. The Trp68 > KN mutation significantly destabilizes the originally highly stable "Tyr55-Trp68-Tyr62" cluster, thereby causing loop2, where the mutation occurs, to become very flexible. The large fluctuation of loop2 induces cracks, which appear on the protein surface, resulting in the intrusion of water molecules into the hydrophobic core of the N-td. This event eventually triggers the unfolding of the N-td. However, lanosterol can suppress the large fluctuation of loop2 to protect the structural stability of the mutant N-td, thus reducing the aggregation propensity of the TRP > KN mutant HγD-Crys. This structure protective activity of lanosterol arises from its capability to preferentially bind to the hydrophobic regions near loop2. Thus, lanosterol acts as a "water blocker" to prevent the invasion of solvent molecules into the hydrophobic core. These findings provide some valuable insights into the development of potential lanosterol-based drugs for cataract prevention and treatment.

Photophysical and Structural Characterization of Intrinsically Fluorescent Sterol Aggregates

Self-association of cholesterol into aggregates and crystals is a hallmark of developing atherosclerosis. Intrinsically fluorescent sterols, such as dehydroergosterol (DHE), can be used to study sterol aggregation by fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy, but a thorough understanding of DHE's photophysical and structural properties in the aggregated state is missing. Here, we show that DHE forms submicron fluorescent aggregates when evaporated from an ethanol solution. Using atomic force microscopy, we find that DHE, like cholesterol, forms compact oblate-shape aggregates of <100 nm in diameter. DHE's fluorescence is lowered in the aggregate compared to the monomeric form, and characteristic spectral changes accompany the aggregation process. Electronic structure calculations of DHE dimers in water indicate that Frenkel-type exciton coupling contributes to the lowered DHE fluorescence in the aggregates. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we show that DHE forms compact aggregates on the nanosecond scale and with strong intermolecular attraction, in which a broad range of orientations, and therefore electronic couplings, will take place. Tight packing of DHE in aggregates also lowers the apparent absorption cross section, further reducing the molecular brightness of the aggregates. Our results pave the way for systematic solubility studies of intrinsically fluorescent analogues of biologically relevant sterols.

Application of a transparent window vibrational probe (azido probe) to the structural dynamics of model dipeptides and amyloid β-peptide

The azido asymmetric stretching motion is widely used for the elucidation of the intrinsic conformational preference and folding mechanism of protein since it has strong vibrational absorbance in the spectral transparent windows. However, the possible secondary structural disturbance induced by the insertion of azido group in the side chain of polypeptides should be carefully evaluated. Here, DFT calculation and enhanced sampling method were employed for model dipeptides with or without azido substitution, and the outcome results show that the lower potential energy basins of isolated model dipeptides are consistent with the preferred structural distributions of model dipeptides in aqueous solution. The azido asymmetric stretching frequency shows its sensitivity to the backbone configurations just like amide-I vibration does, and the azido vibration exhibits great potential as a structural reporter in the transparent window. For the evaluation of the application of azido group in biologically related system, the structural dynamics of Aβ_37-42 and N₃-Aβ_37-42 fragments and the self-assemble process of their protofiliments in aqueous solution were demonstrated. The outcome results show that the structural fluctuations of Aβ_37-42 and its protofilament in aqueous solution are quite similar with or without azido substitution, and the dewetting transitions of Aβ_37-42 and N₃-Aβ_37-42 β-sheet layers are both complete within 30 ns and assemble into stable protofilaments. Therefore, the azido asymmetric vibrational motion is a minimally invasive structural probe and would not introduce much disturbance to the structural dynamics of polypeptides.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Influence of Nanoscale Structure on Water Wetting and Condensation

Recent advances in the microfabrication technology have made it possible to control surface properties at micro- and nanoscale levels. Functional surfaces drastically change wettability and condensation processes that are essential for controlling of heat transfer. However, the direct observation of condensation on micro- and nanostructure surfaces is difficult, and further understanding of the effects of the microstructure on the phase change is required. In this research, the contact angle of droplets with a wall surface and the initial condensation process were analyzed using a molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the impact of nanoscale structures and their adhesion force on condensation. The results demonstrated the dependence of the contact angle of the droplets and condensation dynamics on the wall structure and attractive force of the wall surface. Condensed water droplets were adsorbed into the nanostructures and formed a water film in case of a hydrophilic surface.

