1
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Marshall KE, Mengham K, Spink MC, Vania L, Pollard HJ, Darrow MC, Duke E, Harkiolaki M, Serpell LC. Correlative cryo-soft X-ray tomography and cryo-structured illumination microscopy reveal changes to lysosomes in amyloid-β-treated neurons. Structure 2024; 32:585-593.e3. [PMID: 38471506 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2024.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Protein misfolding is common to neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) including Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is partly characterized by the self-assembly and accumulation of amyloid-beta in the brain. Lysosomes are a critical component of the proteostasis network required to degrade and recycle material from outside and within the cell and impaired proteostatic mechanisms have been implicated in NDs. We have previously established that toxic amyloid-beta oligomers are endocytosed, accumulate in lysosomes, and disrupt the endo-lysosomal system in neurons. Here, we use pioneering correlative cryo-structured illumination microscopy and cryo-soft X-ray tomography imaging techniques to reconstruct 3D cellular architecture in the native state revealing reduced X-ray density in lysosomes and increased carbon dense vesicles in oligomer treated neurons compared with untreated cells. This work provides unprecedented visual information on the changes to neuronal lysosomes inflicted by amyloid beta oligomers using advanced methods in structural cell biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen E Marshall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG Brighton, UK.
| | - Kurtis Mengham
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG Brighton, UK
| | - Matthew C Spink
- Diamond Light Source, Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Fermi Avenue, OX11 0DE Didcot, UK
| | - Lyra Vania
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG Brighton, UK
| | - Hannah Jane Pollard
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG Brighton, UK
| | - Michele C Darrow
- Diamond Light Source, Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Fermi Avenue, OX11 0DE Didcot, UK
| | - Elizabeth Duke
- Diamond Light Source, Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Fermi Avenue, OX11 0DE Didcot, UK
| | - Maria Harkiolaki
- Diamond Light Source, Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Fermi Avenue, OX11 0DE Didcot, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG Brighton, UK.
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2
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Hilditch AT, Romanyuk A, Hodgson LR, Mantell J, Neal CR, Verkade P, Obexer R, Serpell LC, McManus JJ, Woolfson DN. Maturation and Conformational Switching of a De Novo Designed Phase-Separating Polypeptide. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:10240-10245. [PMID: 38578222 PMCID: PMC11027135 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c00256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Cellular compartments formed by biomolecular condensation are widespread features of cell biology. These organelle-like assemblies compartmentalize macromolecules dynamically within the crowded intracellular environment. However, the intermolecular interactions that produce condensed droplets may also create arrested states and potentially pathological assemblies such as fibers, aggregates, and gels through droplet maturation. Protein liquid-liquid phase separation is a metastable process, so maturation may be an intrinsic property of phase-separating proteins, where nucleation of different phases or states arises in supersaturated condensates. Here, we describe the formation of both phase-separated droplets and proteinaceous fibers driven by a de novo designed polypeptide. We characterize the formation of supramolecular fibers in vitro and in bacterial cells. We show that client proteins can be targeted to the fibers in cells using a droplet-forming construct. Finally, we explore the interplay between phase separation and fiber formation of the de novo polypeptide, showing that the droplets mature with a post-translational switch to largely β conformations, analogous to models of pathological phase separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander T. Hilditch
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
- Max
Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Andrey Romanyuk
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
- Max
Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Lorna R. Hodgson
- Wolfson
Bioimaging Facility, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Judith Mantell
- Wolfson
Bioimaging Facility, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Christopher R. Neal
- Wolfson
Bioimaging Facility, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
| | - Paul Verkade
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
- Bristol
BioDesign Institute, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
| | - Richard Obexer
- Department
of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K.
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- School
of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, JMS 3B17, U.K.
| | - Jennifer J. McManus
- Bristol
BioDesign Institute, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
- HH Wills
Physics Laboratory, School of Physics, University
of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, U.K.
| | - Derek N. Woolfson
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
- Max
Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
- School
of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K.
