1
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Savva L, Platts JA. Computational investigation of copper-mediated conformational changes in α-synuclein dimer. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:2926-2935. [PMID: 38193190 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04697d] [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: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
We report molecular dynamics simulation of dimers of α-synuclein, the peptide closely associated with onset of Parkinson's disease, both as metal-free dimer and with inter-chain bridging provided by Cu(II) ions. Our investigation reveals that the presence of copper-induced inter-chain bridging not only stabilizes α-synuclein dimers, but also leads to enhanced β-sheet formation at critical regions within the N-terminal and NAC regions of the protein. These contacts are larger and longer-lived in the presence of copper, and as a result each peptide chain is more extended and less flexible than in the metal-free dimer. The persistence of these inter-peptide contacts underscores their significance in stabilising the dimers, potentially influencing the aggregation pathway. Moreover, the increased flexibility in the two termini, as well as the absence of persistent contacts in the metal-free dimer, correlates with the presence of amorphous aggregates. This phenomenon is known to mitigate fibrillation, while their absence in the metal-bound dimer suggests an increased propensity to form fibrils in the presence of copper ions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loizos Savva
- School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK.
| | - James A Platts
- School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK.
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2
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Pitman C, Santiago-McRae E, Lohia R, Bassi K, Joseph TT, Hansen MEB, Brannigan G. The blobulator: a webtool for identification and visual exploration of hydrophobic modularity in protein sequences. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.15.575761. [PMID: 38293114 PMCID: PMC10827107 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.15.575761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Motivation Clusters of hydrophobic residues are known to promote structured protein stability and drive protein aggregation. Recent work has shown that identifying contiguous hydrophobic residue clusters (termed "blobs") has proven useful in both intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) simulation and human genome studies. However, a graphical interface was unavailable. Results Here, we present the blobulator: an interactive and intuitive web interface to detect intrinsic modularity in any protein sequence based on hydrophobicity. We demonstrate three use cases of the blobulator and show how identifying blobs with biologically relevant parameters provides useful information about a globular protein, two orthologous membrane proteins, and an IDP. Other potential applications are discussed, including: predicting protein segments with critical roles in tertiary interactions, providing a definition of local order and disorder with clear edges, and aiding in predicting protein features from sequence. Availability The blobulator GUI can be found at www.blobulator.branniganlab.org, and the source code with pip installable command line tool can be found on GitHub at www.GitHub.com/BranniganLab/blobulator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor Pitman
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
| | - Ezry Santiago-McRae
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
| | - Ruchi Lohia
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, M5S 1A8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kaitlin Bassi
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
| | - Thomas T Joseph
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, JMB 305, 3620 Hamilton Walk, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Matthew E B Hansen
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Civic Center Blvd, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Grace Brannigan
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
- Department of Physics, Rutgers University-Camden, 201 Broadway, 08103, NJ, USA
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3
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Barclay AM, Dhavale DD, Borcik CG, Milchberg MH, Kotzbauer PT, Rienstra CM. 13C and 15N resonance assignments of alpha synuclein fibrils amplified from Lewy Body Dementia tissue. BIOMOLECULAR NMR ASSIGNMENTS 2023; 17:281-286. [PMID: 37919529 PMCID: PMC10863844 DOI: 10.1007/s12104-023-10156-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Fibrils of the protein α-synuclein (Asyn) are implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson Disease, Lewy Body Dementia, and Multiple System Atrophy. Numerous forms of Asyn fibrils have been studied by solid-state NMR and resonance assignments have been reported. Here, we report a new set of 13C, 15N assignments that are unique to fibrils obtained by amplification from postmortem brain tissue of a patient diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander M Barclay
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Dhruva D Dhavale
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Collin G Borcik
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Moses H Milchberg
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Graduate Program in Biophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Paul T Kotzbauer
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Chad M Rienstra
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
- National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
- Graduate Program in Biophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
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4
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Ali A, Zhaliazka K, Dou T, Holman AP, Kurouski D. The toxicities of A30P and A53T α-synuclein fibrils can be uniquely altered by the length and saturation of fatty acids in phosphatidylserine. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105383. [PMID: 37890776 PMCID: PMC10679493 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105383] [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: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain, hypothalamus, and thalamus is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). Neuronal death is linked to the abrupt aggregation of α-synuclein (α-syn), a small protein that regulates vesicle trafficking in synaptic clefts. Studies of families with a history of PD revealed several mutations in α-syn including A30P and A53T that are linked to the early onset of this pathology. Numerous pieces of evidence indicate that lipids can alter the rate of protein aggregation, as well as modify the secondary structure and toxicity of amyloid oligomers and fibrils. However, the role of lipids in the stability of α-syn mutants remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the effect of phosphatidylserine (PS), an anionic lipid that plays an important role in the recognition of apoptotic cells by macrophages, in the stability of WT, A30P, and A53T α-syn. We found PS with different lengths and saturation of fatty acids accelerated the rate of WT and A30P aggregation. At the same time, the opposite effect was observed for most PS on A53T. We also found that PS with different lengths and saturation of fatty acids change the secondary structure and toxicities of WT, A30P, and A53T fibrils. These results indicate that lipids can play an important role in the onset and spread of familial PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abid Ali
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Kiryl Zhaliazka
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Tianyi Dou
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Aidan P Holman
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA; Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Dmitry Kurouski
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
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5
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Ohgita T, Kono H, Morita I, Oyama H, Shimanouchi T, Kobayashi N, Saito H. Intramolecular interaction kinetically regulates fibril formation by human and mouse α-synuclein. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10885. [PMID: 37407638 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38070-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulation of α-synuclein (αS) fibril formation is a potent therapeutic strategy for αS-related neurodegenerative disorders. αS, an intrinsically disordered 140-residue intraneural protein, comprises positively charged N-terminal, hydrophobic non-amyloid β component (NAC), and negatively charged C-terminal regions. Although mouse and human αS share 95% sequence identity, mouse αS forms amyloid fibrils faster than human αS. To evaluate the kinetic regulation of αS fibrillation, we examined the effects of mismatched residues in human and mouse αS on fibril formation and intramolecular interactions. Thioflavin T fluorescence assay using domain-swapped or C-terminal-truncated αS variants revealed that mouse αS exhibited higher nucleation and fibril elongation than human αS. In mouse αS, S87N substitution in the NAC region rather than A53T substitution is dominant for enhanced fibril formation. Fӧrester resonance energy transfer analysis demonstrated that the intramolecular interaction of the C-terminal region with the N-terminal and NAC regions observed in human αS is perturbed in mouse αS. In mouse αS, S87N substitution is responsible for the perturbed interaction. These results indicate that the interaction of the C-terminal region with the N-terminal and NAC regions suppresses αS fibril formation and that the human-to-mouse S87N substitution in the NAC region accelerates αS fibril formation by perturbing intramolecular interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Ohgita
- Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, 5 Misasagi-Nakauchi-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto, 607-8414, Japan.
| | - Hiroki Kono
- Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, 5 Misasagi-Nakauchi-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto, 607-8414, Japan
| | - Izumi Morita
- Department of Bioanalytical Chemistry, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, 4-19-1 Motoyama-Kitamachi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-8558, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Oyama
- Department of Bioanalytical Chemistry, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, 4-19-1 Motoyama-Kitamachi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-8558, Japan
| | - Toshinori Shimanouchi
- Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan
| | - Norihiro Kobayashi
- Department of Bioanalytical Chemistry, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, 4-19-1 Motoyama-Kitamachi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-8558, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Saito
- Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, 5 Misasagi-Nakauchi-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto, 607-8414, Japan
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6
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Yoon J, Lee M, Park Y, Lee K, Shin S. In silico investigation of the structural stability as the origin of the pathogenicity of α-synuclein protofibrils. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:14103-14115. [PMID: 37036430 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2199077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
α-Synuclein is a presynaptic neuronal protein. The fibril form of α-synuclein is a major constituent of the intraneuronal inclusion called Lewy body, a characteristic hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Recent ssNMR and cryo-EM experiments of wild-type α-synuclein fibrils have shown polymorphism and observed two major polymorphs, rod and twister. To associate the cytotoxicity of α-synuclein fibrils with their structural features, it is essential to understand the origins of their structural stability. In this study, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of the two major polymorphs of wild-type α-synuclein fibrils. The predominance of specific fibril polymorphs was rationalized in terms of relative structural stability in aqueous environments, which was attributed to the cooperative contributions of various stabilizing features. The results of the simulations indicated that highly stable structures in aqueous environments could be maintained by the cooperation of compact sidechain packing in the hydrophobic core, backbone geometry of the maximal β-sheet content wrapping the hydrophobic core, and solvent-exposed sidechains with large fluctuations maximizing the solvation entropy. The paired structure of the two protofilaments provides additional stability, especially at the interface region, by forming steric zipper interactions and hiding the hydrophobic residues from exposure to water. The sidechain interaction analyses and pulling simulations showed that the rod polymorph has stronger sidechain interactions and exhibits higher dissociation energy than the twister polymorph. It is expected that our study will provide a basis for understanding the pathogenic behaviors of diverse amyloid strains in terms of their structural properties.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeseong Yoon
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - MinJun Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yunsu Park
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyunghee Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Sejong University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seokmin Shin
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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7
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Canever JB, Soares ES, de Avelar NCP, Cimarosti HI. Targeting α-synuclein post-translational modifications in Parkinson's disease. Behav Brain Res 2023; 439:114204. [PMID: 36372243 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114204] [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] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. Although the exact mechanisms underlying PD are still not completely understood, it is well accepted that α-synuclein plays key pathophysiological roles as the main constituent of the cytoplasmic inclusions known as Lewy bodies. Several post-translational modifications (PTMs), such as the best-known phosphorylation, target α-synuclein and are thus implicated in its physiological and pathological functions. In this review, we present (1) an overview of the pathophysiological roles of α-synuclein, (2) a descriptive analysis of α-synuclein PTMs, including phosphorylation, ubiquitination, SUMOylation, acetylation, glycation, truncation, and O-GlcNAcylation, as well as (3) a brief summary on α-synuclein PTMs as potential biomarkers for PD. A better understanding of α-synuclein PTMs is of paramount importance for elucidating the mechanisms underlying PD and can thus be expected to improve early detection and monitoring disease progression, as well as identify promising new therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaquelini B Canever
- Post-Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil; Laboratory of Aging, Resources and Rheumatology, UFSC, Araranguá, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Ericks Sousa Soares
- Post-Graduate Program in Pharmacology, UFSC, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Núbia C P de Avelar
- Laboratory of Aging, Resources and Rheumatology, UFSC, Araranguá, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Helena I Cimarosti
- Post-Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil; Post-Graduate Program in Pharmacology, UFSC, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
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8
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Rapid Scan Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Is a Suitable Tool to Study Intermolecular Interactions of Intrinsically Disordered Protein. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12010079. [PMID: 36671771 PMCID: PMC9856040 DOI: 10.3390/biology12010079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are involved in most crucial cellular processes. However, they lack a well-defined fold hampering the investigation of their structural ensemble and interactions. Suitable biophysical methods able to manage their inherent flexibility and broad conformational ensemble are scarce. Here, we used rapid scan (RS) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to study the intermolecular interactions of the IDP α-synuclein (aS). aS aggregation and fibril deposition is the hallmark of Parkinson's disease, and specific point mutations, among them A30P and A53T, were linked to the early onset of the disease. To understand the pathological processes, research intensively investigates aS aggregation kinetics, which was reported to be accelerated in the presence of ethanol. Conventional techniques fail to capture these fast processes due to their limited time resolution and, thus, lose kinetic information. We have demonstrated that RS EPR spectroscopy is suitable for studying aS aggregation by resolving underlying kinetics and highlighting differences in fibrillization behavior. RS EPR spectroscopy outperforms traditional EPR methods in terms of sensitivity by a factor of 5 in our case while significantly reducing data acquisition time. Thus, we were able to sample short time intervals capturing single events taking place during the aggregation process. Further studies will therefore be able to shed light on biological processes proceeding on fast time scales.