Free Energy of Binding and Mechanism of Interaction for the MEEVD-TPR2A Peptide-Protein Complex

The association between the MEEVD C-terminal peptide from the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) and tetratricopeptide repeat A (TPR2A) domain of the heat shock organizing protein (Hop) is a useful prototype to study the fundamental molecular details about the Hop-Hsp90 interaction. We study here the mechanism of binding/unbinding and compute the standard binding free energy and potential of mean force for the association of the MEEVD peptide to the TPR2A domain using the Adaptive Biasing Force (ABF) methodology. We observe conformational changes of the peptide and the protein receptor induced by binding. We measure the binding free energy of -8.4 kcal/mol, which is consistent with experimental estimates. The simulations achieve multiple unbinding and rebinding events along a consistent pathway connecting the binding site to solvent. The MEEVD peptide slowly dissociates disrupting the hydrogen bonds first, then tilting on the side while preserving the interaction with the side chain of residue Asp 5 of the peptide. After this initial displacement, the peptide completely dissociates and moves into the solvent. Rebinding of the MEEVD peptide from the solvent to the receptor binding site occurs slowly through the portal of entry. Unbinding and rebinding go through intermediate states characterized by the peptide interacting with a lateral helix, helix A1, of the receptor with mainly Asp 5, Val 4, and Glu 3 of the peptide. This newly discovered intermediate structure is characterized by numerous contacts with the receptor which lead to complete formation of the bound complex. The structure of the bound complex obtained after rebinding is structurally very similar to the crystal structure of the complex (0.48 Å root-mean square deviation). The residues Asp 5, Val 4, and Glu 3 adopt conformations and intermolecular contacts with excellent structural similarity with the native ones. Finally, the dissociation and reassociation of MEEVD induce hydration/dehydration transitions, which provide insights on the role of desolvation and solvation processes in protein-peptide binding.

Water-mediated influence of a crowded environment on internal vibrations of a protein molecule

The influence of crowding on the protein inner dynamics is examined by putting a single protein molecule close to one or two neighboring protein molecules. The presence of additional molecules influences the amplitudes of protein fluctuations. Also, a weak dynamical coupling of collective velocities of surface atoms of proteins separated by a layer of water is detected. The possible mechanisms of these phenomena are described. The cross-correlation function of the collective velocities of surface atoms of two proteins was decomposed into the Fourier series. The amplitude spectrum displays a peak at low frequencies. Also, the results of principal component analysis suggest that the close presence of an additional protein molecule influences the high-amplitude, low-frequency modes in the most prominent way. This part of the spectrum covers biologically important protein motions. The neighbor-induced changes in the inner dynamics of the protein may be connected with the changes in the velocity power spectrum of interfacial water. The additional protein molecule changes the properties of solvation water and in this way it can influence the dynamics of the second protein. It is suggested that this phenomenon may be described, at first approximation, by a damped oscillator driven by an external random force. This model was successfully applied to conformationally rigid Choristoneura fumiferana antifreeze protein molecules.

Characterization of a novel water pocket inside the human Cx26 hemichannel structure

