1
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Klawa SJ, Lee M, Riker KD, Jian T, Wang Q, Gao Y, Daly ML, Bhonge S, Childers WS, Omosun TO, Mehta AK, Lynn DG, Freeman R. Uncovering supramolecular chirality codes for the design of tunable biomaterials. Nat Commun 2024; 15:788. [PMID: 38278785 PMCID: PMC10817930 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45019-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In neurodegenerative diseases, polymorphism and supramolecular assembly of β-sheet amyloids are implicated in many different etiologies and may adopt either a left- or right-handed supramolecular chirality. Yet, the underlying principles of how sequence regulates supramolecular chirality remains unknown. Here, we characterize the sequence specificity of the central core of amyloid-β 42 and design derivatives which enable chirality inversion at biologically relevant temperatures. We further find that C-terminal modifications can tune the energy barrier of a left-to-right chiral inversion. Leveraging this design principle, we demonstrate how temperature-triggered chiral inversion of peptides hosting therapeutic payloads modulates the dosed release of an anticancer drug. These results suggest a generalizable approach for fine-tuning supramolecular chirality that can be applied in developing treatments to regulate amyloid morphology in neurodegeneration as well as in other disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Klawa
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Michelle Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Kyle D Riker
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Tengyue Jian
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Broad Pharm, San Diego, California, 92121, USA
| | - Qunzhao Wang
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Yuan Gao
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Margaret L Daly
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Shreeya Bhonge
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - W Seth Childers
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Tolulope O Omosun
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- U.S. Department of Justice, Chicago, IL, 60603, USA
| | - Anil K Mehta
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - David G Lynn
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
| | - Ronit Freeman
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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2
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Self-assembled nanomaterials as vaccines for COVID-19 and future pandemics. Nanomedicine (Lond) 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-818627-5.00006-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
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3
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Xing Y, Andrikopoulos N, Zhang Z, Sun Y, Ke PC, Ding F. Modulating Nanodroplet Formation En Route to Fibrillization of Amyloid Peptides with Designed Flanking Sequences. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:4179-4191. [PMID: 36137260 PMCID: PMC9618360 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00642] [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] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Soluble oligomers populating early amyloid aggregation can be regarded as nanodroplets of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). Amyloid peptides typically contain hydrophobic aggregation-prone regions connected by hydrophilic linkers and flanking sequences, and such a sequence hydropathy pattern drives the formation of supramolecular structures in the nanodroplets and modulates subsequent fibrillization. Here, we studied LLPS and fibrillization of coarse-grained amyloid peptides with increasing flanking sequences. Nanodroplets assumed lamellar, cylindrical micellar, and spherical micellar structures with increasing peptide hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratios, and such morphologies governed subsequent fibrillization processes. Adding glycine-serine repeats as flanking sequences to Aβ16-22, the amyloidogenic core of amyloid-β, our computational predictions of morphological transitions were corroborated experimentally. The uncovered inter-relationships between the peptide sequence pattern, oligomer/nanodroplet morphology, and fibrillization pathway, kinetics, and structure may contribute to our understanding of pathogenic amyloidosis in aging, facilitate future efforts ameliorating amyloidosis through peptide engineering, and aid in the design of novel amyloid-based functional nanobiomaterials and nanocomposites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanting Xing
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
| | - Nicholas Andrikopoulos
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Zhenzhen Zhang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
| | - Yunxiang Sun
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
- Department of Physics, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Pu Chun Ke
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Nanomedicine Center, The GBA National Institute for Nanotechnology Innovation, 136 Kaiyuan Avenue, Guangzhou, 510700, China
| | - Feng Ding
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
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4
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Yamazaki M, Ikeda K, Kameda T, Nakao H, Nakano M. Kinetic Mechanism of Amyloid-β-(16-22) Peptide Fibrillation. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:6031-6036. [PMID: 35748616 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The kinetic mechanism of amyloid fibril formation by a peptide fragment containing seven residues of the amyloid-β protein Aβ-(16-22) was investigated. We found that the N- and C-terminal unprotected Aβ-(16-22), containing no aggregation nuclei, showed rapid fibrillation within seconds to minutes in a neutral aqueous buffer solution. The fibrillation kinetics were well described by the nucleation-elongation model, suggesting that primary nucleation was the rate-limiting step. On the basis of both experimental and theoretical analyses, the aggregated nucleus was estimated to be composed of 6-7 peptide molecules, wherein the two β-sheets were associated with their hydrophobic surfaces. Thin fibers with widths of 10-20 nm were formed, which increased their length and thickness, attaining a width of >20 nm over several tens of minutes, probably owing to the lateral association of the fibers. Electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions play important roles in aggregation. These results provide a basis for understanding the fibrillation of short peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moe Yamazaki
- Department of Biointerface Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Keisuke Ikeda
- Department of Biointerface Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Tomoshi Kameda
- Artificial Intelligence Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 2-4-7 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Nakao
- Department of Biointerface Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Minoru Nakano
- Department of Biointerface Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
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5
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Cai X, Han W. Development of a Hybrid-Resolution Force Field for Peptide Self-Assembly Simulations: Optimizing Peptide-Peptide and Peptide-Solvent Interactions. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:2744-2760. [PMID: 35561002 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c00066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Atomic descriptions of peptide self-assembly are crucial to an understanding of disease-related peptide aggregation and the design of peptide-assembled materials. Obtaining these descriptions through computer simulation is challenging because current force fields, which were not designed for this process and are often unable to describe correctly peptide self-assembly behavior and the sequence dependence. Here, we developed a framework using dipeptide aggregation as a model system to improve force fields for simulations of self-assembly. Aggregation-related structural properties were designed and used to guide the optimization of peptide-peptide and peptide-solvent interactions. With this framework, we developed a self-assembly force field, termed PACE-ASM, by reoptimizing a hybrid-resolution force field that was originally developed for folding simulation. With its applicability in folding simulations, the new PACE was used to simulate the self-assembly of two disease-related short peptides, Aβ16-21 and PHF6, into β-sheet-rich cross-β amyloids. These simulations reproduced the crystal structures of Aβ16-21 and PHF6 amyloids at near-atomic resolution and captured the difference in packing orientations between the two sequences, a task which is challenging even with all-atom force fields. Apart from cross-β amyloids, the self-assembly of emerging helix-rich cross-α amyloids by another peptide PSMα3 can also be correctly described with the new PACE, manifesting the versatility of the force field. We demonstrated that the ability of the PACE-ASM to model peptide self-assembly is based largely on its improved description of peptide-peptide and peptide-solvent interactions. This was achieved with our optimization framework that can readily identify and address the deficiency in describing these interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Wei Han
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China.,Institute of Chemical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518132, China
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6
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Simulations of Cross-Amyloid Aggregation of Amyloid-β and Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Fragments. Biophys J 2022; 121:2002-2013. [PMID: 35538665 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyloid-beta (Aβ) and islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) are small peptides, classified as amyloids, that have the potential to self-assemble and form cytotoxic species, such as small soluble oligomers and large insoluble fibrils. The formation of Aβ aggregates facilitates the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), while IAPP aggregates induce pancreatic β-cell apoptosis, leading to exacerbation of Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Cross-amyloid interactions between Aβ and IAPP have been described both in vivo and in vitro, implying the role of Aβ or IAPP as modulators of cytotoxic self-aggregation of each species, and suggesting that Aβ-IAPP interactions are a potential molecular link between AD and T2D. Using molecular dynamics simulations, "hot spot" regions of the two peptides were studied to understand the formation of hexamers in a heterogenous and homogenous peptide-containing environment. Systems of only Aβ(16-22) peptides formed antiparallel, β-barrel-like structures, while systems of only IAPP(20-29) peptides formed stacked, parallel beta sheets and had relatively unstable aggregation structures after 2 μs of simulation time. Systems containing both Aβ and IAPP (1:1 ratio) hexamers showed antiparallel, β-barrel-like structures, with an interdigitated arrangement of Aβ(16-22) and IAPP(20-29). These β-barrel structures have features of cytotoxic amyloid species identified in previous literature. Ultimately, this work seeks to provide atomistic insight into both the mechanism behind cross-amyloid interactions and structural morphologies of these toxic amyloid species.