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9
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Pancoe SX, Wang YJ, Shimogawa M, Perez RM, Giannakoulias S, Petersson EJ. Effects of Mutations and Post-Translational Modifications on α-Synuclein In Vitro Aggregation. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167859. [PMID: 36270580 PMCID: PMC9922159 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Fibrillar aggregates of the α-synuclein (αS) protein are the hallmark of Parkinson's Disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. Characterization of the effects of mutations and post-translational modifications (PTMs) on the αS aggregation rate can provide insight into the mechanism of fibril formation, which remains elusive in spite of intense study. A comprehensive collection (375 examples) of mutant and PTM aggregation rate data measured using the fluorescent probe thioflavin T is presented, as well as a summary of the effects of fluorescent labeling on αS aggregation (20 examples). A curated set of 131 single mutant de novo aggregation experiments are normalized to wild type controls and analyzed in terms of structural data for the monomer and fibrillar forms of αS. These tabulated data serve as a resource to the community to help in interpretation of aggregation experiments and to potentially be used as inputs for computational models of aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha X Pancoe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Yanxin J Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Marie Shimogawa
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ryann M Perez
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Sam Giannakoulias
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - E James Petersson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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10
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Anionic lipid vesicles have differential effects on the aggregation of early onset-associated α-synuclein missense mutants. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:102565. [PMID: 36208776 PMCID: PMC9694135 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
α-synuclein (αS) is the key component of synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. αS was first linked to PD through the identification of point mutations in the SNCA gene, causing single amino acid substitutions within αS and familial autosomal dominant forms of PD that profoundly accelerated disease onset by up to several decades. At least eight single-point mutations linked to familial PD (A30G/P, E46K, H50Q, G51D, and A53T/E/V) are located in proximity of the region preceding the non-β amyloid component (preNAC) region, strongly implicating its pathogenic role in αS-mediated cytotoxicity. Furthermore, lipids are known to be important for native αS function, where they play a key role in the regulation of synaptic vesicle docking to presynaptic membranes and dopamine transmission. However, the role of lipids in the function of mutant αS is unclear. Here, we studied αS aggregation properties of WT αS and five of the most predominant single-point missense mutants associated with early onset PD in the presence of anionic 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine lipid vesicles. Our results highlight significant differences between aggregation rates, the number of aggregates produced, and overall fibril morphologies of WT αS and the A30P, E46K, H50Q, G51D, and A53T missense mutants in the presence of lipid vesicles. These findings have important implications regarding the interplay between the lipids required for αS function and the individual point mutations known to accelerate PD and related diseases.
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11
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Mechanisms of enhanced aggregation and fibril formation of Parkinson's disease-related variants of α-synuclein. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6770. [PMID: 35474118 PMCID: PMC9043213 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10789-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of α-synuclein (α-syn) into amyloid fibrils is closely associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Familial mutations or posttranslational truncations in α-syn are known as risk factor for PD. Here, we examined the effects of the PD-related A30P or A53T point mutation and C-terminal 123–140 or 104–140 truncation on the aggregating property of α-syn based on the kinetic and thermodynamic analyses. Thioflavin T fluorescence measurements indicated that A53T, Δ123‒140, and Δ104–140 variants aggregated faster than WT α-syn, in which the A53T mutation markedly increases nucleation rate whereas the Δ123‒140 or Δ104‒140 truncation significantly increases both nucleation and fibril elongation rates. Ultracentrifugation and western blotting analyses demonstrated that these mutations or truncations promote the conversion of monomer to aggregated forms of α-syn. Analysis of the dependence of aggregation reaction of α-syn variants on the monomer concentration suggested that the A53T mutation enhances conversion of monomers to amyloid nuclei whereas the C-terminal truncations, especially the Δ104–140, enhance autocatalytic aggregation on existing fibrils. In addition, thermodynamic analysis of the kinetics of nucleation and fibril elongation of α-syn variants indicated that both nucleation and fibril elongation of WT α-syn are enthalpically and entropically unfavorable. Interestingly, the unfavorable activation enthalpy of nucleation greatly decreases for the A53T and becomes reversed in sign for the C-terminally truncated variants. Taken together, our results indicate that the A53T mutation and the C-terminal truncation enhance α-syn aggregation by reducing unfavorable activation enthalpy of nucleation, and the C-terminal truncation further triggers the autocatalytic fibril elongation on the fibril surfaces.
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12
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Xu CK, Castellana-Cruz M, Chen SW, Du Z, Meisl G, Levin A, Mannini B, Itzhaki LS, Knowles TPJ, Dobson CM, Cremades N, Kumita JR. The Pathological G51D Mutation in Alpha-Synuclein Oligomers Confers Distinct Structural Attributes and Cellular Toxicity. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27041293. [PMID: 35209093 PMCID: PMC8879557 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27041293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
A wide variety of oligomeric structures are formed during the aggregation of proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Such soluble oligomers are believed to be key toxic species in the related disorders; therefore, identification of the structural determinants of toxicity is of upmost importance. Here, we analysed toxic oligomers of α-synuclein and its pathological variants in order to identify structural features that could be related to toxicity and found a novel structural polymorphism within G51D oligomers. These G51D oligomers can adopt a variety of β-sheet-rich structures with differing degrees of α-helical content, and the helical structural content of these oligomers correlates with the level of induced cellular dysfunction in SH-SY5Y cells. This structure–function relationship observed in α-synuclein oligomers thus presents the α-helical structure as another potential structural determinant that may be linked with cellular toxicity in amyloid-related proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine K. Xu
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK; (C.K.X.); (M.C.-C.); (G.M.); (A.L.); (B.M.); (T.P.J.K.)
| | - Marta Castellana-Cruz
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK; (C.K.X.); (M.C.-C.); (G.M.); (A.L.); (B.M.); (T.P.J.K.)
| | - Serene W. Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, South Kensington Campus, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK;
| | - Zhen Du
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK; (Z.D.); (L.S.I.)
| | - Georg Meisl
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK; (C.K.X.); (M.C.-C.); (G.M.); (A.L.); (B.M.); (T.P.J.K.)
| | - Aviad Levin
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK; (C.K.X.); (M.C.-C.); (G.M.); (A.L.); (B.M.); (T.P.J.K.)
| | - Benedetta Mannini
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK; (C.K.X.); (M.C.-C.); (G.M.); (A.L.); (B.M.); (T.P.J.K.)
| | - Laura S. Itzhaki
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK; (Z.D.); (L.S.I.)
| | - Tuomas P. J. Knowles
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK; (C.K.X.); (M.C.-C.); (G.M.); (A.L.); (B.M.); (T.P.J.K.)
- Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
| | - Christopher M. Dobson
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK; (C.K.X.); (M.C.-C.); (G.M.); (A.L.); (B.M.); (T.P.J.K.)
| | - Nunilo Cremades
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Mariano Esquillor, Edificio I+D+I, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
- Correspondence: (N.C.); (J.R.K.)
| | - Janet R. Kumita
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1PD, UK; (Z.D.); (L.S.I.)
- Correspondence: (N.C.); (J.R.K.)