Connexins (Cxs) are a family of vertebrate proteins constituents of gap junction channels (GJCs) that connect the cytoplasm of adjacent cells by the end-to-end docking of two Cx hemichannels. The intercellular transfer through GJCs occurs by passive diffusion allowing the exchange of water, ions, and small molecules. Despite the broad interest to understand, at the molecular level, the functional state of Cx-based channels, there are still many unanswered questions regarding structure-function relationships, perm-selectivity, and gating mechanisms. In particular, the ordering, structure, and dynamics of water inside Cx GJCs and hemichannels remains largely unexplored. In this work, we describe the identification and characterization of a believed novel water pocket-termed the IC pocket-located in-between the four transmembrane helices of each human Cx26 (hCx26) monomer at the intracellular (IC) side. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to characterize hCx26 internal water structure and dynamics, six IC pockets were identified per hemichannel. A detailed characterization of the dynamics and ordering of water including conformational variability of residues forming the IC pockets, together with multiple sequence alignments, allowed us to propose a functional role for this cavity. An in vitro assessment of tracer uptake suggests that the IC pocket residue Arg-143 plays an essential role on the modulation of the hCx26 hemichannel permeability.

Dewetting transition assisted clearance of (NFGAILS) amyloid fibrils from cell membranes by graphene

Clearance of partially ordered oligomers and monomers deposited on cell membrane surfaces is believed to be an effective route to alleviate many potential protein conformational diseases (PCDs). With large-scale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, here we show that graphene nanosheets can easily and quickly win a competitive adsorption of human islet amyloid polypeptides (hIAPP22-28) NFGAILS and associated fibrils against cell membrane, due to graphene's unique two-dimensional, highly hydrophobic surface with its all-sp(2) hybrid structure. A nanoscale dewetting transition was observed at the interfacial region between the fibril (originally deposited on the membrane) and the graphene nanosheet, which significantly assisted the adsorption of fibrils onto graphene from the membrane. The π-π stacking interaction between Phe23 and graphene played a crucial role, providing the driving force for the adsorption at the graphene surface. This study renders new insight towards the importance of water during the interactions between amyloid peptides, the phospholipidic membrane, and graphene, which might shed some light on future developments of graphene-based nanomedicine for preventing/curing PCDs like type II diabetes mellitus.

Water-mediated long-range interactions between the internal vibrations of remote proteins

We demonstrated that interfacial water can influence and mediate long-range protein–protein interactions leading to a partial synchronization of internal movements of proteins.

Exploring the influence of EGCG on the β-sheet-rich oligomers of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP1-37) and identifying its possible binding sites from molecular dynamics simulation

EGCG possesses the ability of disaggregating the existing amyloid fibrils which were associated with many age-related degenerative diseases. However, the molecular mechanism of EGCG to disaggregate these fibrils is poorly known. In this work, to study the influence of EGCG on the full-length human islet amyloid polypeptide 1–37 (hIAPP_1–37) oligomers, molecular dynamics simulations of hIAPP_1–37 pentamer and decamer with EGCG were performed, respectively. The obtained results indicate that EGCG indeed destabilized the hIAPP_1–37 oligomers. The nematic order parameter and secondary structure calculations coupled with the free-energy landscape indicate that EGCG broke the initial ordered pattern of two polymers, greatly reduced their β-sheet content and enlarged their conformational space. On this basis, three possible target sites were identified with the binding capacity order of S1>S2>S3. After a deeper analysis of each site, we found that S1 was the most possible site on which residues B-Ile26/Ala25, A-Phe23, B/C-Leu27 and E-Tyr37 played an important role for their binding. The proposal of this molecular mechanism can not only provide a prospective interaction figure between EGCG and β-sheet-rich fibrils of hIAPP_1–37, but also is useful for further discovering other potential inhibitors.

Dissecting the contributions of β-hairpin tyrosine pairs to the folding and stability of long-lived human γD-crystallins