- Bristol
BioDesign Institute, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
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3
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Williams-Noonan BJ, Kulkarni K, Todorova N, Franceschi M, Wilde C, Borgo MPD, Serpell LC, Aguilar MI, Yarovsky I. Atomic Scale Structure of Self-Assembled Lipidated Peptide Nanomaterials. Adv Mater 2024:e2311103. [PMID: 38489817 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202311103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
β-Peptides have great potential as novel biomaterials and therapeutic agents, due to their unique ability to self-assemble into low dimensional nanostructures, and their resistance to enzymatic degradation in vivo. However, the self-assembly mechanisms of β-peptides, which possess increased flexibility due to the extra backbone methylene groups present within the constituent β-amino acids, are not well understood due to inherent difficulties of observing their bottom-up growth pathway experimentally. A computational approach is presented for the bottom-up modelling of the self-assembled lipidated β3-peptides, from monomers, to oligomers, to supramolecular low-dimensional nanostructures, in all-atom detail. The approach is applied to elucidate the self-assembly mechanisms of recently discovered, distinct structural morphologies of low dimensional nanomaterials, assembled from lipidated β3-peptide monomers. The resultant structures of the nanobelts and the twisted fibrils are stable throughout subsequent unrestrained all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, and these assemblies display good agreement with the structural features obtained from X-ray fiber diffraction and atomic force microscopy data. This is the first reported, fully-atomistic model of a lipidated β3-peptide-based nanomaterial, and the computational approach developed here, in combination with experimental fiber diffraction analysis and atomic force microscopy, will be useful in elucidating the atomic scale structure of self-assembled peptide-based and other supramolecular nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ketav Kulkarni
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Nevena Todorova
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001, Australia
| | - Matteo Franceschi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Christopher Wilde
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Mark P Del Borgo
- Department of Pharmacology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Marie-Isabel Aguilar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Irene Yarovsky
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001, Australia
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4
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Lyu C, Da Vela S, Al-Hilaly Y, Marshall KE, Thorogate R, Svergun D, Serpell LC, Pastore A, Hanger DP. Corrigendum: The disease associated Tau35 fragment has an increased propensity to aggregate compared to full-length tau. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1276677. [PMID: 37790876 PMCID: PMC10542890 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1276677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.779240.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Lyu
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stefano Da Vela
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Site, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Youssra Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Karen E. Marshall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Thorogate
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dmitri Svergun
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Site, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Annalisa Pastore
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Diane P. Hanger
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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5
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Audsley G, Carpenter H, Essien NB, Lai-Morrice J, Al-Hilaly Y, Serpell LC, Akien GR, Tizzard GJ, Coles SJ, Ulldemolins CP, Kostakis GE. Chiral Co 3Y Propeller-Shaped Chemosensory Platforms Based on 19F-NMR. Inorg Chem 2023; 62:2680-2693. [PMID: 36716401 PMCID: PMC9930122 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c03737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Two propeller-shaped chiral CoIII3YIII complexes built from fluorinated ligands are synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD), IR, UV-vis, circular dichroism (CD), elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), electron spray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS), and NMR (1H, 13C, and 19F). This work explores the sensing and discrimination abilities of these complexes, thus providing an innovative sensing method using a 19F NMR chemosensory system and opening new directions in 3d/4f chemistry. Control experiments and theoretical studies shed light on the sensing mechanism, while the scope and limitations of this method are discussed and presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Audsley
- Department
of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University
of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
| | - Harry Carpenter
- Department
of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University
of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
| | - Nsikak B. Essien
- Department
of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University
of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
| | - James Lai-Morrice
- Department
of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University
of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
| | - Youssra Al-Hilaly
- Sussex
Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University
of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK,Chemistry
Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah
University, Baghdad 10001, Iraq
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- Sussex
Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University
of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Geoffrey R. Akien
- Department
of Chemistry, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, UK
| | - Graham J. Tizzard
- UK
National Crystallography Service, Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO1 71BJ, UK
| | - Simon J. Coles
- UK
National Crystallography Service, Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO1 71BJ, UK
| | | | - George E. Kostakis
- Department
of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University
of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK,