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13
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Boutros SW, Raber J, Unni VK. Effects of Alpha-Synuclein Targeted Antisense Oligonucleotides on Lewy Body-Like Pathology and Behavioral Disturbances Induced by Injections of Pre-Formed Fibrils in the Mouse Motor Cortex. JOURNAL OF PARKINSONS DISEASE 2021; 11:1091-1115. [PMID: 34057097 PMCID: PMC8461707 DOI: 10.3233/jpd-212566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Background: Alpha-synuclein (αsyn) characterizes neurodegenerative diseases known as synucleinopathies. The phosphorylated form (psyn) is the primary component of protein aggregates known as Lewy bodies (LBs), which are the hallmark of diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). Synucleinopathies might spread in a prion-like fashion, leading to a progressive emergence of symptoms over time. αsyn pre-formed fibrils (PFFs) induce LB-like pathology in wild-type (WT) mice, but questions remain about their progressive spread and their associated effects on behavioral performance. Objective: To characterize the behavioral, cognitive, and pathological long-term effects of LB-like pathology induced after bilateral motor cortex PFF injection in WT mice and to assess the ability of mouse αsyn-targeted antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to ameliorate those effects. Methods: We induced LB-like pathology in the motor cortex and connected brain regions of male WT mice using PFFs. Three months post-PFF injection (mpi), we assessed behavioral and cognitive performance. We then delivered a targeted ASO via the ventricle and assessed behavioral and cognitive performance 5 weeks later, followed by pathological analysis. Results: At 3 and 6 mpi, PFF-injected mice showed mild, progressive behavioral deficits. The ASO reduced total αsyn and psyn protein levels, and LB-like pathology, but was also associated with some deleterious off-target effects not involving lowering of αsyn, such as a decline in body weight and impairments in motor function. Conclusions: These results increase understanding of the progressive nature of the PFF model and support the therapeutic potential of ASOs, though more investigation into effects of ASO-mediated reduction in αsyn on brain function is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sydney Weber Boutros
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Jacob Raber
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.,Department of Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.,Departments of Psychiatry and Radiation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Vivek K Unni
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.,Jungers Center for Neurosciences Research and OHSU Parkinson Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
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14
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Perni M, van der Goot A, Limbocker R, van Ham TJ, Aprile FA, Xu CK, Flagmeier P, Thijssen K, Sormanni P, Fusco G, Chen SW, Challa PK, Kirkegaard JB, Laine RF, Ma KY, Müller MBD, Sinnige T, Kumita JR, Cohen SIA, Seinstra R, Kaminski Schierle GS, Kaminski CF, Barbut D, De Simone A, Knowles TPJ, Zasloff M, Nollen EAA, Vendruscolo M, Dobson CM. Comparative Studies in the A30P and A53T α-Synuclein C. elegans Strains to Investigate the Molecular Origins of Parkinson's Disease. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:552549. [PMID: 33829010 PMCID: PMC8019828 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.552549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The aggregation of α-synuclein is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD) and a variety of related neurological disorders. A number of mutations in this protein, including A30P and A53T, are associated with familial forms of the disease. Patients carrying the A30P mutation typically exhibit a similar age of onset and symptoms as sporadic PD, while those carrying the A53T mutation generally have an earlier age of onset and an accelerated progression. We report two C. elegans models of PD (PDA30P and PDA53T), which express these mutational variants in the muscle cells, and probed their behavior relative to animals expressing the wild-type protein (PDWT). PDA30P worms showed a reduced speed of movement and an increased paralysis rate, control worms, but no change in the frequency of body bends. By contrast, in PDA53T worms both speed and frequency of body bends were significantly decreased, and paralysis rate was increased. α-Synuclein was also observed to be less well localized into aggregates in PDA30P worms compared to PDA53T and PDWT worms, and amyloid-like features were evident later in the life of the animals, despite comparable levels of expression of α-synuclein. Furthermore, squalamine, a natural product currently in clinical trials for treating symptomatic aspects of PD, was found to reduce significantly the aggregation of α-synuclein and its associated toxicity in PDA53T and PDWT worms, but had less marked effects in PDA30P. In addition, using an antibody that targets the N-terminal region of α-synuclein, we observed a suppression of toxicity in PDA30P, PDA53T and PDWT worms. These results illustrate the use of these two C. elegans models in fundamental and applied PD research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Perni
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Annemieke van der Goot
- University Medical Centre Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Ryan Limbocker
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom,Department of Chemistry and Life Science, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, United States
| | - Tjakko J. van Ham
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Francesco A. Aprile
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Catherine K. Xu
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Patrick Flagmeier
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Karen Thijssen
- University Medical Centre Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Pietro Sormanni
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Giuliana Fusco
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Serene W. Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Pavan K. Challa
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Julius B. Kirkegaard
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Romain F. Laine
- MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB) University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kai Yu Ma
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom,University Medical Centre Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Martin B. D. Müller
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom,University Medical Centre Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Tessa Sinnige
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Janet R. Kumita
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel I. A. Cohen
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Renée Seinstra
- University Medical Centre Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | | | - Clemens F. Kaminski
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Denise Barbut
- MedStar-Georgetown Transplant Institute, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Alfonso De Simone
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tuomas P. J. Knowles
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Zasloff
- MedStar-Georgetown Transplant Institute, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Ellen A. A. Nollen
- University Medical Centre Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands,*Correspondence: Ellen A. A. Nollen
| | - Michele Vendruscolo
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom,Michele Vendruscolo
| | - Christopher M. Dobson
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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15
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Kiechle M, Grozdanov V, Danzer KM. The Role of Lipids in the Initiation of α-Synuclein Misfolding. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:562241. [PMID: 33042996 PMCID: PMC7523214 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.562241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The aggregation of α-synuclein (α-syn) is inseparably connected to Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is now well-established that certain forms of α-syn aggregates, oligomers and fibrils, can exert neurotoxicity in synucleinopathies. With the exception of rare familial forms, the vast majority of PD cases are idiopathic. Understanding the earliest molecular mechanisms that cause initial α-syn misfolding could help to explain why PD affects only some individuals and others not. Factors that chaperone the transition of α-syn’s physiological to pathological function are of particular interest, since they offer opportunities for intervention. The relationship between α-syn and lipids represents one of those factors. Membrane interaction is crucial for normal cellular function, but lipids also induce the aggregation of α-syn, causing cell toxicity. Also, disease-causing or risk-factor mutations in genes related to lipid metabolism like PLA2G6, SCARB2 or GBA1 highlight the close connection between PD and lipids. Despite the clear link, the ambivalent interaction has not been studied sufficiently so far. In this review, we address how α-syn interacts with lipids and how they can act as key factor for orchestrating toxic conversion of α-syn. Furthermore, we will discuss a scenario in which initial α-syn aggregation is determined by shifts in lipid/α-syn ratio as well as by dyshomeostasis of membrane bound/unbound state of α-syn.