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7
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Liu F, Jiang L, Sang J, Lu F, Li L. Molecular basis of cross-interactions between Aβ and Tau protofibrils probed by molecular simulations. Chin J Chem Eng 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2022.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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8
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Nguyen PH, Derreumaux P. Computer Simulations Aimed at Exploring Protein Aggregation and Dissociation. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2340:175-196. [PMID: 35167075 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1546-1_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Protein aggregation can lead to well-defined structures that are functional, but is also the cause of the death of neuron cells in many neurodegenerative diseases. The complexity of the molecular events involved in the aggregation kinetics of amyloid proteins and the transient and heterogeneous characters of all oligomers prevent high-resolution structural experiments. As a result, computer simulations have been used to determine the atomic structures of amyloid proteins at different association stages as well as to understand fibril dissociation. In this chapter, we first review the current computer simulation methods used for aggregation with some atomistic and coarse-grained results aimed at better characterizing the early formed oligomers and amyloid fibril formation. Then we present the applications of non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to comprehend the dissociation of protein assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080, CNRS, Université de Paris, Paris, France
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, UPR 9080, CNRS, Université de Paris, Paris, France.
- Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
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9
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Zhao W, Jiang L, Wang W, Sang J, Sun Q, Dong Q, Li L, Lu F, Liu F. Design of carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotubes as highly efficient inhibitors against Aβ40 fibrillation based on the HyBER mechanism. J Mater Chem B 2021; 9:6902-6914. [PMID: 34612337 DOI: 10.1039/d1tb00920f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Misfolding and the subsequent self-assembly of amyloid-β protein (Aβ) is very important in the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, inhibition of Aβ aggregation is currently an effective method to alleviate and treat AD. Herein, a carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT-COOH) was rationally designed based on the hydrophobic binding-electrostatic repulsion (HyBER) mechanism. The inhibitory effect of SWCNT-COOH on Aβ fibrillogenesis was first studied. Based on the results of thioflavin T fluorescence and atomic force microscopy imaging assays, it was shown that SWCNT-COOH can not only effectively inhibit Aβ aggregation, but also depolymerize the mature fibrils of Aβ. In addition, its inhibitory action will be affected by the content of carboxyl groups. Moreover, the influence of SWCNT-COOH on cytotoxicity induced by Aβ was investigated by the MTT method. It was found that SWCNT-COOH can produce an anti-Aβ neuroprotective effect in vitro. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that SWCNT-COOH significantly destroyed the overall and internal structural stability of an Aβ40 trimer. Moreover, SWCNT-COOH interacted strongly with the N-terminal region, turn region and C-terminal region of the Aβ40 trimer via hydrogen bonds, salt bridges and π-π interactions, which triggered a large structural disturbance of the Aβ40 trimer, reduced the β-sheet content of the Aβ40 trimer and led to more disorder in these regions. All the above data not only reveal the suppressive effect of SWCNT-COOH on Aβ aggregation, but also reveal its inhibitory mechanism, which provides a useful clue to exploit anti-Aβ drugs in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenping Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, P. R. China.
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10
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Ren H, Li R, Chen Z, Li L, Wang H. Modification Methods and Applications of Self-Assembly Peptides. CHINESE J ORG CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.6023/cjoc202104020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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11
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Dasari S, Mallik BS. Ion-induced free energy landscapes of Aβ33–42 peptide dimer in wet ionic liquids. J Mol Liq 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.114026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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12
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Pandey G, Morla S, Kumar S, Ramakrishnan V. Modulating Aβ Fibrillogenesis with 'Trojan' peptides. Neuropeptides 2020; 81:102030. [PMID: 32156470 DOI: 10.1016/j.npep.2020.102030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Revised: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abnormal aggregation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptide into amyloid plaques in the brain has been identified as one of the key factors in instigating AD pathogenesis. Inhibition of Aβ aggregation can be an important therapeutic strategy in disease management. In this work, we demonstrate the application of structure-based design of short peptides ('trojan peptides'), intended to intervene in the aggregation of the core recognition domain of amyloid-beta peptide, a known malefactor in Alzheimer's disease. The modulatory effect of trojan peptides has been assessed using ThT fluorescence assay, FETEM imaging, IR, and toxicity assays on model neuronal cell lines. Experimental results suggest that designed trojan peptides could impede the aggregation of the core amyloid fibril forming segment of Aβ peptide, arrest the formation of toxic fibrillar assemblies, and reduce cytotoxicity of the neuronal cell lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Pandey
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, -781039, India
| | - Sudhir Morla
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, -781039, India
| | - Sachin Kumar
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, -781039, India
| | - Vibin Ramakrishnan
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, -781039, India.
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13
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Nie RZ, Huo YQ, Yu B, Liu CJ, Zhou R, Bao HH, Tang SW. Molecular insights into the inhibitory mechanisms of gallate moiety on the Aβ 1-40 amyloid aggregation: A molecular dynamics simulation study. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 156:40-50. [PMID: 32275992 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of neurodegenerative disease and the formation of Aβ amyloid aggregates has been widely demonstrated to be the principal cause of Alzheimer's disease. Our previous study and other studies suggested that the gallate moiety played an obligatory role in the inhibition process of naturally occurring polyphenols on Aβ amyloid fibrils formation. However, the detailed mechanisms were still unknown. Thus, in the present study, the gallic acid (GA) was specially selected and the molecular recognition mechanisms between GA molecules and Aβ1-40 monomer were examined and analyzed by molecular dynamics simulation. The in silico experiments revealed that GA significantly prevented the conformational changes of Aβ1-40 monomer with no β-sheet structure during the whole 100 ns. By analyzing the binding sites of GA molecules to Aβ1-40 monomer, we found that both hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acid residues were participated in the binding of GA molecules to Aβ1-40 monomer. Moreover, results from the binding free energy analysis further demonstrated that the strength of polar interactions was significantly stronger than that of nonpolar interactions. We believed that our results could help to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of gallate moiety on the anti-amyloidogenic effects of polyphenols at the atomic level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong-Zu Nie
- School of Food Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China; Food Ingredients Engineering Technology Research Center of Hubei, China
| | - Yin-Qiang Huo
- School of Food Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China; Food Ingredients Engineering Technology Research Center of Hubei, China
| | - Bo Yu
- School of Food Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China; Food Ingredients Engineering Technology Research Center of Hubei, China
| | - Chuan-Ju Liu
- School of Food Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China; Food Ingredients Engineering Technology Research Center of Hubei, China
| | - Rui Zhou
- School of Food Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China; Food Ingredients Engineering Technology Research Center of Hubei, China
| | - Hong-Hui Bao
- School of Food Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China; Food Ingredients Engineering Technology Research Center of Hubei, China
| | - Shang-Wen Tang
- School of Food Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China; Food Ingredients Engineering Technology Research Center of Hubei, China.