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6
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Maina MB, Al-Hilaly YK, Serpell LC. Dityrosine cross-linking and its potential roles in Alzheimer's disease. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1132670. [PMID: 37034163 PMCID: PMC10075315 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1132670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Oxidative stress is a significant source of damage that accumulates during aging and contributes to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Oxidation of proteins can give rise to covalent links between adjacent tyrosines known as dityrosine (DiY) cross-linking, amongst other modifications, and this observation suggests that DiY could serve as a biomarker of accumulated oxidative stress over the lifespan. Many studies have focused on understanding the contribution of DiY to AD pathogenesis and have revealed that DiY crosslinks can be found in both Aβ and tau deposits - the two key proteins involved in the formation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, respectively. However, there is no consensus yet in the field on the impact of DiY on Aβ and tau function, aggregation, and toxicity. Here we review the current understanding of the role of DiY on Aβ and tau gathered over the last 20 years since the first observation, and discuss the effect of this modification for Aβ and tau aggregation, and its potential as a biomarker for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud B. Maina
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom
- Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre, College of Medical Sciences, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria
| | - Youssra K. Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Louise C. Serpell,
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7
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Al-Hilaly YK, Marshall KE, Lutter L, Biasetti L, Mengham K, Harrington CR, Xue WF, Wischik CM, Serpell LC. An Additive-Free Model for Tau Self-Assembly. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2551:163-188. [PMID: 36310203 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2597-2_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Tau is a natively unfolded protein that contributes to the stability of microtubules. Under pathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), tau protein misfolds and self-assembles to form paired helical filaments (PHFs) and straight filaments (SFs). Full-length tau protein assembles poorly and its self-assembly is enhanced with polyanions such as heparin and RNA in vitro, but a role for heparin or other polyanions in vivo remains unclear. Recently, a truncated form of tau (297-391) has been shown to self-assemble in the absence of additives which provides an alternative in vitro PHF model system. Here we describe methods to prepare in vitro PHFs and SFs from tau (297-391) named dGAE. We also discuss the range of biophysical/biochemical techniques used to monitor tau filament assembly and structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq.
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK.
| | - Karen E Marshall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK
| | - Liisa Lutter
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Luca Biasetti
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK
| | - Kurtis Mengham
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK
| | - Charles R Harrington
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
- TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, UK
| | - Wei-Feng Xue
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Claude M Wischik
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
- TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK
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8
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Thomson L, McDowall D, Marshall L, Marshall O, Ng H, Homer WJA, Ghosh D, Liu W, Squires AM, Theodosiou E, Topham PD, Serpell LC, Poole RJ, Seddon A, Adams DJ. Transferring Micellar Changes to Bulk Properties via Tunable Self-Assembly and Hierarchical Ordering. ACS Nano 2022; 16:20497-20509. [PMID: 36441928 PMCID: PMC9798853 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c06898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Hierarchical self-assembly is an effective means of preparing useful materials. However, control over assembly across length scales is a difficult challenge, often confounded by the perceived need to redesign the molecular building blocks when new material properties are needed. Here, we show that we can treat a simple dipeptide building block as a polyelectrolyte and use polymer physics approaches to explain the self-assembly over a wide concentration range. This allows us to determine how entangled the system is and therefore how it might be best processed, enabling us to prepare interesting analogues to threads and webs, as well as films that lose order on heating and "noodles" which change dimensions on heating, showing that we can transfer micellar-level changes to bulk properties all from a single building block.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Thomson
- School
of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
| | - Daniel McDowall
- School
of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
| | - Libby Marshall
- School
of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
| | - Olivia Marshall
- School
of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
| | - Henry Ng
- School
of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, U.K.
| | - W. Joseph A. Homer
- Aston
Institute of Materials Research, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, U.K.
| | - Dipankar Ghosh
- School
of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
| | - Wanli Liu
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, U.K.
| | - Adam M. Squires
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, U.K.
| | - Eirini Theodosiou
- Aston
Institute of Materials Research, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, U.K.
| | - Paul D. Topham
- Aston
Institute of Materials Research, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, U.K.
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- Sussex
Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University
of Sussex, Falmer BN1 9QG, U.K.
| | - Robert J. Poole
- School
of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, U.K.
| | - Annela Seddon
- School of
Physics, HH Wills Physics Laboratory, University
of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, U.K.