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16
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McClain SM, Ojoawo AM, Lin W, Rienstra CM, Murphy CJ. Interaction of Alpha-Synuclein and Its Mutants with Rigid Lipid Vesicle Mimics of Varying Surface Curvature. ACS NANO 2020; 14:10153-10167. [PMID: 32672441 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Abnormal aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn), an intrinsically disordered neuronal protein, is strongly implicated in the development of Parkinson's disease. Efforts to better understand α-syn's native function and its pathogenic role in neurodegeneration have revealed that the protein interacts with anionic lipid vesicles via adoption of an amphipathic α-helical structure; however, the ability of α-syn to remodel lipid membranes has made it difficult to decipher the role of vesicle surface curvature in protein binding behavior. In this study, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-coated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which mimic bilayer vesicle architecture, were synthesized in order to conduct a systematic investigation into the binding interaction of α-syn and two of its mutants (A30P and E46K) with rigid lipid vesicle mimics of defined surface curvature. By incorporating a rigid AuNP core (∼10-100 nm), the ability of α-syn to remodel the vesicle mimics was removed and their surface curvature could be fixed. Proteomics studies showed that, upon binding of free α-syn to the surface of SDS-AuNPs, the N-terminus of α-syn became less solvent accessible, whereas its C-terminus became more accessible. Interestingly, α-syn's non-amyloid-β component (NAC) region also exhibited increased solvent accessibility, suggesting that α-syn bound to rigid vesicle-like structures could possess heightened aggregation propensity and therefore pathogenicity. Additionally, both the A30P and E46K mutations were found to adopt distinct binding modes on the mimics' surface. In contrast with previous reports, similar binding affinities were observed for WT, A30P, and E46K α-syn toward SDS-AuNPs of all sizes, indicating the potential importance of vesicle deformability in determining α-syn binding behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia M McClain
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Adedolapo M Ojoawo
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Wayne Lin
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Chad M Rienstra
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Carle-Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Catherine J Murphy
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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17
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Okuwaki R, Shinmura I, Morita S, Matsugami A, Hayashi F, Goto Y, Nishimura C. Distinct residual and disordered structures of alpha-synuclein analyzed by amide-proton exchange and NMR signal intensity. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2020; 1868:140464. [PMID: 32497661 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2020.140464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 05/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The residual solution structures of two alpha-synuclein mutants, A30P and A53T, observed in family members of patients with Parkinson's disease were compared with that of wild-type by NMR. The A53T substitution had been shown to accelerate fibril formation of alpha-synuclein, whereas the A30P mutation has the negative and positive effects on the formation of the fibril and spherical oligomer, respectively. The remaining structure was analyzed via amide-proton exchange and signal intensity measurements using NMR. Amide-proton exchange was used for both the calculation of kex values and ratio of kex at different temperatures. Effects of the A30P (N-terminal region) mutation were observed at the C-terminal region as a more flexible structure, suggesting that long-range interactions exist between the N- and C-terminal regions in alpha-synuclein. In addition, the N-terminal region adopted a more rigid structure in the A53T and A30P mutants than in the wild-type. It was concluded that the structural change caused by the mutations is related to the formation of a beta-hairpin at the initiation site of the N-terminal core structure. Furthermore, the signal intensity was used to estimate the rigidity of the structure. Higher signal intensities were observed for A30P at the 112, 113, and 116 C-terminal residues, suggesting that this region adopts more flexible structure. The ratio of the intensities at different temperatures indicated more flexible or rigid structures in the N-terminal region of A30P than in that of wild-type. Thus, using different approaches and temperatures is a good method to analyze residual structure in intrinsically disordered proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rina Okuwaki
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo Heisei University, Nakano, Tokyo 164-8530, Japan
| | - Iori Shinmura
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo Heisei University, Nakano, Tokyo 164-8530, Japan
| | - Shiki Morita
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo Heisei University, Nakano, Tokyo 164-8530, Japan
| | - Akimasa Matsugami
- Advanced NMR Application and Platform Team, NMR Research and Collaboration Group, NMR Science and Development Division, RIKEN SPring-8 Center (RSC) Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Fumiaki Hayashi
- Advanced NMR Application and Platform Team, NMR Research and Collaboration Group, NMR Science and Development Division, RIKEN SPring-8 Center (RSC) Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Yuji Goto
- Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Chiaki Nishimura
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo Heisei University, Nakano, Tokyo 164-8530, Japan; Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
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18
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Ruggeri FS, Flagmeier P, Kumita JR, Meisl G, Chirgadze DY, Bongiovanni MN, Knowles TPJ, Dobson CM. The Influence of Pathogenic Mutations in α-Synuclein on Biophysical and Structural Characteristics of Amyloid Fibrils. ACS NANO 2020; 14:5213-5222. [PMID: 32159944 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b09676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Proteinaceous deposits of α-synuclein amyloid fibrils are a hallmark of human disorders including Parkinson's disease. The onset of this disease is also associated with five familial mutations of the gene encoding the protein. However, the mechanistic link between single point mutations and the kinetics of aggregation, biophysical properties of the resulting amyloid fibrils, and an increased risk of disease is still elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the disease-associated mutations of α-synuclein generate different amyloid fibril polymorphs compared to the wild type protein. Remarkably, the α-synuclein variants forming amyloid fibrils of a comparable structure, morphology, and heterogeneity show similar microscopic steps defining the aggregation kinetics. These results demonstrate that a single point mutation can significantly alter the distribution of fibrillar polymorphs in α-synuclein, suggesting that differences in the clinical phenotypes of familial Parkinson's disease could be associated with differences in the mechanism of formation and the structural characteristics of the aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Simone Ruggeri
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Patrick Flagmeier
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Janet R Kumita
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Georg Meisl
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Dimitri Y Chirgadze
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Old Addenbrooke's Site, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, United Kingdom
| | - Marie N Bongiovanni
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Tuomas P J Knowles
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher M Dobson
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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19
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Rocha S, Kumar R, Horvath I, Wittung-Stafshede P. Synaptic vesicle mimics affect the aggregation of wild-type and A53T α-synuclein variants differently albeit similar membrane affinity. Protein Eng Des Sel 2020; 32:59-66. [PMID: 31566224 PMCID: PMC6908820 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzz021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
α-Synuclein misfolding results in the accumulation of amyloid fibrils in Parkinson’s disease. Missense protein mutations (e.g. A53T) have been linked to early onset disease. Although α-synuclein interacts with synaptic vesicles in the brain, it is not clear what role they play in the protein aggregation process. Here, we compare the effect of small unilamellar vesicles (lipid composition similar to synaptic vesicles) on wild-type (WT) and A53T α-synuclein aggregation. Using biophysical techniques, we reveal that binding affinity to the vesicles is similar for the two proteins, and both interact with the helix long axis parallel to the membrane surface. Still, the vesicles affect the aggregation of the variants differently: effects on secondary processes such as fragmentation dominate for WT, whereas for A53T, fibril elongation is mostly affected. We speculate that vesicle interactions with aggregate intermediate species, in addition to monomer binding, vary between WT and A53T, resulting in different consequences for amyloid formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Rocha
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ranjeet Kumar
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Istvan Horvath
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
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20
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Sachsenhauser V, Deng X, Kim HH, Jankovic M, Bardwell JC. Yeast Tripartite Biosensors Sensitive to Protein Stability and Aggregation Propensity. ACS Chem Biol 2020; 15:1078-1088. [PMID: 32105441 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.0c00083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
In contrast to the myriad approaches available to study protein misfolding and aggregation in vitro, relatively few tools are available for the study of these processes in the cellular context. This is in part due to the complexity of the cellular environment which, for instance, interferes with many spectroscopic approaches. Here, we describe a tripartite fusion approach that can be used to assess in vivo protein stability and solubility in the cytosol of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our biosensors contain tripartite fusions in which a protein of interest is inserted into antibiotic resistance markers. These fusions act to directly link the aggregation susceptibility and stability of the inserted protein to antibiotic resistance. We demonstrate a linear relationship between the thermodynamic stabilities of variants of the model folding protein immunity protein 7 (Im7) fused into the resistance markers and their antibiotic resistance readouts. We also use this system to investigate the in vivo properties of the yeast prion proteins Sup35 and Rnq1 and proteins whose aggregation is associated with some of the most prevalent neurodegenerative misfolding disorders, including peptide amyloid beta 1-42 (Aβ42), which is involved in Alzheimer's disease, and protein α-synuclein, which is linked to Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Sachsenhauser
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1085, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Xiexiong Deng
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1085, United States
| | - Hyun-hee Kim
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1085, United States
| | - Maja Jankovic
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1085, United States
| | - James C.A. Bardwell
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1085, United States
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21
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Boyer DR, Li B, Sun C, Fan W, Zhou K, Hughes MP, Sawaya MR, Jiang L, Eisenberg DS. The α-synuclein hereditary mutation E46K unlocks a more stable, pathogenic fibril structure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:3592-3602. [PMID: 32015135 PMCID: PMC7035510 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1917914117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of α-synuclein is a defining molecular feature of Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, and multiple systems atrophy. Hereditary mutations in α-synuclein are linked to both Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia; in particular, patients bearing the E46K disease mutation manifest a clinical picture of parkinsonism and Lewy body dementia, and E46K creates more pathogenic fibrils in vitro. Understanding the effect of these hereditary mutations on α-synuclein fibril structure is fundamental to α-synuclein biology. We therefore determined the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of α-synuclein fibrils containing the hereditary E46K mutation. The 2.5-Å structure reveals a symmetric double protofilament in which the molecules adopt a vastly rearranged, lower energy fold compared to wild-type fibrils. We propose that the E46K misfolding pathway avoids electrostatic repulsion between K46 and K80, a residue pair which form the E46-K80 salt bridge in the wild-type fibril structure. We hypothesize that, under our conditions, the wild-type fold does not reach this deeper energy well of the E46K fold because the E46-K80 salt bridge diverts α-synuclein into a kinetic trap-a shallower, more accessible energy minimum. The E46K mutation apparently unlocks a more stable and pathogenic fibril structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Boyer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Energy Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Binsen Li
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Chuanqi Sun
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Weijia Fan
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Kang Zhou
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Michael P Hughes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Energy Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Michael R Sawaya
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Energy Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Lin Jiang
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095;
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - David S Eisenberg
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095;
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Energy Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
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22
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Ratha BN, Kar RK, Bednarikova Z, Gazova Z, Kotler SA, Raha S, De S, Maiti NC, Bhunia A. Molecular Details of a Salt Bridge and Its Role in Insulin Fibrillation by NMR and Raman Spectroscopic Analysis. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:1125-1136. [PMID: 31958230 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b10349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Insulin, a simple polypeptide hormone with huge biological importance, has long been known to self-assemble in vitro and form amyloid-like fibrillar aggregates. Utilizing high-resolution NMR, Raman spectroscopy, and computational analysis, we demonstrate that the fluctuation of the carboxyl terminal (C-ter) residues of the insulin B-chain plays a key role in the growth phase of insulin aggregation. By comparing the insulin sourced from bovine, human, and the modified glargine (GI), we observed reduced aggregation propensity in the GI variant, resulting from two additional Arg residues at its C-ter. NMR analysis showed atomic contacts and residue-specific interactions, particularly the salt bridge and H-bond formed among the C-ter residues Arg31B, Lys29B, and Glu4A. These inter-residue interactions were reflected in strong nuclear Overhauser effects among Arg31BδH-Glu4AδH and Lys29BδHs-Glu4AδH in GI, as well as the associated downfield chemical shift of several A-chain amino terminal (N-ter) residues. The two additional Arg residues of GI, Arg31B and Arg32B, enhanced the stability of the GI native structure by strengthening the Arg31B, Lys29B, and Glu4A salt bridge, thus reducing extensive thermal distortion and fluctuation of the terminal residues. The high stability of the salt bridge retards tertiary collapse, a crucial biochemical event for oligomerization and subsequent fibril formation. Circular dichroism and Raman spectroscopic measurement also suggest slow structural distortion in the early phase of the aggregation of GI because of the restricted mobility of the C-ter residues as explained by NMR. In addition, the structural and dynamic parameters derived from molecular dynamics simulations of insulin variants highlight the role of residue-specific contacts in aggregation and amyloid-like fibril formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhisma N Ratha
- Department of Biophysics , Bose Institute , P-1/12 CIT Scheme VII (M) , Kolkata 700054 , India
| | - Rajiv K Kar
- Department of Biophysics , Bose Institute , P-1/12 CIT Scheme VII (M) , Kolkata 700054 , India
| | - Zuzana Bednarikova
- Department of Biophysics , Institute of Experimental Physics Slovak Academy of Sciences , Kosice 040 01 , Slovakia
| | - Zuzana Gazova
- Department of Biophysics , Institute of Experimental Physics Slovak Academy of Sciences , Kosice 040 01 , Slovakia
| | - Samuel A Kotler
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences , National Institutes of Health , Rockville , Maryland 20850 , United States
| | - Sreyan Raha
- Department of Physics , Bose Institute , 93/1 APC Road , Kolkata 700009 , India
| | - Soumya De
- School of Bioscience , IIT Kharagpur , Kharagpur 721302 , India
| | - Nakul C Maiti
- Division Structural Biology and Bioinformatics , CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology , Kolkata 700032 , India
| | - Anirban Bhunia
- Department of Biophysics , Bose Institute , P-1/12 CIT Scheme VII (M) , Kolkata 700054 , India
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23
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Structures of fibrils formed by α-synuclein hereditary disease mutant H50Q reveal new polymorphs. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2019; 26:1044-1052. [PMID: 31695184 PMCID: PMC6907165 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-019-0322-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Deposits of amyloid fibrils of α-synuclein are the histological hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy, with hereditary mutations in α-synuclein linked to the first two of these conditions. Seeing the changes to the structures of amyloid fibrils bearing these mutations may help to understand these diseases. To this end, we determined the cryo-EM structures of α-synuclein fibrils containing the H50Q hereditary mutation. We find that the H50Q mutation results in two previously unobserved polymorphs of α-synuclein: Narrow and Wide Fibrils, formed from either one or two protofilaments, respectively. These structures recapitulate conserved features of the wild-type fold but reveal new structural elements including a previously unobserved hydrogen bond network and surprising new protofilament arrangements. The structures of the H50Q polymorphs help to rationalize the faster aggregation kinetics, higher seeding capacity in biosensor cells, and greater cytotoxicity we observe for H50Q compared to wild-type α-synuclein.
