Nickel-catalyzed N-terminal oxidative deamination in peptides containing histidine at position 2 coupled with sulfite oxidation

Tuning Receptor Properties of Metal-Amyloid Beta Complexes. Studies on the Interaction between Ni(II)-Aβ5-9 and Phosphates/Nucleotides

Amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides, potentially relevant in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, possess distinctive coordination properties, enabling an effective binding of transition-metal ions, with a preference for Cu(II). In this work, we found that a N-truncated Aβ analogue bearing a His-2 motif, Aβ5-9, forms a stable Ni(II) high-spin octahedral complex at a physiological pH of 7.4 with labile coordination sites and facilitates ternary interactions with phosphates and nucleotides. As the pH increased above 9, a spin transition from a high-spin to a low-spin square-planar Ni(II) complex was observed. Employing electrochemical techniques, we showed that interactions between the binary Ni(II)-Aβ5-9 complex and phosphate species result in significant changes in the Ni(II) oxidation signal. Thus, the Ni(II)-Aβ5-9 complex could potentially serve as a receptor in electrochemical biosensors for phosphate species. The obtained results could also be important for nickel toxicology.

Screening assay for metal-catalyzed oxidation inhibitors using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with an N-terminal beta-amyloid peptide

Production of microregional catalytic reactive oxygen species (ROS) by metal-binding amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptides mediates the neurotoxicity of Alzheimer's disease, and inhibitors of this activity may be of therapeutic value. No current analytical methods target specific ROS inhibitors produced by metal-binding peptides. We report a screening assay for metal-catalyzed oxidation (MCO) inhibitors based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) with a model N-terminal Abeta peptide (Abeta(1-6)). When subjected to MCO by Cu(II)/ascorbic acid, singly and doubly charged Abeta(1-6) molecules were observed at m/z 729.2 and 364.8 and m/z 685.3 and 343.3, respectively, corresponding to a decrease in mass of 45 and 89 Da compared with the model peptide. In contrast, H(2)O(2) did not modify the Abeta(1-6) peptide. Modified peptides were characterized by a specific MCO of Abeta(1-6), which contains both His and N-terminal Asp residues. LC-MS detection of the modified peptides allowed us to identify antioxidants that inhibit MCO of Abeta(1-6). MCO of the model peptide was inhibited by curcumin, but not dibutylhydroxytoluene, carotene, tocopherol, estradiol or nicotine, revealing a clear difference between curcumin and other antioxidants. This novel assay may allow for the identification of antioxidants that protect against MCO of peptides and proteins related to degenerative diseases.

Copper binding to beta-2-microglobulin and its pre-amyloid oligomers

Beta-2-microglobulin (beta2m) deposits as amyloid fibrils in the musculoskeletal system of patients undergoing long-term dialysis treatment as a result of kidney failure. Previous work has shown that Cu(II) binding causes beta2m to organize into nativelike dimers and tetramers that precede amyloid formation. Cu(II) is then released from higher-order oligomers before mature Cu(II)-free amyloid fibrils are formed. While some of the Cu(II)-induced structural changes that enable beta2m self-assembly are starting to be revealed, the details of how the Cu(II) binding site evolves from the monomer to the dimers and tetramers are not known. Here, we report results from three mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods that provide insight into the changing Cu-beta2m interactions. We find that monomeric beta2m binds Cu(II) via the N-terminal amine, the amide of Gln2, His31, and Asp59. In the dimer and tetramer, Asp59 is no longer bound to Cu(II), but the other residues still comprise a well-defined albeit weaker binding site that is better able to release Cu(II). Consistent with this is the observation that a fraction of the tetrameric species no longer binds Cu(II) at this weakened binding site, which agrees with a previous report that suggested the tetramer as the first Cu(II)-free oligomer. Our results also provide some insight into structural changes caused by Cu(II) binding that facilitate oligomer formation. Specifically, binding by Asp59 in the monomer requires significant movement of this residue, and we propose that this repositioning is important for establishing a pair of dimer-stabilizing salt bridges between this residue and Lys19. We also find evidence that Cu(II) binding in the N-terminal region of the monomer repels Arg3, which likely allows this residue to form a pair of dimer-stabilizing salt bridges with Glu16. Overall, our measurements suggest that the previously proposed conformational switch caused by Cu(II) binding includes not only a cis-trans isomerization at Pro32 but also the repositioning of residues that are critical for the formation of new electrostatic interactions.

Oxidative DNA damage induced by autoxidation of microquantities of S(iv) in the presence of Ni(ii)–Gly-Gly-His

NiIIGGH (GGH = glycylglycylhistidine) reacts rapidly with S(IV), in air-saturated solution, to produce NiIIIGGH. A mechanism is proposed where initial NiIII oxidizes SO3(2-) to SO3*-, which reacts with dissolved oxygen to produce SO5*-, initiating radical chain reactions. DNA strand breaks and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine formation were observed in air-saturated solutions containing micromolar concentrations of Ni(II) and S(IV). The extent of DNA damage showed dependence on the ratio of the NiIIGGH : S(IV) concentrations and the ionic strength.