| | - Dave J. Adams
- School
of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
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9
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Al-Hilaly YK, Hurt C, Rickard JE, Harrington CR, Storey JMD, Wischik CM, Serpell LC, Siemer AB. Solid-state NMR of paired helical filaments formed by the core tau fragment tau(297-391). Front Neurosci 2022; 16:988074. [PMID: 36570831 PMCID: PMC9774000 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.988074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of the tau protein into fibrillar cross-β aggregates is a hallmark of Alzheimer's diseases (AD) and many other neurodegenerative tauopathies. Recently, several core structures of patient-derived tau paired helical filaments (PHFs) have been solved revealing a structural variability that often correlates with a specific tauopathy. To further characterize the dynamics of these fibril cores, to screen for strain-specific small molecules as potential biomarkers and therapeutics, and to develop strain-specific antibodies, recombinant in-vitro models of tau filaments are needed. We recently showed that a 95-residue fragment of tau (from residue 297 to 391), termed dGAE, forms filaments in vitro in the absence of polyanionic co-factors often used for in vitro aggregation of full-length tau. Tau(297-391) was identified as the proteolytic resistant core of tau PHFs and overlaps with the structures characterized by cryo-electron microscopy in ex vivo PHFs, making it a promising model for the study of AD tau filaments in vitro. In the present study, we used solid-state NMR to characterize tau(297-391) filaments and show that such filaments assembled under non-reducing conditions are more dynamic and less ordered than those made in the presence of the reducing agent DTT. We further report the resonance assignment of tau(297-391)+DTT filaments and compare it to existing core structures of tau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssra K. Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom,Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Connor Hurt
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Janet E. Rickard
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Charles R. Harrington
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom,TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - John M. D. Storey
- TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, United Kingdom,Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Claude M. Wischik
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom,TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom
| | - Ansgar B. Siemer
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States,*Correspondence: Ansgar B. Siemer,
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10
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Huang R, McDowall D, Ng H, Thomson L, Al-Hilaly YK, Doutch J, Burholt S, Serpell LC, Poole RJ, Adams DJ. Charge screening wormlike micelles affects extensional relaxation time and noodle formation. Chem Commun (Camb) 2022; 58:10388-10391. [PMID: 36039700 DOI: 10.1039/d2cc03646k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A functionalised dipeptide that self-assembles to form wormlike micelles at high pH can be treated as a surfactant. By varying salt concentration, the self-assembled structures and interactions between them change, resulting in solutions with very different shear and extensional viscosity. From these, gel noodles with different mechanical properties can be prepared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Huang
- School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
| | - Daniel McDowall
- School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
| | - Henry Ng
- School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GH, UK
| | - Lisa Thomson
- School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
| | - Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK.,Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - James Doutch
- ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - Sam Burholt
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Robert J Poole
- School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GH, UK
| | - Dave J Adams
- School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
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11
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Maina MB, Al-Hilaly YK, Oakley S, Burra G, Khanom T, Biasetti L, Mengham K, Marshall K, Harrington CR, Wischik CM, Serpell LC. Dityrosine Cross-links are Present in Alzheimer's Disease-derived Tau Oligomers and Paired Helical Filaments (PHF) which Promotes the Stability of the PHF-core Tau (297-391) In Vitro. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167785. [PMID: 35961386 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A characteristic hallmark of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the pathological aggregation and deposition of tau into paired helical filaments (PHF) in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Oxidative stress is an early event during AD pathogenesis and is associated with tau-mediated AD pathology. Oxidative environments can result in the formation of covalent dityrosine crosslinks that can increase protein stability and insolubility. Dityrosine cross-linking has been shown in Aβ plaques in AD and α-synuclein aggregates in Lewy bodies in ex vivo tissue sections, and this modification may increase the insolubility of these aggregates and their resistance to degradation. Using the PHF-core tau fragment (residues 297 - 391) as a model, we have previously demonstrated that dityrosine formation traps tau assemblies to reduce further elongation. However, it is unknown whether dityrosine crosslinks are found in tau deposits in vivo in AD and its relevance to disease mechanism is unclear. Here, using transmission electron microscope (TEM) double immunogold-labelling, we reveal that neurofibrillary NFTs in AD are heavily decorated with dityrosine crosslinks alongside tau. Single immunogold-labelling TEM and fluorescence spectroscopy revealed the presence of dityrosine on AD brain-derived tau oligomers and fibrils. Using the tau (297-391) PHF-core fragment as a model, we further showed that prefibrillar tau species are more amenable to dityrosine crosslinking than tau fibrils. Dityrosine formation results in heat and SDS stability of oxidised prefibrillar and fibrillar tau assemblies. This finding has implications for understanding the mechanism governing the insolubility and toxicity of tau assemblies in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud B Maina
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK; Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre, Yobe State University, Nigeria. https://twitter.com/mahmoudbukar
| | - Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK; Chemistry Department, College of Sciences, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Sebastian Oakley
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK
| | - Gunasekhar Burra
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK; Analytical Development Biologics, Biopharmaceutical Development, Syngene International Limited, Biocon Park, Bommasandra Jigani Link Road, Bangalore 560009, India
| | - Tahmida Khanom
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK
| | - Luca Biasetti
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK
| | - Kurtis Mengham
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK
| | - Karen Marshall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK
| | - Charles R Harrington
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK; TauRx Therapeutics Ltd, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Claude M Wischik
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK; TauRx Therapeutics Ltd, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex UK.