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24
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Lv G, Kumar A, Huang Y, Eliezer D. A Protofilament-Protofilament Interface in the Structure of Mouse α-Synuclein Fibrils. Biophys J 2019; 114:2811-2819. [PMID: 29925018 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2018.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Revised: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Fibrillar α-synuclein (AS) is the major component of Lewy bodies, the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR), we previously reported a structural characterization of mouse AS (mAS) fibrils and found that the secondary structure of the mAS fibrils is highly similar to a form of human AS (hAS) fibrils. Recently, a three-dimensional structure of these same hAS fibrils was determined by ssNMR and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Using medium- and long-range distance restraints obtained from ssNMR spectra, we found that the single protofilament structure of mAS fibrils is also similar to that of the hAS fibrils. However, residue-specific water accessibility of mAS fibrils probed by water polarization transfer ssNMR measurements indicates that residues S42-T44 and G84-V95 are largely protected from water even though they are located at the edge of the protofilament. Some of the corresponding resonances also exhibit peak doubling. These observations suggest that these residues may be involved in, to our knowledge, a novel protofilament-protofilament interface. We propose a structural model of mAS fibrils that incorporates this dimer interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guohua Lv
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York; Department of NMR-Based Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goettingen, Germany.
| | - Ashutosh Kumar
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India; Department of NMR-Based Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Yun Huang
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York
| | - David Eliezer
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York.
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25
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Jaroniec CP. Two decades of progress in structural and dynamic studies of amyloids by solid-state NMR. JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE (SAN DIEGO, CALIF. : 1997) 2019; 306:42-47. [PMID: 31311708 PMCID: PMC6703944 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2019.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 06/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
In this perspective article I briefly highlight the rapid progress made over the past two decades in atomic level structural and dynamic studies of amyloids, which are representative of non-crystalline biomacromolecular assemblies, by magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Given new and continuing developments in solid-state NMR instrumentation and methodology, ongoing research in this area promises to contribute to an improved understanding of amyloid structure, polymorphism, interactions, assembly mechanisms, and biological function and toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher P Jaroniec
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
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26
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Deciphering the anti-Parkinson’s activity of sulphated polysaccharides from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii on the α-Synuclein mutants A30P, A53T, E46K, E57K and E35K. J Biochem 2019; 166:463-474. [DOI: 10.1093/jb/mvz064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
AbstractParkinsonism-linked mutations in alanine and glutamic acid residues of the pre-synaptic protein α-Synuclein (α-Syn) affect specific tertiary interactions essential for stability of the native state and make it prone to more aggregation. Many of the currently available drugs used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) are not very effective and are associated with multiple side effects. Recently, marine algae have been reported to have sulphated polysaccharides which offers multiple pharmaceutical properties. With this background, we have isolated sulphated polysaccharides from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Cr-SPs) and investigated their effects on inhibition of fibrillation/aggregation of α-Syn mutants through a combination of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The kinetics of α-Syn fibrillation establishes that Cr-SPs are very effective in inhibiting fibrillation of α-Syn mutants. The morphological changes associated with the fibrillation/aggregation process have been monitored by transmission electron microscopy. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gel image suggests that Cr-SPs increase the amount of soluble protein after completion of the fibrillation/aggregation process. The circular dichroism results showed that Cr-SPs efficiently delay the conversion of native protein into β-sheet-rich structures. Thus, the current work has considerable therapeutic implications towards deciphering the potential of Cr-SPs to act against PD and other protein aggregation-related disorders.
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27
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Fanni AM, Monge FA, Lin CY, Thapa A, Bhaskar K, Whitten DG, Chi EY. High Selectivity and Sensitivity of Oligomeric p-Phenylene Ethynylenes for Detecting Fibrillar and Prefibrillar Amyloid Protein Aggregates. ACS Chem Neurosci 2019; 10:1813-1825. [PMID: 30657326 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Misfolding and aggregation of amyloid proteins into fibrillar aggregates is a central pathogenic event in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's diseases (PD). Currently, there is a lack of reliable sensors for detecting the range of protein aggregates involved in disease etiology, particularly the prefibrillar aggregate conformations that are more neurotoxic. In this study, the fluorescent sensing of two novel oligomeric p-phenylene ethynylenes (OPEs), anionic OPE1- and cationic OPE2+, for detecting prefibrillar and fibrillar aggregates of AD-associated amyloid-β (Aβ40 and Aβ42) and PD-associated α-synuclein proteins (wildtype, and single mutants A30P, E35K, and A53T) over their monomeric counterparts, were tested. Furthermore, the performance of OPEs was evaluated and compared to thioflavin T (ThT), the most widely used fibril dye. Our results show that OPE1- and OPE2+ exhibited aggregate-specific binding inducing large fluorescence turn-on and spectral shifts based on a combination of backbone planarization, hydrophobic unquenching, and superluminescent OPE complex formation sensing modes. OPEs exhibited higher selectivity, higher binding affinity, and comparable limits of detection for Aβ40 fibrils compared to ThT. OPE2+ exhibited the largest fluorescence turn-on and highest sensitivity. Significantly, OPEs detected prefibrillar aggregates of Aβ42 and α-synuclein that ThT failed to detect. The superior sensing performance, the nonprotein specific detection, and the ability to selectively detect fibrillar and prefibrillar amyloid protein aggregates point to the potential of OPEs to overcome the limitations of existing probes and promise significant advancement in the detection of the myriad of protein aggregates involved in the early stages of AD and PD.
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28
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Mechanisms of Strain Diversity of Disease-Associated in-Register Parallel β-Sheet Amyloids and Implications About Prion Strains. Viruses 2019; 11:v11020110. [PMID: 30696005 PMCID: PMC6410106 DOI: 10.3390/v11020110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanism of prion strain diversity remains unsolved. Investigation of inheritance and diversification of protein-based pathogenic information demands the identification of the detailed structures of abnormal isoforms of the prion protein (PrPSc); however, achieving purification is difficult without affecting infectivity. Similar prion-like properties are recognized also in other disease-associated in-register parallel β-sheet amyloids including Tau and α-synuclein (αSyn) amyloids. Investigations into structures of those amyloids via solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and cryo-electron microscopy recently made remarkable advances due to their relatively small sizes and lack of post-translational modifications. Herein, we review advances regarding pathogenic amyloids, particularly Tau and αSyn, and discuss implications about strain diversity mechanisms of prion/PrPSc from the perspective that PrPSc is an in-register parallel β-sheet amyloid. Additionally, we present our recent data of molecular dynamics simulations of αSyn amyloid, which suggest significance of compatibility between β-sheet propensities of the substrate and local structures of the template for stability of amyloid structures. Detailed structures of αSyn and Tau amyloids are excellent models of pathogenic amyloids, including PrPSc, to elucidate strain diversity and pathogenic mechanisms.