Ultraviolet-radiation-induced damage to and aggregation of human lens crystallin proteins are thought to be a significant pathway to age-related cataract. The aromatic residues within the duplicated Greek key domains of γ- and β-crystallins are the main ultraviolet absorbers and are susceptible to direct and indirect ultraviolet damage. The previous site-directed mutagenesis studies have revealed a striking difference for two highly conserved homologous β-hairpin Tyr pairs, at the N-terminal domain (N-td) and C-terminal domain (C-td), respectively, in their contribution to the overall stability of HγD-Crys, but why they behave so differently still remains a mystery. In this paper, we systematically investigated the underlying molecular mechanism and detailed contributions of these two Tyr pairs with large scale molecular dynamics simulations. A series of different tyrosine-to-alanine pair(s) substitutions were performed in either the N-td, the C-td, or both. Our results suggest that the Y45A/Y50A pair substitution in the N-td mainly affects the stability of the N-td itself, while the Y133A/Y138A pair substitution in the C-td leads to a more cooperative unfolding of both N-td and C-td. The stability of motif 2 in the N-td is mainly determined by the interdomain interface, while motif 1 in the N-td or motifs 3 and 4 in the C-td are mainly stabilized by the intradomain hydrophobic core. The damage to any tyrosine pair(s) can directly introduce some apparent water leakage to the hydrophobic core at the interface, which in turn causes a serious loss in the stability of the N-td. However, for the C-td substitutions, it may further impair the stable "sandwich-like" Y133-R167-Y138 cluster (through cation-π interactions) in the wild-type, thus causing the loop regions near the residue A138 to undergo large fluctuations, which in turn results in the intrusion of water into the hydrophobic core of the C-td and induces the C-td to lose its stability. These findings help resolve the "mystery" on why these two Tyr pairs display such a striking difference in their contributions to the overall protein stability despite their highly homologous nature.

STRUCTURAL INSIGHT INTO THE POLYMORPHISM OF NNQNTF PROTOFIBRIL: IMPORTANCE OF INTERFACIAL WATER, POLAR AND AROMATIC RESIDUES

Polymorphism is widely observed in amyloid fibrils associated with many neurodegenerative diseases. Recent experimental study reported that fibrils formed by the segment NNQNTF of elk prion protein exhibited facial polymorphism with the two β-sheets either in back-to-back (BB) or in face-to-face (FF) packing arrangement. In the BB packing, the side chains of N2, N4 and F6 are interdigitated to form steric zipper, while in the FF packing, the side chains of N1, Q3 and T5 form the interdigitated interface. In this study, we investigate the water-mediated assembly of two preformed β-sheets and the physical interactions that stabilize the two different fibrils using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Multiple MD simulations have been carried out by starting from FF or BB packing of two β-sheets according to the facial polymorphism revealed by X-ray microcrystallography. For both packing patterns, we observe that the assembly of β-sheets is mediated by water molecules in the interface between β-sheets, leading to a long-lived protofibrils with wet interface prior to the formation of dry amyloid fibrils. Detailed structural analysis shows that besides the side chain steric zipper interactions, intra-sheet hydrogen bonding and aromatic stacking interactions play an important role on the stabilization of the protofibril with BB packing, while the intra-sheet and inter-sheet hydrogen bonding interactions are crucial for the formation of BB protofibril. These findings provide insights into the mechanism that lead to the facial polymorphism of NNQNTF fibrils.

UV-radiation induced disruption of dry-cavities in human γD-crystallin results in decreased stability and faster unfolding

Age-onset cataracts are believed to be expedited by the accumulation of UV-damaged human γD-crystallins in the eye lens. Here we show with molecular dynamics simulations that the stability of γD-crystallin is greatly reduced by the conversion of tryptophan to kynurenine due to UV-radiation, consistent with previous experimental evidences. Furthermore, our atomic-detailed results reveal that kynurenine attracts more waters and other polar sidechains due to its additional amino and carbonyl groups on the damaged tryptophan sidechain, thus breaching the integrity of nearby dry center regions formed by the two Greek key motifs in each domain. The damaged tryptophan residues cause large fluctuations in the Tyr-Trp-Tyr sandwich-like hydrophobic clusters, which in turn break crucial hydrogen-bonds bridging two β-strands in the Greek key motifs at the “tyrosine corner”. Our findings may provide new insights for understanding of the molecular mechanism of the initial stages of UV-induced cataractogenesis.