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12
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Lutter L, Al-Hilaly YK, Serpell CJ, Tuite MF, Wischik CM, Serpell LC, Xue WF. Structural Identification of Individual Helical Amyloid Filaments by Integration of Cryo-Electron Microscopy-Derived Maps in Comparative Morphometric Atomic Force Microscopy Image Analysis. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167466. [PMID: 35077765 PMCID: PMC9005780 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The presence of amyloid fibrils is a hallmark of more than 50 human disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases and systemic amyloidoses. A key unresolved challenge in understanding the involvement of amyloid in disease is to explain the relationship between individual structural polymorphs of amyloid fibrils, in potentially mixed populations, and the specific pathologies with which they are associated. Although cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy methods have been successfully employed in recent years to determine the structures of amyloid fibrils with high resolution detail, they rely on ensemble averaging of fibril structures in the entire sample or significant subpopulations. Here, we report a method for structural identification of individual fibril structures imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM) by integration of high-resolution maps of amyloid fibrils determined by cryo-EM in comparative AFM image analysis. This approach was demonstrated using the hitherto structurally unresolved amyloid fibrils formed in vitro from a fragment of tau (297-391), termed 'dGAE'. Our approach established unequivocally that dGAE amyloid fibrils bear no structural relationship to heparin-induced tau fibrils formed in vitro. Furthermore, our comparative analysis resulted in the prediction that dGAE fibrils are structurally closely related to the paired helical filaments (PHFs) isolated from Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain tissue characterised by cryo-EM. These results show the utility of individual particle structural analysis using AFM, provide a workflow of how cryo-EM data can be incorporated into AFM image analysis and facilitate an integrated structural analysis of amyloid polymorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liisa Lutter
- School of Biosciences, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NJ Canterbury, UK. https://twitter.com/LiisaLutter
| | - Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, BN1 9QG Falmer, Brighton, UK; Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Christopher J Serpell
- School of Physical Sciences, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NH Canterbury, UK. https://twitter.com/@SerpellLab
| | - Mick F Tuite
- School of Biosciences, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NJ Canterbury, UK
| | - Claude M Wischik
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK; TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, BN1 9QG Falmer, Brighton, UK. https://twitter.com/@Serpell1
| | - Wei-Feng Xue
- School of Biosciences, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NJ Canterbury, UK.
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13
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Lyu C, Da Vela S, Al-Hilaly Y, Marshall KE, Thorogate R, Svergun D, Serpell LC, Pastore A, Hanger DP. The Disease Associated Tau35 Fragment has an Increased Propensity to Aggregate Compared to Full-Length Tau. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:779240. [PMID: 34778381 PMCID: PMC8581542 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.779240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau35 is a truncated form of tau found in human brain in a subset of tauopathies. Tau35 expression in mice recapitulates key features of human disease, including progressive increase in tau phosphorylation, along with cognitive and motor dysfunction. The appearance of aggregated tau suggests that Tau35 may have structural properties distinct from those of other tau species that could account for its pathological role in disease. To address this hypothesis, we performed a structural characterization of monomeric and aggregated Tau35 and compared the results to those of two longer isoforms, 2N3R and 2N4R tau. We used small angle X-ray scattering to show that Tau35, 2N3R and 2N4R tau all behave as disordered monomeric species but Tau35 exhibits higher rigidity. In the presence of the poly-anion heparin, Tau35 increases thioflavin T fluorescence significantly faster and to a greater extent than full-length tau, demonstrating a higher propensity to aggregate. By using atomic force microscopy, circular dichroism, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray fiber diffraction, we provide evidence that Tau35 aggregation is mechanistically and morphologically similar to previously reported tau fibrils but they are more densely packed. These data increase our understanding of the aggregation inducing properties of clinically relevant tau fragments and their potentially damaging role in the pathogenesis of human tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Lyu
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stefano Da Vela
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Site, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Youssra Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Karen E. Marshall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Thorogate