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14
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Mohanty S. Aggregation and coacervation with Monte Carlo simulations. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2020; 170:505-520. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2019.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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15
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Dasari S, Mallik BS. Conformational dynamics of amyloid-β (16–22) peptide in aqueous ionic liquids. RSC Adv 2020; 10:33248-33260. [PMID: 35515066 PMCID: PMC9056671 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra06609e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations of amyloid-β (16–22) peptide dimer in water as well as at two different experimentally studied concentrations of hydrated ionic liquids (ILs), ethylammonium mesylate (EAM), ethylammonium nitrate (EAN), and triethylammonium mesylate (TEAM), were carried out employing an umbrella sampling method. We used the average Ψ angle of the peptide backbone as the reaction coordinate to observe the conformational changes of a peptide dimer. Secondary structural element values were calculated for the peptide dimer along the reaction coordinate to see the transition of the peptide dimer between β-sheet and α-helix conformations. We observe the β-sheet conformation as the global minimum on the free energy surfaces in both EAM and EAN ILs at both the concentrations and at a low concentration of TEAM. However, we observe α-helix conformation as the global minimum at a high concentration of TEAM. Our results are in good correlation with the experimental findings. We calculated the average number of intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonds of α-helix and β-sheet conformations in all solutions, and they are in correlation with the secondary structure element values. To understand the peptide–IL interactions, atom–atom radial distribution functions of cation, anion, and water around amide oxygen and hydrogen atoms were calculated. The solvent-accessible surface area of the peptide dimer was calculated to understand the exposure of the peptide towards the solvent during conformational changes. Finally, van der Waals (vdW) and Coulomb interaction energies were calculated between peptide–cation, peptide–anion, and peptide–water to understand the stability of conformations in different concentrations. We find that the TEA cation has more vdW interaction energy compared to Coulomb interaction energy with peptide in 70% (w/w) TEAM, which mimics a membrane-like environment to induce α-helix conformation rather than β-sheet conformation. Molecular dynamics simulations of amyloid-β (16–22) peptide dimer at two different experimentally studied concentrations of hydrated ethylammonium mesylate, ethylammonium nitrate, and triethylammonium mesylate were carried out employing an umbrella sampling method.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Sathish Dasari
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
- Sangareddy-502285
- India
| | - Bhabani S. Mallik
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
- Sangareddy-502285
- India
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16
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Abstract
The oligomerization of Aβ16-22 peptide, which is the hydrophobic core region of full-length Aβ1-42, causes Alzheimer's disease (AD). This progressive neurodegenerative disease affects over 44 million people worldwide. However, very few synthesized drug molecules are available to inhibit the aggregation of Aβ. Recently, experimental studies have shown that the biological ATP molecule prevents Aβ fibrillation at the millimolar scale; however, the significance of ATP molecules on Aβ fibrillation and the mechanism behind it remain elusive. We have carried out a total of 7.5 μs extensive all-atom molecular dynamics and 8.82 μs of umbrella sampling in explicit water using AMBER14SB, AMBER99SB-ILDN, and AMBER-FB15 force fields for Aβ16-22 peptide, to investigate the role of ATP on the disruption of Aβ16-22 prefibrils. From various analyses, such as secondary structure analysis, residue-wise contact map, SASA, and interaction energies, we have observed that, in the presence of ATP, the aggregation of Aβ16-22 peptide is very unfavorable. Moreover, the biological molecule ATP interacts with the Aβ16-22 peptide via hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking, and NH-π interactions which, ultimately, prevent the aggregation of Aβ16-22 peptide. Hence, we assume that the deficiency of ATP may cause Alzheimer's disease (AD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Saikat Pal
- Department of Chemistry , Indian Institute of Technology , Guwahati , Assam 781039 , India
| | - Sandip Paul
- Department of Chemistry , Indian Institute of Technology , Guwahati , Assam 781039 , India
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17
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Paul S, Paul S. Inhibitory Effect of Choline-O-sulfate on Aβ16–22 Peptide Aggregation: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:3475-3489. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b02727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Srijita Paul
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India 781039
| | - Sandip Paul
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India 781039
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18
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Man VH, He X, Derreumaux P, Ji B, Xie XQ, Nguyen PH, Wang J. Effects of All-Atom Molecular Mechanics Force Fields on Amyloid Peptide Assembly: The Case of Aβ 16-22 Dimer. J Chem Theory Comput 2019; 15:1440-1452. [PMID: 30633867 PMCID: PMC6745714 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b01107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the effects of 17 widely used atomistic molecular mechanics force fields (MMFFs) on the structures and kinetics of amyloid peptide assembly. To this end, we performed large-scale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit water on the dimer of the seven-residue fragment of the Alzheimer's amyloid-β peptide, Aβ16-22, for a total time of 0.34 ms. We compared the effects of these MMFFs by analyzing various global reaction coordinates, secondary structure contents, the fibril population, the in-register and out-of-register architectures, and the fibril formation time at 310 K. While the AMBER94, AMBER99, and AMBER12SB force fields do not predict any β-sheets, the seven force fields, AMBER96, GROMOS45a3, GROMOS53a5, GROMOS53a6, GROMOS43a1, GROMOS43a2, and GROMOS54a7, form β-sheets rapidly. In contrast, the following five force fields, AMBER99-ILDN, AMBER14SB, CHARMM22*, CHARMM36, and CHARMM36m, are the best candidates for studying amyloid peptide assembly, as they provide good balances in terms of structures and kinetics. We also investigated the assembly mechanisms of dimeric Aβ16-22 and found that the fibril formation rate is predominantly controlled by the total β-strand content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viet Hoang Man
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Xibing He
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique UPR 9080, CNRS, Université Denis Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, IBPC, 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Beihong Ji
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Xiang-Qun Xie
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Phuong H. Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique UPR 9080, CNRS, Université Denis Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, IBPC, 13 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Junmei Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
- Corresponding Author:
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19
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Abstract
The aggregation of monomeric amyloid β protein (Aβ) peptide into oligomers and amyloid fibrils in the mammalian brain is associated with Alzheimer's disease. Insight into the thermodynamic stability of the Aβ peptide in different polymeric states is fundamental to defining and predicting the aggregation process. Experimental determination of Aβ thermodynamic behavior is challenging due to the transient nature of Aβ oligomers and the low peptide solubility. Furthermore, quantitative calculation of a thermodynamic phase diagram for a specific peptide requires extremely long computational times. Here, using a coarse-grained protein model, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to determine an equilibrium concentration and temperature phase diagram for the amyloidogenic peptide fragment Aβ16-22 Our results reveal that the only thermodynamically stable phases are the solution phase and the macroscopic fibrillar phase, and that there also exists a hierarchy of metastable phases. The boundary line between the solution phase and fibril phase is found by calculating the temperature-dependent solubility of a macroscopic Aβ16-22 fibril consisting of an infinite number of β-sheet layers. This in silico determination of an equilibrium (solubility) phase diagram for a real amyloid-forming peptide, Aβ16-22, over the temperature range of 277-330 K agrees well with fibrillation experiments and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements of the fibril morphologies formed. This in silico approach of predicting peptide solubility is also potentially useful for optimizing biopharmaceutical production and manufacturing nanofiber scaffolds for tissue engineering.