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29
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Non-cell-autonomous actions of α-synuclein: Implications in glial synucleinopathies. Prog Neurobiol 2018; 169:158-171. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2018.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 06/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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30
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Bhasne K, Sebastian S, Jain N, Mukhopadhyay S. Synergistic Amyloid Switch Triggered by Early Heterotypic Oligomerization of Intrinsically Disordered α-Synuclein and Tau. J Mol Biol 2018; 430:2508-2520. [PMID: 29704492 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2018.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Revised: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Amyloidogenic intrinsically disordered proteins, α-synuclein and tau are linked to Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, respectively. A body of evidence suggests that α-synuclein and tau, both present in the presynaptic nerve terminals, co-aggregate in many neurological ailments. The molecular mechanism of α-synuclein-tau hetero-assembly is poorly understood. Here we show that amyloid formation is synergistically facilitated by heterotypic association mediated by binding-induced misfolding of both α-synuclein and tau K18. We demonstrate that the intermolecular association is largely driven by the electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged C-terminal segment of α-synuclein and the positively charged tau K18 fragment. This heterotypic association results in rapid formation of oligomers that readily mature into hetero-fibrils with a much shorter lag phase compared to the individual proteins. These findings suggested that the critical intermolecular interaction between α-synuclein and tau can promote facile amyloid formation that can potentially lead to efficient sequestration of otherwise long-lived lethal oligomeric intermediates into innocuous fibrils. We next show that a well-known familial Parkinson's disease mutant (A30P) that is known to aggregate slowly via accumulation of highly toxic oligomeric species during the long lag phase converts into amyloid fibrils significantly faster in the presence of tau K18. The early intermolecular interaction profoundly accelerates the fibrillation rate of A30P α-synuclein and impels the disease mutant to behave similar to wild-type α-synuclein in the presence of tau. Our findings suggest a mechanistic underpinning of bypassing toxicity and suggest a general strategy by which detrimental amyloidogenic precursors are efficiently sequestered into more benign amyloid fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karishma Bhasne
- Centre for Protein Science, Design and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, Punjab, India; Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, Punjab, India
| | - Sanjana Sebastian
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, Punjab, India
| | - Neha Jain
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, Punjab, India; Present address: Biological and Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
| | - Samrat Mukhopadhyay
- Centre for Protein Science, Design and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, Punjab, India; Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, Punjab, India; Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, Punjab, India.
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31
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Ahlemeyer B, Halupczok S, Rodenberg-Frank E, Valerius KP, Baumgart-Vogt E. Endogenous Murine Amyloid-β Peptide Assembles into Aggregates in the Aged C57BL/6J Mouse Suggesting These Animals as a Model to Study Pathogenesis of Amyloid-β Plaque Formation. J Alzheimers Dis 2018; 61:1425-1450. [DOI: 10.3233/jad-170923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Ahlemeyer
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Division of Medical Cell Biology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Sascha Halupczok
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Division of Medical Cell Biology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Elke Rodenberg-Frank
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Division of Medical Cell Biology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Klaus-Peter Valerius
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Division of Medical Cell Biology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Eveline Baumgart-Vogt
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Division of Medical Cell Biology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
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32
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Silvers R, Colvin MT, Frederick KK, Jacavone AC, Lindquist S, Linse S, Griffin RG. Aggregation and Fibril Structure of Aβ M01-42 and Aβ 1-42. Biochemistry 2017; 56:4850-4859. [PMID: 28792214 PMCID: PMC8254419 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.7b00729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
A mechanistic understanding of Aβ aggregation and high-resolution structures of Aβ fibrils and oligomers are vital to elucidating relevant details of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease, which will facilitate the rational design of diagnostic and therapeutic protocols. The most detailed and reproducible insights into structure and kinetics have been achieved using Aβ peptides produced by recombinant expression, which results in an additional methionine at the N-terminus. While the length of the C-terminus is well established to have a profound impact on the peptide's aggregation propensity, structure, and neurotoxicity, the impact of the N-terminal methionine on the aggregation pathways and structure is unclear. For this reason, we have developed a protocol to produce recombinant Aβ1-42, sans the N-terminal methionine, using an N-terminal small ubiquitin-like modifier-Aβ1-42 fusion protein in reasonable yield, with which we compared aggregation kinetics with AβM01-42 containing the additional methionine residue. The data revealed that Aβ1-42 and AβM01-42 aggregate with similar rates and by the same mechanism, in which the generation of new aggregates is dominated by secondary nucleation of monomers on the surface of fibrils. We also recorded magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectra that demonstrated that excellent spectral resolution is maintained with both AβM01-42 and Aβ1-42 and that the chemical shifts are virtually identical in dipolar recoupling experiments that provide information about rigid residues. Collectively, these results indicate that the structure of the fibril core is unaffected by N-terminal methionine. This is consistent with the recent structures of AβM01-42 in which M0 is located at the terminus of a disordered 14-amino acid N-terminal tail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Silvers
- Department of Chemistry and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Michael T Colvin
- Department of Chemistry and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Kendra K Frederick
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research , Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Angela C Jacavone
- Department of Chemistry and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Susan Lindquist
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research , Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Sara Linse
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Lund University , SE22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Robert G Griffin
- Department of Chemistry and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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33
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Uversky VN. Looking at the recent advances in understanding α-synuclein and its aggregation through the proteoform prism. F1000Res 2017; 6:525. [PMID: 28491292 PMCID: PMC5399969 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.10536.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite attracting the close attention of multiple researchers for the past 25 years, α-synuclein continues to be an enigma, hiding sacred truth related to its structure, function, and dysfunction, concealing mechanisms of its pathological spread within the affected brain during disease progression, and, above all, covering up the molecular mechanisms of its multipathogenicity, i.e. the ability to be associated with the pathogenesis of various diseases. The goal of this article is to present the most recent advances in understanding of this protein and its aggregation and to show that the remarkable structural, functional, and dysfunctional multifaceted nature of α-synuclein can be understood using the proteoform concept.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. MDC07, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA.,Laboratory of New Methods in Biology, Institute for Biological Instrumentation, Russian Academy of Sciences, 7 Institutskaya St., 142290 Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russian Federation.,Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding Of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Tikhoretsky Av., 194064 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
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34
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Xu L, Ma B, Nussinov R, Thompson D. Familial Mutations May Switch Conformational Preferences in α-Synuclein Fibrils. ACS Chem Neurosci 2017; 8:837-849. [PMID: 28075555 PMCID: PMC7900905 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.6b00406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease is closely associated with the aggregation of the α-synuclein protein. Several familial mutants have been identified and shown to affect the aggregation kinetics of α-synuclein through distinct molecular mechanisms. Quantitative evaluation of the relative stabilities of the wild type and mutant fibrils is crucial for understanding the aggregation process and identifying the key component steps. In this work, we examined two topologically different α-synuclein fibril structures that are either determined by solid-state NMR method or modeled based on solid-state NMR data, and characterized their conformational properties and thermodynamic stabilities using molecular dynamics simulations. We show that the two fibril morphologies have comparable size, solvent exposure, secondary structures, and similar molecule/peptide binding modes; but different stabilities. Familial mutations do not significantly alter the overall fibril structures but shift their relative stabilities. Distinct mutations display altered fibril conformational behavior, suggesting different propagation preferences, reminiscent of cross-seeding among prion strains and tau deletion mutants. The simulations quantify the hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, as well as N-terminal dynamics, that may contribute to the divergent aggregation kinetics that has been observed experimentally. Our results indicate that small molecule and peptide inhibitors may share the same binding region, providing molecular recognition that is independent of fibril conformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Xu
- Department of Physics, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Buyong Ma
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Sackler Inst. of Molecular Medicine Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
| | - Damien Thompson
- Department of Physics, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
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35
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Sidhu A, Segers-Nolten I, Raussens V, Claessens MMAE, Subramaniam V. Distinct Mechanisms Determine α-Synuclein Fibril Morphology during Growth and Maturation. ACS Chem Neurosci 2017; 8:538-547. [PMID: 28292187 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.6b00287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloid polymorphs have become one of the focal points of molecular studies of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. Due to their distinct biochemical properties and prion-like characteristics, insights into the molecular origin and stability of amyloid polymorphs over time are crucial for understanding the potential role of amyloid polymorphism in these diseases. Here, we systematically study the fibrillization of recombinantly produced human α-synuclein (αSyn) over an extended period of time to unravel the origin and temporal evolution of polymorphism. We follow morphological changes in the same fibril sample with atomic force microscopy over a period of 1 year. We show that wild-type (wt) αSyn fibrils undergo a slow maturation over time after reaching the plateau phase of aggregation (as detected in a Thioflavin-T fluorescence assay). This maturation, visualized by changes in the fibril periodicity over time, is absent in the disease mutant fibrils. The β-sheet content of the plateau phase and matured fibrils, obtained using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, is however similar for the αSyn protein sequences, suggesting that the morphological changes in wt αSyn fibrils are tertiary or quaternary in origin. Furthermore, results from a reversibility assay show that the plateau phase fibrils do not disassemble over time. Together, the observed changes in the periodicity distributions and stability of the fibrillar core over time point toward two distinct mechanisms that determine the morphology of wt αSyn fibrils: competitive growth between different polymorphs during the fibrillization phase followed by a process wherein fibrils undergo slow maturation or annealing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arshdeep Sidhu
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Postbox 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Ine Segers-Nolten
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Postbox 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Vincent Raussens
- Structural
Biology and Bioinformatics Centre, Structure and Function of Biological
Membranes, Faculty of Science, Université Libre de Bruxelles, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mireille M. A. E. Claessens
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Postbox 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- MIRA
Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Postbox 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Vinod Subramaniam
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Postbox 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- MIRA
Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Postbox 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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36