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dmitri Svergun
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Site, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Annalisa Pastore
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Diane P. Hanger
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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14
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Devonport J, Bodnár N, McGown A, Bukar Maina M, Serpell LC, Kállay C, Spencer J, Kostakis GE. Salpyran: A Cu(II) Selective Chelator with Therapeutic Potential. Inorg Chem 2021; 60:15310-15320. [PMID: 34609139 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c01912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We report the rational design of a tunable Cu(II) chelating scaffold, 2-(((2-((pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)ethyl)amino)methyl)phenol, Salpyran (HL). This tetradentate ligand is predicated to have suitable permeation, has an extremely high affinity for Cu compared to clioquinol (pCu7.4 = 10.65 vs 5.91), and exhibits excellent selectivity for Cu(II) over Zn(II) in aqueous media. Solid and solution studies corroborate the formation of a stable [Cu(II)L]+ monocationic species at physiological pH values (7.4). Its action as an antioxidant was tested in ascorbate, tau, and human prion protein assays, which reveal that Salpyran prevents the formation of reactive oxygen species from the binary Cu(II)/H2O2 system, demonstrating its potential use as a therapeutic small molecule metal chelator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack Devonport
- Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom
| | - Nikolett Bodnár
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Andrew McGown
- Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom
| | - Mahmoud Bukar Maina
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, United Kingdom.,College of Medical Sciences, Yobe State University, KM 7, Sir Kashim Ibrahim Way, PMB 1144 Damaturu, Yobe State, Nigeria
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Csilla Kállay
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - John Spencer
- Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom
| | - George E Kostakis
- Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom
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15
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Maina MB, Al-Hilaly YK, Burra G, Rickard JE, Harrington CR, Wischik CM, Serpell LC. Oxidative Stress Conditions Result in Trapping of PHF-Core Tau (297-391) Intermediates. Cells 2021; 10:cells10030703. [PMID: 33809978 PMCID: PMC8005035 DOI: 10.3390/cells10030703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The self-assembly of tau into paired helical filaments (PHFs) in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) is a significant event in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Numerous post-translational modifications enhance or inhibit tau assembly into NFTs. Oxidative stress, which accompanies AD, induces multiple post-translational modifications in proteins, including the formation of dityrosine (DiY) cross-links. Previous studies have revealed that metal-catalysed oxidation (MCO) using Cu2+ and H2O2 leads to the formation of DiY cross-links in two misfolding proteins, Aβ and α-synuclein, associated with AD and Parkinson's disease respectively. The effect of MCO on tau remains unknown. Here, we examined the effect of MCO and ultra-violet oxidation to study the influence of DiY cross-linking on the self-assembly of the PHF-core tau fragment. We report that DiY cross-linking facilitates tau assembly into tau oligomers that fail to bind thioflavin S, lack β-sheet structure and prevents their elongation into filaments. At a higher concentration, Cu2+ (without H2O2) also facilitates the formation of these tau oligomers. The DiY cross-linked tau oligomers do not cause cell death. Our findings suggest that DiY cross-linking of pre-assembled tau promotes the formation of soluble tau oligomers that show no acute impact on cell viability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud B. Maina
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK; (M.B.M.); (Y.K.A.-H.); (G.B.)
- College of Medical Sciences, Yobe State University, Damaturu P.M.B. 1144, Nigeria
| | - Youssra K. Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK; (M.B.M.); (Y.K.A.-H.); (G.B.)
- Chemistry Department, College of Sciences, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Gunasekhar Burra
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK; (M.B.M.); (Y.K.A.-H.); (G.B.)
- Analytical Research and Development, Pharma Division, Biological E. Limited, Genome Valley, IKP-Shameerpet, Hyderabad 500 078, Telangana, India
| | - Janet E. Rickard
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZP, UK; (J.E.R.); (C.R.H.); (C.M.W.)
| | - Charles R. Harrington
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZP, UK; (J.E.R.); (C.R.H.); (C.M.W.)
- TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen AB24 5RP, UK
| | - Claude M. Wischik
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZP, UK; (J.E.R.); (C.R.H.); (C.M.W.)
- TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen AB24 5RP, UK
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK; (M.B.M.); (Y.K.A.-H.); (G.B.)