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20
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Li X, Lei J, Qi R, Xie L, Wei G. Mechanistic insight into E22Q-mutation-induced antiparallel-to-parallel β-sheet transition of Aβ16−22fibrils: an all-atom simulation study. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:15686-15694. [DOI: 10.1039/c9cp02561h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
E22Q mutation of Aβ16−22fibrils facilitates parallel β-sheet formation by enhancing Q22–Q22 hydrogen-bonding interaction and A21–A21, F20–F20, F19–F19 and V18–V18 hydrophobic interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuhua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics
- Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics
- Fudan University
- Shanghai
- China
| | - Jiangtao Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics
- Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics
- Fudan University
- Shanghai
- China
| | - Ruxi Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics
- Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics
- Fudan University
- Shanghai
- China
| | - Luogang Xie
- College of Physics and Electronic Engineering
- Zhengzhou University of Light Industry
- Zhengzhou 453002
- People's Republic of China
| | - Guanghong Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics
- Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics
- Fudan University
- Shanghai
- China
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21
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Carballo-Pacheco M, Ismail AE, Strodel B. On the Applicability of Force Fields To Study the Aggregation of Amyloidogenic Peptides Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2018; 14:6063-6075. [PMID: 30336669 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b00579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations play an essential role in understanding biomolecular processes such as protein aggregation at temporal and spatial resolutions which are not attainable by experimental methods. For a correct modeling of protein aggregation, force fields must accurately represent molecular interactions. Here, we study the effect of five different force fields on the oligomer formation of Alzheimer's Aβ16-22 peptide and two of its mutants: Aβ16-22(F19V,F20V), which does not form fibrils, and Aβ16-22(F19L) which forms fibrils faster than the wild type. We observe that while oligomer formation kinetics depends strongly on the force field, structural properties, such as the most relevant protein-protein contacts, are similar between them. The oligomer formation kinetics obtained with different force fields differ more from each other than the kinetics between aggregating and nonaggregating peptides simulated with a single force field. We discuss the difficulties in comparing atomistic simulations of amyloid oligomer formation with experimental observables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martín Carballo-Pacheco
- Institute of Complex Systems: Structural Biochemistry (ICS-6) , Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH , 52425 Jülich , Germany.,AICES Graduate School , RWTH Aachen University , Schinkelstraße 2 , 52062 Aachen , Germany
| | - Ahmed E Ismail
- AICES Graduate School , RWTH Aachen University , Schinkelstraße 2 , 52062 Aachen , Germany.,Aachener Verfahrenstechnik, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering , RWTH Aachen University , Schinkelstraße 2 , 52062 Aachen , Germany
| | - Birgit Strodel
- Institute of Complex Systems: Structural Biochemistry (ICS-6) , Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH , 52425 Jülich , Germany.,Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry , Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf , Universitätstrasse 1 , 40225 Düsseldorf , Germany
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22
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Khan MV, Zakariya SM, Khan RH. Protein folding, misfolding and aggregation: A tale of constructive to destructive assembly. Int J Biol Macromol 2018; 112:217-229. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.01.099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Revised: 01/04/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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23
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Ge X, Sun Y, Ding F. Structures and dynamics of β-barrel oligomer intermediates of amyloid-beta16-22 aggregation. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2018; 1860:1687-1697. [PMID: 29550287 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2018.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2017] [Revised: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that soluble oligomers are more toxic than final fibrils of amyloid aggregations. Among the mixture of inter-converting intermediates with continuous distribution of sizes and secondary structures, oligomers in the β-barrel conformation - a common class of protein folds with a closed β-sheet - have been postulated as the toxic species with well-defined three-dimensional structures to perform pathological functions. A common mechanism for amyloid toxicity, therefore, implies that all amyloid peptides should be able to form β-barrel oligomers as the aggregation intermediates. Here, we applied all-atom discrete molecular dynamics (DMD) simulations to evaluate the formation of β-barrel oligomers and characterize their structures and dynamics in the aggregation of a seven-residue amyloid peptide, corresponding to the amyloid core of amyloid-β with a sequence of 16KLVFFAE22 (Aβ16-22). We carried out aggregation simulations with various numbers of peptides to study the size dependence of aggregation dynamics and assembly structures. Consistent with previous computational studies, we observed the formation of β-barrel oligomers in all-atom DMD simulations. Using a network-based approach to automatically identify β-barrel conformations, we systematically characterized β-barrels of various sizes. Our simulations revealed the conformational inter-conversion between β-barrels and double-layer β-sheets due to increased structural strains upon forming a closed β-barrel while maximizing backbone hydrogen bonds. The potential of mean force analysis further characterized the free energy barriers between these two states. The obtained structural and dynamic insights of β-barrel oligomers may help better understand the molecular mechanism of oligomer toxicities and design novel therapeutics targeting the toxic β-barrel oligomers. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Protein Aggregation and Misfolding at the Cell Membrane Interface edited by Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinwei Ge
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
| | - Yunxiang Sun
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States
| | - Feng Ding
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States.
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24
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Cao Y, Jiang X, Han W. Self-Assembly Pathways of β-Sheet-Rich Amyloid-β(1-40) Dimers: Markov State Model Analysis on Millisecond Hybrid-Resolution Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:5731-5744. [PMID: 29019683 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b00803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Early oligomerization during amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation is essential for Aβ neurotoxicity. Understanding how unstructured Aβs assemble into oligomers, especially those rich in β-sheets, is essential but remains challenging as the assembly process is too transient for experimental characterization and too slow for molecular dynamics simulations. So far, atomic simulations are limited only to studies of either oligomer structures or assembly pathways for short Aβ segments. To overcome the computational challenge, we combine in this study a hybrid-resolution model and adaptive sampling techniques to perform over 2.7 ms of simulations of formation of full-length Aβ40 dimers that are the earliest toxic oligomeric species. The Markov state model is further employed to characterize the transition pathways and associated kinetics. Our results show that for two major forms of β-sheet-rich structures reported experimentally, the corresponding assembly mechanisms are markedly different. Hairpin-containing structures are formed by direct binding of soluble Aβ in β-hairpin-like conformations. Formation of parallel, in-register structures resembling fibrils occurs ∼100-fold more slowly and involves a rapid encounter of Aβ in arbitrary conformations followed by a slow structural conversion. The structural conversion proceeds via diverse pathways but always requires transient unfolding of encounter complexes. We find that the transition kinetics could be affected differently by intra-/intermolecular interactions involving individual residues in a conformation-dependent manner. In particular, the interactions involving Aβ's N-terminal part promote the assembly into hairpin-containing structures but delay the formation of fibril-like structures, thus explaining puzzling observations reported previously regarding the roles of this region in the early assembly process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Cao
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School , Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Xuehan Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School , Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Wei Han
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School , Shenzhen, 518055, China
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25
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Sun Y, Wang B, Ge X, Ding F. Distinct oligomerization and fibrillization dynamics of amyloid core sequences of amyloid-beta and islet amyloid polypeptide. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:28414-28423. [PMID: 29038815 PMCID: PMC5657190 DOI: 10.1039/c7cp05695h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
A direct observation of amyloid aggregation from isolated peptides to cross-β fibrils is crucial for understanding the nucleation-dependence process, but the corresponding macroscopic timescales impose a major computational challenge. Using rapid all-atom discrete molecular dynamics simulations, we capture the oligomerization and fibrillization dynamics of the amyloid core sequences of amyloid-β (Aβ) in Alzheimer's disease and islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) in type-2 diabetes, namely Aβ16-22 and IAPP22-28. Both peptides and their mixture spontaneously assemble into cross-β aggregates in silico, but follow distinct pathways. Aβ16-22 is highly aggregation-prone with a funneled free energy basin toward multi-layer β-sheet aggregates. IAPP22-28, on the other hand, features the accumulation of unstructured oligomers before the nucleation of β-sheets and growth into double-layer β-sheet aggregates. In the presence of Aβ16-22, the aggregation of IAPP22-28 is promoted by forming co-aggregated multi-layer β-sheets. Our study offers a detailed molecular insight to the long-postulated oligomerization-nucleation process in the amyloid aggregations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunxiang Sun
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
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26
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Sharma B, Paul S. Action of Caffeine as an Amyloid Inhibitor in the Aggregation of Aβ16–22 Peptides. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:9019-33. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b03892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bhanita Sharma
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
| | - Sandip Paul
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
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27
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Bellucci L, Ardèvol A, Parrinello M, Lutz H, Lu H, Weidner T, Corni S. The interaction with gold suppresses fiber-like conformations of the amyloid β (16-22) peptide. NANOSCALE 2016; 8:8737-8748. [PMID: 27064268 DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01539e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Inorganic surfaces and nanoparticles can accelerate or inhibit the fibrillation process of proteins and peptides, including the biomedically relevant amyloid β peptide. However, the microscopic mechanisms that determine such an effect are still poorly understood. By means of large-scale, state-of-the-art enhanced sampling molecular dynamics simulations, here we identify an interaction mechanism between the segments 16-22 of the amyloid β peptide, known to be fibrillogenic by itself, and the Au(111) surface in water that leads to the suppression of fiber-like conformations from the peptide conformational ensemble. Moreover, thanks to advanced simulation analysis techniques, we characterize the conformational selection vs. induced fit nature of the gold effect. Our results disclose an inhibition mechanism that is rooted in the details of the microscopic peptide-surface interaction rather than in general phenomena such as peptide sequestration from the solution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Bellucci
- Dipartimento FIM, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, I-41125, Modena, Italy. and Centro S3, CNR-NANO Istituto Nanoscienze, I-41125, Modena, Italy.