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Sierecki E, Giles N, Bowden Q, Polinkovsky ME, Steinbeck J, Arrioti N, Rahman D, Bhumkar A, Nicovich PR, Ross I, Parton RG, Böcking T, Gambin Y. Nanomolar oligomerization and selective co-aggregation of α-synuclein pathogenic mutants revealed by single-molecule fluorescence. Sci Rep 2016; 6:37630. [PMID: 27892477 PMCID: PMC5385372 DOI: 10.1038/srep37630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein aggregation is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases, notably Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is characterized by the presence of Lewy bodies, abnormal aggregates mainly composed of α-synuclein. Moreover, cases of familial Parkinson's disease have been linked to mutations in α-synuclein. In this study, we compared the behavior of wild-type (WT) α-synuclein and five of its pathological mutants (A30P, E46K, H50Q, G51D and A53T). To this end, single-molecule fluorescence detection was coupled to cell-free protein expression to measure precisely the oligomerization of proteins without purification, denaturation or labelling steps. In these conditions, we could detect the formation of oligomeric and pre-fibrillar species at very short time scale and low micromolar concentrations. The pathogenic mutants surprisingly segregated into two classes: one group forming large aggregates and fibrils while the other tending to form mostly oligomers. Strikingly, co-expression experiments reveal that members from the different groups do not generally interact with each other, both at the fibril and monomer levels. Together, this data paints a completely different picture of α-synuclein aggregation, with two possible pathways leading to the development of fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Sierecki
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2032 Australia
| | - Nichole Giles
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2032 Australia
| | - Quill Bowden
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2032 Australia
| | - Mark E. Polinkovsky
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2032 Australia
| | - Janina Steinbeck
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Nicholas Arrioti
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Diya Rahman
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Akshay Bhumkar
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2032 Australia
| | - Philip R. Nicovich
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2032 Australia
| | - Ian Ross
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Robert G. Parton
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Till Böcking
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2032 Australia
| | - Yann Gambin
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2032 Australia
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37
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Sahay S, Krishnamoorthy G, Maji SK. Site-specific structural dynamics ofα-Synuclein revealed by time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy: a review. Methods Appl Fluoresc 2016; 4:042002. [DOI: 10.1088/2050-6120/4/4/042002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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38
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Török N, Majláth Z, Szalárdy L, Vécsei L. Investigational α-synuclein aggregation inhibitors: hope for Parkinson’s disease. Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2016; 25:1281-1294. [DOI: 10.1080/13543784.2016.1237501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nóra Török
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- MTA-SZTE Neuroscience Research Group, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zsófia Majláth
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Levente Szalárdy
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - László Vécsei
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- MTA-SZTE Neuroscience Research Group, Szeged, Hungary
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39
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Mutations associated with familial Parkinson's disease alter the initiation and amplification steps of α-synuclein aggregation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:10328-33. [PMID: 27573854 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1604645113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 218] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's disease is a highly debilitating neurodegenerative condition whose pathological hallmark is the presence in nerve cells of proteinacious deposits, known as Lewy bodies, composed primarily of amyloid fibrils of α-synuclein. Several missense mutations in the gene encoding α-synuclein have been associated with familial variants of Parkinson's disease and have been shown to affect the kinetics of the aggregation of the protein. Using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches, we present a systematic in vitro study of the influence of disease-associated single-point mutations on the individual processes involved in α-synuclein aggregation into amyloid fibrils. We find that lipid-induced fibril production and surface catalyzed fibril amplification are the processes most strongly affected by these mutations and show that familial mutations can induce dramatic changes in the crucial processes thought to be associated with the initiation and spreading of the aggregation of α-synuclein.
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40
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Tuttle MD, Comellas G, Nieuwkoop AJ, Covell DJ, Berthold DA, Kloepper KD, Courtney JM, Kim JK, Barclay AM, Kendall A, Wan W, Stubbs G, Schwieters CD, Lee VMY, George JM, Rienstra CM. Solid-state NMR structure of a pathogenic fibril of full-length human α-synuclein. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2016; 23:409-15. [PMID: 27018801 PMCID: PMC5034296 DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.3194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 692] [Impact Index Per Article: 86.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2015] [Accepted: 02/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Misfolded α-synuclein amyloid fibrils are the principal components of Lewy bodies and neurites, hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD). We present a high-resolution structure of an α-synuclein fibril, in a form that induces robust pathology in primary neuronal culture, determined by solid-state NMR spectroscopy and validated by EM and X-ray fiber diffraction. Over 200 unique long-range distance restraints define a consensus structure with common amyloid features including parallel, in-register β-sheets and hydrophobic-core residues, and with substantial complexity arising from diverse structural features including an intermolecular salt bridge, a glutamine ladder, close backbone interactions involving small residues, and several steric zippers stabilizing a new orthogonal Greek-key topology. These characteristics contribute to the robust propagation of this fibril form, as supported by the structural similarity of early-onset-PD mutants. The structure provides a framework for understanding the interactions of α-synuclein with other proteins and small molecules, to aid in PD diagnosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus D Tuttle
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Gemma Comellas
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Andrew J Nieuwkoop
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Dustin J Covell
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Institute on Aging, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Deborah A Berthold
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Kathryn D Kloepper
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Joseph M Courtney
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Jae K Kim
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Alexander M Barclay
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Amy Kendall
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - William Wan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Gerald Stubbs
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Charles D Schwieters
- Division of Computational Bioscience, Center for Information Technology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Virginia M Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Institute on Aging, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Julia M George
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Chad M Rienstra
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
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41
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Peelaerts W, Baekelandt V. ɑ-Synuclein strains and the variable pathologies of synucleinopathies. J Neurochem 2016; 139 Suppl 1:256-274. [PMID: 26924014 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.13595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2015] [Revised: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 02/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Several decades ago, a mysterious transmissible agent was found responsible for a group of progressive and lethal encephalopathies affecting the nervous system of both animals and humans. This infectious agent showed a strain-encoded manner of inheritance even though it lacked nucleic acids. The identification of infectious proteins resolved this apparent conundrum. Misfolded infectious protein particles, or prions, were found to exist as conformational isomers with a unique fingerprint that can be faithfully passaged to next generations. Protein-based strain-encoded inheritance is characterized by strain-specific infectivity and symptomatology. It is found in diverse organisms, such as yeast, fungi, and mammals. Now, this concept is revisited to examine the pathological role of amyloid proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases where it might underlie certain types of dementia and motor-related neurodegenerative disorders. Given the discovery of the SNCA gene and the identification of its gene product, ɑ-synuclein (ɑ-SYN), as the main histopathological component of Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy, the scientific community was left puzzled by the fact that a single protein appeared to be involved in different diseases with diverging clinical phenotypes. Recent studies are now indicating that ɑ-SYN may act in a way similar to prions and that ɑ-SYN misfolded structural variants may behave as strains with distinct biochemical and functional properties inducing specific phenotypic traits, which might finally provide an explanation for the clinical heterogeneity observed between Parkinson's disease, MSA, and dementia with Lewy bodies patients. These crucial new findings may pave the way for unexplored therapeutic avenues and identification of new potential biomarkers. Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies share ɑ-synuclein deposits as a common histopathological hallmark. New and ongoing developments are now showing that variations in the aggregation process and the formation of ɑ-synuclein strains may be paralleled by the development of distinct synucleinopathies. Here, we review the recent developments and the role of strains in synucleinopathies. This article is part of a special issue on Parkinson disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter Peelaerts
- Laboratory for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Veerle Baekelandt
- Laboratory for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
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42
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Haney CM, Wissner RF, Warner JB, Wang YJ, Ferrie JJ, J Covell D, Karpowicz RJ, Lee VMY, Petersson EJ. Comparison of strategies for non-perturbing labeling of α-synuclein to study amyloidogenesis. Org Biomol Chem 2016; 14:1584-92. [PMID: 26695131 PMCID: PMC4733880 DOI: 10.1039/c5ob02329g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Characterization of the amyloidogenic Parkinson's disease protein α-synuclein (αS) has proven difficult due to its structural plasticity. Here, we present a number of complementary methods to site-specifically introduce fluorescent probes to examine αS fibril formation and cellular uptake. By using various combinations of conventional Cys modification, amber codon suppression, transferase mediated N-terminal modification, and native chemical ligation, several variants of singly- and doubly-labeled αS were produced. We validated the nonperturbative nature of the label by a combination of in vitro aggregation kinetics measurements and imaging of the resulting fibrils. The labeled αS can then be used to monitor conformational changes during fibril formation or cellular uptake of αS fibrils in models of disease propagation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conor M Haney
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 213 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Rebecca F Wissner
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 213 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - John B Warner
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 213 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Yanxin J Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 213 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - John J Ferrie
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 213 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Dustin J Covell
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, 3600 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Richard J Karpowicz
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, 3600 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Virginia M-Y Lee
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, 3600 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - E James Petersson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 213 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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43
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Abstract
Solid-state NMR spectroscopy (SSNMR) is an established and invaluable tool for the study of amyloid fibril structure with atomic-level detail. Optimization of the homogeneity and concentration of fibrils enhances the resolution and sensitivity of SSNMR spectra. Here, we present a fibrillization and fibril processing protocol, starting from purified monomeric α-synuclein, that enables the collection of high-resolution SSNMR spectra suitable for site-specific structural analysis. This protocol does not rely on any special features of α-synuclein and should be generalizable to any other amyloid protein.