- Correspondence:
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16
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Burra G, Maina MB, Serpell LC, Thakur AK. Nucleation-dependent Aggregation Kinetics of Yeast Sup35 Fragment GNNQQNY. J Mol Biol 2020; 433:166732. [PMID: 33279578 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2020.166732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
An N-terminal hepta-peptide sequence of yeast prion protein Sup35 with the sequence GNNQQNY is widely used as a model system for amyloid fibril formation. In this study, we used a reproducible solubilisation protocol that allows the generation of a homogenous monomeric solution of GNNQQNY to uncover the molecular details of its self-assembly mechanism. The aggregation kinetics data show that the GNNQQNY sequence follows nucleation-dependent aggregation kinetics with a critical nucleus of size ~7 monomers and that the efficiency of nucleation were found to be inversely related to the reaction temperature. The nucleus reduces the thermodynamic energy barrier by acting as a template for further self-assembly and results in highly ordered amyloid fibrils. The fibers grown at different temperatures showed similar Thioflavin T fluorescence, Congo-red binding and β-sheet rich structures displaying a characteristic cross-β diffraction pattern. These aggregates also share morphological and structural identity with those reported earlier. The mature GNNQQNY fibers did not exert significant oxidative stress or cytotoxicity upon incubating with differentiated SHSY5Y cells. To our knowledge, this is the first study to experimentally validate previous nucleus size predictions based on theoretical and molecular dynamics simulations. These findings provide the basis for understanding the kinetics and thermodynamics of amyloid nucleation and elongation of amyloidogenic proteins/peptides associated with many systemic and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunasekhar Burra
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, UK.
| | - Mahmoud B Maina
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, UK; College of Medical Sciences, Yobe State University, Nigeria
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, UK
| | - Ashwani K Thakur
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India.
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17
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Martins PM, Navarro S, Silva A, Pinto MF, Sárkány Z, Figueiredo F, Pereira PJB, Pinheiro F, Bednarikova Z, Burdukiewicz M, Galzitskaya OV, Gazova Z, Gomes CM, Pastore A, Serpell LC, Skrabana R, Smirnovas V, Ziaunys M, Otzen DE, Ventura S, Macedo-Ribeiro S. MIRRAGGE - Minimum Information Required for Reproducible AGGregation Experiments. Front Mol Neurosci 2020; 13:582488. [PMID: 33328883 PMCID: PMC7729192 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2020.582488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Reports on phase separation and amyloid formation for multiple proteins and aggregation-prone peptides are recurrently used to explore the molecular mechanisms associated with several human diseases. The information conveyed by these reports can be used directly in translational investigation, e.g., for the design of better drug screening strategies, or be compiled in databases for benchmarking novel aggregation-predicting algorithms. Given that minute protocol variations determine different outcomes of protein aggregation assays, there is a strong urge for standardized descriptions of the different types of aggregates and the detailed methods used in their production. In an attempt to address this need, we assembled the Minimum Information Required for Reproducible Aggregation Experiments (MIRRAGGE) guidelines, considering first-principles and the established literature on protein self-assembly and aggregation. This consensus information aims to cover the major and subtle determinants of experimental reproducibility while avoiding excessive technical details that are of limited practical interest for non-specialized users. The MIRRAGGE table (template available in Supplementary Information) is useful as a guide for the design of new studies and as a checklist during submission of experimental reports for publication. Full disclosure of relevant information also enables other researchers to reproduce results correctly and facilitates systematic data deposition into curated databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro M Martins
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Susanna Navarro
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina - Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Alexandra Silva
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria F Pinto
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Zsuzsa Sárkány
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Francisco Figueiredo
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory - Department of Atomic Structure - Composition of Materials, Braga, Portugal
| | - Pedro José Barbosa Pereira
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Francisca Pinheiro
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina - Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Zuzana Bednarikova
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovakia
| | - Michał Burdukiewicz
- Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Oxana V Galzitskaya
- Institute of Protein Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russia.,Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russia
| | - Zuzana Gazova
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovakia
| | - Cláudio M Gomes
- Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute and Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Annalisa Pastore
- UK-DRI Centre at King's College London, the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Rostislav Skrabana
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Axon Neuroscience R&D Services SE, Bratislava, Slovakia.,Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Vytautas Smirnovas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Mantas Ziaunys
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Daniel E Otzen
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Salvador Ventura