| | - Albert Ardèvol
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH-Zurich, Switzerland and Facoltà di Informatica, Istituto di Scienze Computazionali, Università della Svizzera Italiana, CH-6900, Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Michele Parrinello
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH-Zurich, Switzerland and Facoltà di Informatica, Istituto di Scienze Computazionali, Università della Svizzera Italiana, CH-6900, Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Helmut Lutz
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Hao Lu
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Tobias Weidner
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Stefano Corni
- Centro S3, CNR-NANO Istituto Nanoscienze, I-41125, Modena, Italy. and Facoltà di Informatica, Istituto di Scienze Computazionali, Università della Svizzera Italiana, CH-6900, Lugano, Switzerland
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28
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Luiken JA, Bolhuis PG. Prediction of a stable associated liquid of short amyloidogenic peptides. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2016; 17:10556-67. [PMID: 25804723 DOI: 10.1039/c5cp00284b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Amyloid fibril formation is believed to be a nucleation-controlled process. Depending on the nature of peptide sequence, fibril nucleation can occur in one step, straight from a dilute solution, or in multiple steps via oligomers or disordered aggregates. What determines this process is poorly understood. Since the fibril formation kinetics is driven by thermodynamic forces, knowledge of the phase behavior is crucial. Here, we investigated the phase behavior of three short peptide sequences of varying side-chain hydrophobicity. Replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations of a mid-resolution model indicate that the weakly hydrophobic peptide forms fibrils directly from solution, whereas the most hydrophobic peptide forms a dense liquid phase before crystallizing into ordered fibrils at low temperatures. For the medium hydrophobic peptide we found evidence of a novel additional transition to a liquid phase consisting of clusters of aligned peptides, implying a three-step nucleation process. We tested the robustness of this prediction by applying Wertheim's theory and statistical associating fluid theory to a hard-sphere model dressed with isotropic and anisotropic attractions. We found that the ratio of interaction strengths strongly affects the phase behavior, and under certain conditions indeed gives rise to a stable polymerized liquid phase. The peptide clusters in the associated liquid tend to be slow and long-lived, which may give the oligomer droplet more time to act as a toxic oligomer, before turning into a fibril.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jurriaan A Luiken
- van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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29
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Wei J, Antzutkin ON, Filippov AV, Iuga D, Lam PY, Barrow MP, Dupree R, Brown SP, O'Connor PB. Amyloid Hydrogen Bonding Polymorphism Evaluated by (15)N{(17)O}REAPDOR Solid-State NMR and Ultra-High Resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry. Biochemistry 2016; 55:2065-8. [PMID: 26983928 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.5b01095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
A combined approach, using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) and solid-state NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), shows a high degree of polymorphism exhibited by Aβ species in forming hydrogen-bonded networks. Two Alzheimer's Aβ peptides, Ac-Aβ(16-22)-NH2 and Aβ(11-25), selectively labeled with (17)O and (15)N at specific amino acid residues were investigated. The total amount of peptides labeled with (17)O as measured by FTICR-MS enabled the interpretation of dephasing observed in (15)N{(17)O}REAPDOR solid-state NMR experiments. Specifically, about one-third of the Aβ peptides were found to be involved in the formation of a specific >C═(17)O···H-(15)N hydrogen bond with their neighbor peptide molecules, and we hypothesize that the rest of the molecules undergo ± n off-registry shifts in their hydrogen bonding networks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Oleg N Antzutkin
- Chemistry of Interfaces, Luleå University of Technology , SE-971 87, Luleå, Sweden
| | - Andrei V Filippov
- Chemistry of Interfaces, Luleå University of Technology , SE-971 87, Luleå, Sweden
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Kouza M, Co NT, Nguyen PH, Kolinski A, Li MS. Preformed template fluctuations promote fibril formation: insights from lattice and all-atom models. J Chem Phys 2016; 142:145104. [PMID: 25877597 DOI: 10.1063/1.4917073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Fibril formation resulting from protein misfolding and aggregation is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Despite the fact that the fibril formation process is very slow and thus poses a significant challenge for theoretical and experimental studies, a number of alternative pictures of molecular mechanisms of amyloid fibril formation have been recently proposed. What seems to be common for the majority of the proposed models is that fibril elongation involves the formation of pre-nucleus seeds prior to the creation of a critical nucleus. Once the size of the pre-nucleus seed reaches the critical nucleus size, its thermal fluctuations are expected to be small and the resulting nucleus provides a template for sequential (one-by-one) accommodation of added monomers. The effect of template fluctuations on fibril formation rates has not been explored either experimentally or theoretically so far. In this paper, we make the first attempt at solving this problem by two sets of simulations. To mimic small template fluctuations, in one set, monomers of the preformed template are kept fixed, while in the other set they are allowed to fluctuate. The kinetics of addition of a new peptide onto the template is explored using all-atom simulations with explicit water and the GROMOS96 43a1 force field and simple lattice models. Our result demonstrates that preformed template fluctuations can modulate protein aggregation rates and pathways. The association of a nascent monomer with the template obeys the kinetics partitioning mechanism where the intermediate state occurs in a fraction of routes to the protofibril. It was shown that template immobility greatly increases the time of incorporating a new peptide into the preformed template compared to the fluctuating template case. This observation has also been confirmed by simulation using lattice models and may be invoked to understand the role of template fluctuations in slowing down fibril elongation in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maksim Kouza
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, ul. Pasteura 1, 02-093 Warszaw, Poland
| | - Nguyen Truong Co
- Department of Physics, Institute of Technology, National University of HCM City, 268 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
| | - Phuong H Nguyen
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Theorique, UPR 9080 CNRS, IBPC, Universite Paris 7, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Andrzej Kolinski
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, ul. Pasteura 1, 02-093 Warszaw, Poland
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
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31
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Khatua P, Jose JC, Sengupta N, Bandyopadhyay S. Conformational features of the Aβ42 peptide monomer and its interaction with the surrounding solvent. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2016; 18:30144-30159. [DOI: 10.1039/c6cp04925g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Heterogeneous conformational flexibility of the Aβ monomers has been found to be correlated with the corresponding non-uniform entropy gains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prabir Khatua
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Technology
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
| | - Jaya C. Jose
- Physical Chemistry Division
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory
- Pune 411008
- India
| | - Neelanjana Sengupta
- Department of Biological Sciences
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata
- Mohanpur-741246
- India
| | - Sanjoy Bandyopadhyay
- Molecular Modeling Laboratory
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Technology
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
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32
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Lugli F, Toschi F, Biscarini F, Zerbetto F. Electric Field Effects on Short Fibrils of Aβ Amyloid Peptides. J Chem Theory Comput 2015; 6:3516-26. [PMID: 26617101 DOI: 10.1021/ct1001335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils are highly ordered protein aggregates, which are associated with many neurodegenerative diseases. The assembling dynamics of monomeric beta-amyloid peptides, Aβ, into small aggregates (and then into long fibrils) is still debated and has become a hot topic. In this study, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations in explicit water of small Aβ protofibrils (from monomer to pentamer) under the perturbation of an externally applied electric field with the aim of investigating the fundamental molecular interactions involved in the aggregation mechanism. Dynamics of small adducts of Aβ(16-42) in the presence of an electric field, which was shown before to accelerate the conformational change of a single molecule, indicate that the structural resilience increases with the number of molecules in the aggregate. In particular, for 50 ns, the pentamer shows an enhanced stability in secondary structure, number of hydrogen bonds, and number of salt bridges, even in the presence of the field perturbation. The resilience to the field perturbation is linked to the variation of the induced dipole moment of the aggregates that tends to level off very rapidly with the growing number of molecules, thereby reducing the energy available per molecule to produce structural changes. The results also show that in the presence of the field the stability of the hydrophobic second β-sheet (β2, residues 31-42) is higher than that of the first one (β1, residues 18-26). In particular, we identify Gly33, Gly37, and Met35 as the most important residues that stabilize the intermolecular packing and may act as nucleation sites for fibrillization. Furthermore, dynamics of the full-length Aβ(1-42) pentameric aggregate, which include the highly charged random coil residues 1-15, confirmed the key role of the second hydrophobic core in the protofibril structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Lugli
- Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician", Università di Bologna, via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy and ISMN CNR, V. Gobetti, Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesca Toschi
- Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician", Università di Bologna, via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy and ISMN CNR, V. Gobetti, Bologna, Italy
| | - Fabio Biscarini
- Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician", Università di Bologna, via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy and ISMN CNR, V. Gobetti, Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesco Zerbetto
- Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician", Università di Bologna, via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy and ISMN CNR, V. Gobetti, Bologna, Italy
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33
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Sivakama Sundari C, Bikshapathy E, Nagaraj R. Self-assembly of a peptide with a tandem repeat of the Aβ16-22 sequence linked by a β turn-promoting dipeptide sequence. Biopolymers 2015; 104:790-803. [DOI: 10.1002/bip.22753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2015] [Revised: 09/21/2015] [Accepted: 10/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Luiken JA, Bolhuis PG. Primary Nucleation Kinetics of Short Fibril-Forming Amyloidogenic Peptides. J Phys Chem B 2015; 119:12568-79. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b05799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jurriaan A. Luiken
- van ’t
Hoff Institute
for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94157, 1090 GD Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Peter G. Bolhuis
- van ’t
Hoff Institute
for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94157, 1090 GD Amsterdam, Netherlands
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35
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Smith JE, Liang C, Tseng M, Li N, Li S, Mowles AK, Mehta AK, Lynn DG. Defining the Dynamic Conformational Networks of Cross-β Peptide Assembly. Isr J Chem 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/ijch.201500012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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36
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Paleček E, Tkáč J, Bartošík M, Bertók T, Ostatná V, Paleček J. Electrochemistry of nonconjugated proteins and glycoproteins. Toward sensors for biomedicine and glycomics. Chem Rev 2015; 115:2045-108. [PMID: 25659975 PMCID: PMC4360380 DOI: 10.1021/cr500279h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Emil Paleček
- Institute
of Biophysics Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Královopolská
135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Tkáč
- Institute
of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 38 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Martin Bartošík
- Regional
Centre for Applied Molecular Oncology, Masaryk
Memorial Cancer Institute, Žlutý kopec 7, 656 53 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Bertók
- Institute
of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 38 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Veronika Ostatná
- Institute
of Biophysics Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Královopolská
135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Paleček
- Central
European Institute of Technology, Masaryk
University, Kamenice
5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
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37
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Vorontsova MA, Maes D, Vekilov PG. Recent advances in the understanding of two-step nucleation of protein crystals. Faraday Discuss 2015; 179:27-40. [DOI: 10.1039/c4fd00217b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The two-step mechanism of nucleation of crystals in solutions posits that the formation of crystal nuclei occurs within structures of extended lifetimes, in which the nucleating solute is at high concentration. The validity of this mechanism has been demonstrated for proteins, small-molecule organic and inorganic materials, colloids, and polymers. Due to large molecule sizes, proteins are an ideal system to study the details of this nucleation pathway, in particular the formation mechanisms of the nucleation precursors and the associated physico-chemical rules. The precursors of protein crystal nuclei are protein-rich clusters of sizes ∼100 nm that contain 10 000–100 000 molecules and occupy less than 10−3of the total solution volume. Here we demonstrate, using oblique illumination microscopy, the liquid nature of the clusters of the protein lysozyme and reveal their inhomogeneous structure. We test a hypothesis put forth by theory that clusters primarily consist of transient protein oligomers. For this, we explore how varying the strength of the Coulomb interaction affects the cluster characteristics. We find that the cluster’s size is insensitive to variations of pH and ionic strength. In contrast, the addition of urea, a chaotropic agent that leads to protein unfolding, strongly decreases the cluster size. Shear stress, a known protein denaturant, induced by bubbling of the solutions with an inert gas, elicits a similar response. These observations support partial protein unfolding, followed by dimerization, as the mechanism of cluster formation. The amide hydrogen–deuterium exchange, monitored by nuclear magnetic resonance, highlights that lysozyme conformational flexibility is a condition for the formation of the protein-rich clusters and facilitates the nucleation of protein crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A. Vorontsova
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- University of Houston
- Houston
- USA
| | - Dominique Maes
- Structural Biology Brussels
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- B-1050 Brussel
- Belgium
| | - Peter G. Vekilov
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- University of Houston
- Houston
- USA
- Department of Chemistry
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38
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Xie L, Lin D, Luo Y, Li H, Yang X, Wei G. Effects of hydroxylated carbon nanotubes on the aggregation of Aβ16-22 peptides: a combined simulation and experimental study. Biophys J 2014; 107:1930-1938. [PMID: 25418174 PMCID: PMC4213673 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2014.08.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2014] [Revised: 07/27/2014] [Accepted: 08/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with the aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides into toxic aggregates with ?-sheet character. In a previous computational study, we showed that pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can inhibit the formation of β-sheet-rich oligomers in the central hydrophobic core fragment of Aβ (Aβ16-22). However, the poor solubility of SWCNTs in water hinders their use in biomedical applications and nanomedicine. Here, we investigate the influence of hydroxylated SWCNT, a water-soluble SWCNT derivative, on the aggregation of Aβ16-22 peptides using all-atom explicit-water replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that hydroxylated SWCNTs can significantly inhibit β-sheet formation and shift the conformations of Aβ16-22 oligomers from ordered β-sheet-rich structures toward disordered coil aggregates. Detailed analyses of the SWCNT-Aβ interaction reveal that the inhibition of β-sheet formation by hydroxylated SWCNTs mainly results from strong electrostatic interactions between the hydroxyl groups of SWCNTs and the positively charged residue K16 of Aβ16-22 and hydrophobic and aromatic stacking interactions between SWCNTs and F19 and F20. In addition, our atomic force microscopy and thioflavin T fluorescence experiments confirm the inhibitory effect of both pristine and hydroxylated SWCNTs on Aβ16-22 fibrillization, in support of our previous and present replica exchange molecular dynamics simulation results. These results demonstrate that hydroxylated SWCNTs efficiently inhibit the aggregation of Aβ16-22; in addition, they offer molecular insight into the inhibition mechanism, thus providing new clues for the design of therapeutic drugs against amyloidosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luogang Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Dongdong Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yin Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Huiyu Li
- Department of Mathematics and Physics, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, China
| | - Xinju Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guanghong Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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Olsson S, Vögeli BR, Cavalli A, Boomsma W, Ferkinghoff-Borg J, Lindorff-Larsen K, Hamelryck T. Probabilistic Determination of Native State Ensembles of Proteins. J Chem Theory Comput 2014; 10:3484-91. [DOI: 10.1021/ct5001236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Olsson
- Bioinformatics
Centre, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine, CH-6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Beat Rolf Vögeli
- Laboratory
of Physical Chemistry, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Cavalli
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine, CH-6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Wouter Boomsma
- Structural
Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jesper Ferkinghoff-Borg
- Cellular
Signal Integration Group, Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural
Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas Hamelryck
- Bioinformatics
Centre, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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40
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Lin D, Luo Y, Wu S, Ma Q, Wei G, Yang X. Investigation of the aggregation process of amyloid-β-(16-22) peptides and the dissolution of intermediate aggregates. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2014; 30:3170-3175. [PMID: 24588450 DOI: 10.1021/la4048165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The aggregation processes of amyloid-β-(16-22) peptides (Aβ16-22) are investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is found that Aβ16-22 peptides quickly aggregate from monomers to oligomers and flakelike structures and finally to fibrils. In particular, unusual morphology change is observed in an early stage of aggregation; that is, the originally formed flakelike structures would disappear in the following aggregation processes. To determine the evolution of the flakelike structures, in situ AFM imaging is carried out in liquid to reveal the real-time morphology change of Aβ16-22. The results provide clear evidence that the flakelike structures are in an unstable intermediate state, which would be dissolved into oligomers or short protofibrils for reorganization. Further fluorescence and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) experiments on thioflavin T(ThT) suggest that those flakelike structures contain β-sheet components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongdong Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University , 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China
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41
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Cong X, Casiraghi N, Rossetti G, Mohanty S, Giachin G, Legname G, Carloni P. Role of Prion Disease-Linked Mutations in the Intrinsically Disordered N-Terminal Domain of the Prion Protein. J Chem Theory Comput 2013; 9:5158-67. [DOI: 10.1021/ct400534k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojing Cong
- Laboratory
of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
- Laboratory
for Computational Biophysics, German Research School for Simulation Sciences (GRS), Forschungszentrum Jülich−RWTH Aachen, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Computational
Biomedicine Section (IAS-5), Institute of Advanced Simulation (IAS), 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Nicola Casiraghi
- Laboratory
for Computational Biophysics, German Research School for Simulation Sciences (GRS), Forschungszentrum Jülich−RWTH Aachen, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Department
of Biology, University of Bologna, via Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy
- Computational
Biomedicine Section (IAS-5), Institute of Advanced Simulation (IAS), 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Giulia Rossetti
- Laboratory
for Computational Biophysics, German Research School for Simulation Sciences (GRS), Forschungszentrum Jülich−RWTH Aachen, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Computational
Biomedicine Section (IAS-5), Institute of Advanced Simulation (IAS), 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine and Barcelona Supercomputing Center Joint Research Program on Computational Biology, Barcelona Science Park, Baldiri I Reixac 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sandipan Mohanty
- Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Gabriele Giachin
- Laboratory
of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Legname
- Laboratory
of Prion Biology, Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
- ELETTRA Laboratory, Sincrotrone
Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - Paolo Carloni
- Laboratory
for Computational Biophysics, German Research School for Simulation Sciences (GRS), Forschungszentrum Jülich−RWTH Aachen, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Computational
Biomedicine Section (IAS-5), Institute of Advanced Simulation (IAS), 52425 Jülich, Germany
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42
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Xie L, Luo Y, Wei G. Aβ(16-22) peptides can assemble into ordered β-barrels and bilayer β-sheets, while substitution of phenylalanine 19 by tryptophan increases the population of disordered aggregates. J Phys Chem B 2013; 117:10149-60. [PMID: 23926957 DOI: 10.1021/jp405869a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A recent experimental study reported that termini-uncapped Aβ(16-22) (with sequence KLVFFAE) peptides self-assembled into nanofibrils at pH 2.0. The oligomerization of this uncapped peptide at atomic level in acidic pH condition remains to be determined, as computational studies mainly focus on the self-assembly of capped Aβ(16-22) peptides at neutral pH condition. In this study, using replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations with explicit solvent, we investigated the octameric structures of the uncapped Aβ(16-22) and its F19W variant at acidic pH condition. Our simulations reveal that the Aβ(16-22) octamers adopt various conformations, including closed β-barrels, bilayer β-sheets, and disordered aggregates. The closed β-barrel conformation is particularly interesting, as the cylindrical β-barrel has been reported recently as a cytotoxic species. Interpeptide contact probability analyses between all pairs of residues reveal that the hydrophobic and aromatic stacking interactions between F19 residues play an essential role in the formation of β-barrels and bilayer β-sheets. The importance of F19 and the steric effect on the structures of Aβ(16-22) octamers are further examined by REMD simulation of F19W mutant. This REMD run shows that substitution of F19 by W with a more bulky aromatic side chain significantly reduces the β-sheet content and in turn enhances the population of disordered aggregates, indicating that the steric effect significantly affect the self-assembly of low molecular weight Aβ(16-22) oligomers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luogang Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Department of Physics, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China
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43
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Chiang HL, Ngo ST, Chen CJ, Hu CK, Li MS. Oligomerization of Peptides LVEALYL and RGFFYT and Their Binding Affinity to Insulin. PLoS One 2013; 8:e65358. [PMID: 23805182 PMCID: PMC3689759 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2012] [Accepted: 04/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently it has been proposed a model for fibrils of human insulin in which the fibril growth proceeds via stacking LVEALYL (fragment 11-17 from chain B of insulin) into pairs of tightly interdigitated [Formula: see text]-sheets. The experiments have also shown that LVEALYL has high propensity to self-assembly and binding to insulin. This necessitates study of oligomerization of LVEALYL and its binding affinity to full-length insulin. Using the all-atom simulations with Gromos96 43a1 force field and explicit water it is shown that LVEALYL can aggregate. Theoretical estimation of the binding free energy of LVEALYL to insulin by the molecular mechanic Poisson-Boltzmann surface area method reveals its strong binding affinity to chain B, implying that, in agreement with the experiments, LVEALYL can affect insulin aggregation via binding mechanism. We predict that, similar to LVEALYL, peptide RGFFYT (fragment B22-27) can self-assemble and bind to insulin modulating its fibril growth process. The binding affinity of RGFFYT is shown to be comparable with that of LVEALYL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Lin Chiang
- Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Son Tung Ngo
- Institute for Computational Science and Technology, 6 Quarter, Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Chun-Jung Chen
- Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Life Science Group, Scientific Research Division, National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Institute of Biotechnology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
| | - Chin-Kun Hu
- Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan
- * E-mail: (CKH); (MSL)
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- * E-mail: (CKH); (MSL)
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44
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Smith MD, Cruz L. Effect of Ionic Aqueous Environments on the Structure and Dynamics of the Aβ21–30 Fragment: A Molecular-Dynamics Study. J Phys Chem B 2013; 117:6614-24. [DOI: 10.1021/jp312653h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Micholas Dean Smith
- Department
of Physics, 3141 Chestnut Street, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Luis Cruz
- Department
of Physics, 3141 Chestnut Street, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
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45
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Baftizadeh F, Pietrucci F, Biarnés X, Laio A. Nucleation process of a fibril precursor in the C-terminal segment of amyloid-β. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2013; 110:168103. [PMID: 23679641 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.110.168103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2012] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
By extended atomistic simulations in explicit solvent and bias-exchange metadynamics, we study the aggregation process of 18 chains of the C-terminal segment of amyloid-β, an intrinsically disordered protein involved in Alzheimer's disease and prone to form fibrils. Starting from a disordered aggregate, we are able to observe the formation of an ordered nucleus rich in beta sheets. The rate limiting step in the nucleation pathway involves crossing a barrier of approximately 40 kcal/mol and is associated with the formation of a very specific interdigitation of the side chains belonging to different sheets. This structural pattern is different from the one observed experimentally in a microcrystal of the same system, indicating that the structure of a "nascent" fibril may differ from the one of an "extended" fibril.