The interfacial-organized monolayer water film (MWF) induced "two-step" aggregation of nanographene: both in stacking and sliding assembly pathways

A computational investigation was carried out to understand the aggregation of nanoscale graphene with two typical pathways of stacking assembly and sliding assembly in water. The interfacial-organized monolayer water film (MWF) induced "two-step" aggregation of nanographene in both stacking and sliding assembly pathways was reported for the first time. By means of potential mean forces (PMFs) calculation, no energy barrier was observed during the sliding assembly of two graphene nanosheets, while the PMF profiles could be impacted by the contact forms of nanographene and the MWF within the interplate of two graphene nanosheets. To explore the potential physical basis of the "hindering role" of self-organized interfacial water, the dynamical and structural properties as well as the status of hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) for interfacial water were investigated. We found that the compact, ordered structure and abundant H-bonds of the MWF could be taken as the fundamental aspects of the "hindering role" of interfacial water for the hydrophobic assembly of nanographene. These findings are displaying a potential to further understand the hydrophobic assembly which mostly dominate the behaviors of nanomaterials, proteins etc. in aqueous solutions.

Hydrophobic interaction drives surface-assisted epitaxial assembly of amyloid-like peptides

The molecular mechanism of epitaxial fibril formation has been investigated for GAV-9 (NH(3)(+)-VGGAVVAGV-CONH(2)), an amyloid-like peptide extracted from a consensus sequence of amyloidogenic proteins, which assembles with very different morphologies, "upright" on mica and "flat" on the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). Our all-atom molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the strong electrostatic interaction induces the "upright" conformation on mica, whereas the hydrophobic interaction favors the "flat" conformation on HOPG. We also show that the epitaxial pattern on mica is ensured by the lattice matching between the anisotropic binding sites of the basal substrate and the molecular dimension of GAV-9, accompanied with a long-range order of well-defined β-strands. Furthermore, the binding free energy surfaces indicate that the longitudinal assembly growth is predominantly driven by the hydrophobic interaction along the longer crystallographic unit cell direction of mica. These findings provide a molecular basis for the surface-assisted molecular assembly, which might also be useful for the design of de novo nanodevices.

Comparative molecular dynamics study of human islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) and rat IAPP oligomers

Human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP or amylin) is a causative agent in pancreatic amyloid deposits found in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aggregation of full-length hIAPP(1-37) into small oligomeric species is increasingly believed to be responsible for cell dysfunction and death. However, rat IAPP (rIAPP(1-37)), which differs from hIAPP in only six of 37 residues, loses its aggregation ability to form toxic amyloid species. Atomic details of the effect of sequence on the structure and toxicity between the amyloidogenic, toxic hIAPP peptide and the nonamyloidogenic, nontoxic rIAPP peptide remain unclear. Here, we probe sequence-induced differences in structural stability, conformational dynamics, and driving forces between different hIAPP and rIAPP polymorphic forms from monomer to pentamer using molecular dynamics simulations. Simulations show that hIAPP forms from trimer to pentamer exhibit high structural stability with well-preserved in-register parallel β-sheet and the U-bend conformation. The hIAPP trimer appears to be a smallest minimal seed in solution. The stabilities of parallel hIAPP oligomers increase with the number of peptides. Conversely, replacement of hIAPP sequence by rIAPP sequence causes a significant loss of favorable interpeptide interactions in all rIAPP oligomers, destabilizing the C-terminal β-sheet, turn conformation, and overall stability. A less β-sheet-rich structure and a disturbed U-shaped topology exert a large energy penalty on the self-assemble of the rIAPP peptides into highly ordered, in-register β-sheet-rich protofibrils and fibrils, which explains the nonamyloidogenic activity of rIAPP. Moreover, the absence of interior water within the U-turn region in the well-packed higher-order hIAPP oligomers, not in the poorly packed rIAPP oligomers, also stabilizes peptide association. This work provides atomic details of the sequence-structure relationship between the amyloidogenic hIAPP and its analogues such as the nonamyloidogenic rIAPP and some mutants, which could help in the development of novel therapeutic agents to block the formation of toxic hIAPP oligomeric species for type 2 diabetes.