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44
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Phase transitions and structure analysis in wild-type, A30P, E46K, and A53T mutants of α-synuclein. EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL: EBJ 2015; 45:355-64. [DOI: 10.1007/s00249-015-1103-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2015] [Revised: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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45
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Tosatto L, Horrocks MH, Dear AJ, Knowles TPJ, Dalla Serra M, Cremades N, Dobson CM, Klenerman D. Single-molecule FRET studies on alpha-synuclein oligomerization of Parkinson's disease genetically related mutants. Sci Rep 2015; 5:16696. [PMID: 26582456 PMCID: PMC4652217 DOI: 10.1038/srep16696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Oligomers of alpha-synuclein are toxic to cells and have been proposed to play a key role in the etiopathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. As certain missense mutations in the gene encoding for alpha-synuclein induce early-onset forms of the disease, it has been suggested that these variants might have an inherent tendency to produce high concentrations of oligomers during aggregation, although a direct experimental evidence for this is still missing. We used single-molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer to visualize directly the protein self-assembly process by wild-type alpha-synuclein and A53T, A30P and E46K mutants and to compare the structural properties of the ensemble of oligomers generated. We found that the kinetics of oligomer formation correlates with the natural tendency of each variant to acquire beta-sheet structure. Moreover, A53T and A30P showed significant differences in the averaged FRET efficiency of one of the two types of oligomers formed compared to the wild-type oligomers, indicating possible structural variety among the ensemble of species generated. Importantly, we found similar concentrations of oligomers during the lag-phase of the aggregation of wild-type and mutated alpha-synuclein, suggesting that the properties of the ensemble of oligomers generated during self-assembly might be more relevant than their absolute concentration for triggering neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Tosatto
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, UK.,Istituto di Biofisica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via alla Cascata 56/C, 38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Mathew H Horrocks
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, UK
| | - Alexander J Dear
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, UK
| | - Tuomas P J Knowles
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, UK
| | - Mauro Dalla Serra
- Istituto di Biofisica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via alla Cascata 56/C, 38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Nunilo Cremades
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, UK.,Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Universidad de Zaragoza, Mariano Esquillor, Edificio I+D, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Christopher M Dobson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, UK
| | - David Klenerman
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, UK
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46
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Kiely AP, Ling H, Asi YT, Kara E, Proukakis C, Schapira AH, Morris HR, Roberts HC, Lubbe S, Limousin P, Lewis PA, Lees AJ, Quinn N, Hardy J, Love S, Revesz T, Houlden H, Holton JL. Distinct clinical and neuropathological features of G51D SNCA mutation cases compared with SNCA duplication and H50Q mutation. Mol Neurodegener 2015; 10:41. [PMID: 26306801 PMCID: PMC4549856 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-015-0038-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2015] [Accepted: 08/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We and others have described the neurodegenerative disorder caused by G51D SNCA mutation which shares characteristics of Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The objective of this investigation was to extend the description of the clinical and neuropathological hallmarks of G51D mutant SNCA-associated disease by the study of two additional cases from a further G51D SNCA kindred and to compare the features of this group with a SNCA duplication case and a H50Q SNCA mutation case. RESULTS All three G51D patients were clinically characterised by parkinsonism, dementia, visual hallucinations, autonomic dysfunction and pyramidal signs with variable age at disease onset and levodopa response. The H50Q SNCA mutation case had a clinical picture that mimicked late-onset idiopathic PD with a good and sustained levodopa response. The SNCA duplication case presented with a clinical phenotype of frontotemporal dementia with marked behavioural changes, pyramidal signs, postural hypotension and transiently levodopa responsive parkinsonism. Detailed post-mortem neuropathological analysis was performed in all cases. All three G51D cases had abundant α-synuclein pathology with characteristics of both PD and MSA. These included widespread cortical and subcortical neuronal α-synuclein inclusions together with small numbers of inclusions resembling glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) in oligodendrocytes. In contrast the H50Q and SNCA duplication cases, had α-synuclein pathology resembling idiopathic PD without GCIs. Phosphorylated α-synuclein was present in all inclusions types in G51D cases but was more restricted in SNCA duplication and H50Q mutation. Inclusions were also immunoreactive for the 5G4 antibody indicating their highly aggregated and likely fibrillar state. CONCLUSIONS Our characterisation of the clinical and neuropathological features of the present small series of G51D SNCA mutation cases should aid the recognition of this clinico-pathological entity. The neuropathological features of these cases consistently share characteristics of PD and MSA and are distinct from PD patients carrying the H50Q or SNCA duplication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aoife P Kiely
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK.
| | - Helen Ling
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK.
| | - Yasmine T Asi
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK.
| | - Eleanna Kara
- Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre, Harvard medical school & Massachusetts General Hospital, 114 16th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
| | - Christos Proukakis
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
| | - Anthony H Schapira
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
| | - Huw R Morris
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
| | - Helen C Roberts
- Academic Geriatric Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
| | - Steven Lubbe
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
| | - Patricia Limousin
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, Unit of Functional Neurosurgery, UCL Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, UK.
| | - Patrick A Lewis
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience and Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK. .,School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, UK.
| | - Andrew J Lees
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK. .,Department of Molecular Neuroscience and Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
| | - Niall Quinn
- National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK.
| | - John Hardy
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK. .,Department of Molecular Neuroscience and Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
| | - Seth Love
- Clinical Neurosciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
| | - Tamas Revesz
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK.
| | - Henry Houlden
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience and Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
| | - Janice L Holton
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK.
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47
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Abstract
Our understanding of the molecular structures of amyloid fibrils that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases, of mechanisms by which disease-associated peptides and proteins aggregate into fibrils, and of structural properties of aggregation intermediates has advanced considerably in recent years. Detailed molecular structural models for certain fibrils and aggregation intermediates are now available. It is now well established that amyloid fibrils are generally polymorphic at the molecular level, with a given peptide or protein being capable of forming a variety of distinct, self-propagating fibril structures. Recent results from structural studies and from studies involving cell cultures, transgenic animals, and human tissue provide initial evidence that molecular structural variations in amyloid fibrils and related aggregates may correlate with or even produce variations in disease development. This article reviews our current knowledge of the structural and mechanistic aspects of amyloid formation, as well as current evidence for the biological relevance of structural variations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Tycko
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-0520, USA.
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48
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Colvin MT, Silvers R, Frohm B, Su Y, Linse S, Griffin RG. High resolution structural characterization of Aβ42 amyloid fibrils by magic angle spinning NMR. J Am Chem Soc 2015; 137:7509-18. [PMID: 26001057 PMCID: PMC4623963 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b03997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
![]()
The presence of amyloid plaques composed
of amyloid beta (Aβ)
fibrils is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The Aβ
peptide is present as several length variants with two common alloforms
consisting of 40 and 42 amino acids, denoted Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42, respectively. While there have
been numerous reports that structurally characterize fibrils of Aβ1–40, very little is known about the structure of amyloid
fibrils of Aβ1–42, which are considered the
more toxic alloform involved in AD. We have prepared isotopically 13C/15N labeled AβM01–42 fibrils in vitro from recombinant protein and examined their 13C–13C and 13C–15N magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra. In contrast to several
other studies of Aβ fibrils, we observe spectra with excellent
resolution and a single set of chemical shifts, suggesting the presence
of a single fibril morphology. We report the initial structural characterization
of AβM01–42 fibrils utilizing 13C and 15N shift assignments of 38 of the 43 residues,
including the backbone and side chains, obtained through a series
of cross-polarization based 2D and 3D 13C–13C, 13C–15N MAS NMR experiments for rigid
residues along with J-based 2D TOBSY experiments for dynamic residues.
We find that the first ∼5 residues are dynamic and most efficiently
detected in a J-based TOBSY spectrum. In contrast, residues 16–42
are easily observed in cross-polarization experiments and most likely
form the amyloid core. Calculation of ψ and φ dihedral
angles from the chemical shift assignments indicate that 4 β-strands
are present in the fibril’s secondary structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael T Colvin
- †Department of Chemistry and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Robert Silvers
- †Department of Chemistry and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Birgitta Frohm
- ‡Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Lund University, SE22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Yongchao Su
- †Department of Chemistry and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Sara Linse
- ‡Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Lund University, SE22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Robert G Griffin
- †Department of Chemistry and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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49
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Stefanovic AND, Lindhoud S, Semerdzhiev SA, Claessens MMAE, Subramaniam V. Oligomers of Parkinson’s Disease-Related α-Synuclein Mutants Have Similar Structures but Distinctive Membrane Permeabilization Properties. Biochemistry 2015; 54:3142-50. [DOI: 10.1021/bi501369k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anja N. D. Stefanovic
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Saskia Lindhoud
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- MIRA
Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Slav A. Semerdzhiev
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Mireille M. A. E. Claessens
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- MIRA
Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Vinod Subramaniam
- Nanobiophysics,
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- MIRA
Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- FOM Institute AMOLF, Science
Park 104, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Narkiewicz J, Giachin G, Legname G. In vitro aggregation assays for the characterization of α-synuclein prion-like properties. Prion 2015; 8:19-32. [PMID: 24552879 PMCID: PMC4116381 DOI: 10.4161/pri.28125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of α-synuclein plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The common feature of these diseases is a pathological deposition of protein aggregates, known as Lewy bodies (LBs) in the central nervous system. The major component of these aggregates is α-synuclein, a natively unfolded protein, which may undergo dramatic structural changes resulting in the formation of β-sheet rich assemblies. In vitro studies have shown that recombinant α-synuclein protein may polymerize into amyloidogenic fibrils resembling those found in LBs. These aggregates may be uptaken and propagated between cells in a prion-like manner. Here we present the mechanisms and kinetics of α-synuclein aggregation in vitro, as well as crucial factors affecting this process. We also describe how PD-linked α-synuclein mutations and some exogenous factors modulate in vitro aggregation. Furthermore, we present a current knowledge on the mechanisms by which extracellular aggregates may be internalized and propagated between cells, as well as the mechanisms of their toxicity.
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