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46
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Sgarbossa A, Monti S, Lenci F, Bramanti E, Bizzarri R, Barone V. The effects of ferulic acid on β-amyloid fibrillar structures investigated through experimental and computational techniques. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2013; 1830:2924-37. [PMID: 23291428 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2012.12.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2012] [Revised: 11/29/2012] [Accepted: 12/21/2012] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current research has indicated that small natural compounds could interfere with β-amyloid fibril growth and have the ability to disassemble preformed folded structures. Ferulic acid (FA), which possesses both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties and binds to peptides/proteins, is a potential candidate against amyloidogenesis. The molecular mechanisms connected to this action have not been elucidated in detail yet. METHODS Here the effects of FA on preformed fibrils are investigated by means of a concerted experimental-computational approach. Spectroscopic techniques, such as FTIR, fluorescence, size exclusion chromatography and confocal microscopy in combination with molecular dynamics simulations are used to identify those features which play a key role in the destabilization of the aggregates. RESULTS Experimental findings highlight that FA has disruptive effects on the fibrils. The computational analysis suggests that dissociation of peptides from the amyloid superstructures could take place along the fibril axis and be primarily determined by the cooperative rupture of the backbone hydrogen bonds and of the Asp-Lys salt bridges. CONCLUSION FA clusters could induce a sort of stabilization and tightening of the fibril structure in the short term and its disruption in the long term, inhibiting further fibril re-assembly through FA screening effects. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE The combination of experimental and computational techniques could be successfully used to identify the disrupting action of FA on preformed Aβ fibrils in water solution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Sgarbossa
- Biophysics Institute, National Research Council, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
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Saracino GAA, Cigognini D, Silva D, Caprini A, Gelain F. Nanomaterials design and tests for neural tissue engineering. Chem Soc Rev 2012; 42:225-62. [PMID: 22990473 DOI: 10.1039/c2cs35065c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Nanostructured scaffolds recently showed great promise in tissue engineering: nanomaterials can be tailored at the molecular level and scaffold morphology may more closely resemble features of extracellular matrix components in terms of porosity, framing and biofunctionalities. As a consequence, both biomechanical properties of scaffold microenvironments and biomaterial-protein interactions can be tuned, allowing for improved transplanted cell engraftment and better controlled diffusion of drugs. Easier said than done, a nanotech-based regenerative approach encompasses different fields of know-how, ranging from in silico simulations, nanomaterial synthesis and characterization at the nano-, micro- and mesoscales to random library screening methods (e.g. phage display), in vitro cellular-based experiments and validation in animal models of the target injury. All of these steps of the "assembly line" of nanostructured scaffolds are tightly interconnected both in their standard analysis techniques and in their most recent breakthroughs: indeed their efforts have to jointly provide the deepest possible analyses of the diverse facets of the challenging field of neural tissue engineering. The purpose of this review is therefore to provide a critical overview of the recent advances in and drawbacks and potential of each mentioned field, contributing to the realization of effective nanotech-based therapies for the regeneration of peripheral nerve transections, spinal cord injuries and brain traumatic injuries. Far from being the ultimate overview of such a number of topics, the reader will acknowledge the intrinsic complexity of the goal of nanotech tissue engineering for a conscious approach to the development of a regenerative therapy and, by deciphering the thread connecting all steps of the research, will gain the necessary view of its tremendous potential if each piece of stone is correctly placed to work synergically in this impressive mosaic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria A A Saracino
- Center for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering, A.O. Ospedale Niguarda Cà Granda, Milan, 20162, Italy
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48
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Liu FF, Liu Z, Bai S, Dong XY, Sun Y. Exploring the inter-molecular interactions in amyloid-β protofibril with molecular dynamics simulations and molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area free energy calculations. J Chem Phys 2012; 136:145101. [PMID: 22502547 DOI: 10.1063/1.3702195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides correlates with the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. However, the inter-molecular interactions between Aβ protofibril remain elusive. Herein, molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area analysis based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations was performed to study the inter-molecular interactions in Aβ(17-42) protofibril. It is found that the nonpolar interactions are the important forces to stabilize the Aβ(17-42) protofibril, while electrostatic interactions play a minor role. Through free energy decomposition, 18 residues of the Aβ(17-42) are identified to provide interaction energy lower than -2.5 kcal/mol. The nonpolar interactions are mainly provided by the main chain of the peptide and the side chains of nine hydrophobic residues (Leu17, Phe19, Phe20, Leu32, Leu34, Met35, Val36, Val40, and Ile41). However, the electrostatic interactions are mainly supplied by the main chains of six hydrophobic residues (Phe19, Phe20, Val24, Met35, Val36, and Val40) and the side chains of the charged residues (Glu22, Asp23, and Lys28). In the electrostatic interactions, the overwhelming majority of hydrogen bonds involve the main chains of Aβ as well as the guanidinium group of the charged side chain of Lys28. The work has thus elucidated the molecular mechanism of the inter-molecular interactions between Aβ monomers in Aβ(17-42) protofibril, and the findings are considered critical for exploring effective agents for the inhibition of Aβ aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu-Feng Liu
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering of the Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
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49
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Cruz L, Rao JS, Teplow DB, Urbanc B. Dynamics of metastable β-hairpin structures in the folding nucleus of amyloid β-protein. J Phys Chem B 2012; 116:6311-25. [PMID: 22587454 PMCID: PMC3394227 DOI: 10.1021/jp301619v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The amyloid β-protein (Aβ), which is present predominately as a 40- or 42-residue peptide, is postulated to play a seminal role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Folding of the Aβ(21-30) decapeptide region is a critical step in the aggregation of Aβ. We report results of constant temperature all-atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit water of the dynamics of monomeric Aβ(21-30) and its Dutch [Glu22Gln], Arctic [Glu22Gly], and Iowa [Asp23Asn] isoforms that are associated with familial forms of cerebral amyloid angiopathy and AD. The simulations revealed a variety of loop conformers that exhibited a hydrogen bond network involving the Asp23 and Ser26 amino acids. A population of conformers, not part of the loop population, was found to form metastable β-hairpin structures with the highest probability in the Iowa mutant. At least three β-hairpin structures were found that differed in their hydrogen bonding register, average number of backbone hydrogen bonds, and lifetimes. Analysis revealed that the Dutch mutant had the longest β-hairpin lifetime (≥500 ns), closely followed by the Iowa mutant (≈500 ns). Aβ(21-30) and the Arctic mutant had significantly lower lifetimes (≈200 ns). Hydrophobic packing of side chains was responsible for enhanced β-hairpin lifetimes in the Dutch and Iowa mutants, whereas lifetimes in Aβ(21-30) and its Arctic mutant were influenced by the backbone hydrogen bonding. The data suggest that prolonged β-hairpin lifetimes may impact peptide pathogenicity in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Cruz
- Department of Physics, 3141 Chestnut Street, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
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50
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