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina - Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Sandra Macedo-Ribeiro
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
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18
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Oakley SS, Maina MB, Marshall KE, Al-Hilaly YK, Harrington CR, Wischik CM, Serpell LC. Tau Filament Self-Assembly and Structure: Tau as a Therapeutic Target. Front Neurol 2020; 11:590754. [PMID: 33281730 PMCID: PMC7688747 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2020.590754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau plays an important pathological role in a group of neurodegenerative diseases called tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and corticobasal degeneration. In each disease, tau self-assembles abnormally to form filaments that deposit in the brain. Tau is a natively unfolded protein that can adopt distinct structures in different pathological disorders. Cryo-electron microscopy has recently provided a series of structures for the core of the filaments purified from brain tissue from patients with different tauopathies and revealed that they share a common core region, while differing in their specific conformation. This structurally resolvable part of the core is contained within a proteolytically stable core region from the repeat domain initially isolated from AD tau filaments. Tau has recently become an important target for therapy. Recent work has suggested that the prevention of tau self-assembly may be effective in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. Here we review the work that explores the importance of tau filament structures and tau self-assembly mechanisms, as well as examining model systems that permit the exploration of the mode of action of potential inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian S Oakley
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Mahmoud B Maina
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,College of Medical Sciences, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria
| | - Karen E Marshall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Charlie R Harrington
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.,TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Claude M Wischik
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.,TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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19
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Vadukul DM, Maina M, Franklin H, Nardecchia A, Serpell LC, Marshall KE. Internalisation and toxicity of amyloid-β 1-42 are influenced by its conformation and assembly state rather than size. FEBS Lett 2020; 594:3490-3503. [PMID: 32871611 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils found in plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains are composed of amyloid-β peptides. Oligomeric amyloid-β 1-42 (Aβ42) is thought to play a critical role in neurodegeneration in AD. Here, we determine how size and conformation affect neurotoxicity and internalisation of Aβ42 assemblies using biophysical methods, immunoblotting, toxicity assays and live-cell imaging. We report significant cytotoxicity of Aβ42 oligomers and their internalisation into neurons. In contrast, Aβ42 fibrils show reduced internalisation and no toxicity. Sonicating Aβ42 fibrils generates species similar in size to oligomers but remains nontoxic. The results suggest that Aβ42 oligomers have unique properties that underlie their neurotoxic potential. Furthermore, we show that incubating cells with Aβ42 oligomers for 24 h is sufficient to trigger irreversible neurotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devkee M Vadukul
- Dementia Research group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, UK.,CEMO-Alzheimer Dementia group, Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mahmoud Maina
- Dementia Research group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, UK.,College of Medical Sciences, Yobe State University, Nigeria
| | - Hannah Franklin
- Dementia Research group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, UK
| | - Astrid Nardecchia
- Dementia Research group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Dementia Research group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, UK
| | - Karen E Marshall
- Dementia Research group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, UK
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20
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Aubrey LD, Blakeman BJF, Lutter L, Serpell CJ, Tuite MF, Serpell LC, Xue WF. Quantification of amyloid fibril polymorphism by nano-morphometry reveals the individuality of filament assembly. Commun Chem 2020; 3:125. [PMID: 36703355 PMCID: PMC9814634 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-020-00372-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils are highly polymorphic structures formed by many different proteins. They provide biological function but also abnormally accumulate in numerous human diseases. The physicochemical principles of amyloid polymorphism are not understood due to lack of structural insights at the single-fibril level. To identify and classify different fibril polymorphs and to quantify the level of heterogeneity is essential to decipher the precise links between amyloid structures and their functional and disease associated properties such as toxicity, strains, propagation and spreading. Employing gentle, force-distance curve-based AFM, we produce detailed images, from which the 3D reconstruction of individual filaments in heterogeneous amyloid samples is achieved. Distinctive fibril polymorphs are then classified by hierarchical clustering, and sample heterogeneity is objectively quantified. These data demonstrate the polymorphic nature of fibril populations, provide important information regarding the energy landscape of amyloid self-assembly, and offer quantitative insights into the structural basis of polymorphism in amyloid populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam D. Aubrey
- grid.9759.20000 0001 2232 2818Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ UK
| | - Ben J. F. Blakeman
- grid.9759.20000 0001 2232 2818Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ UK
| | - Liisa Lutter
- grid.9759.20000 0001 2232 2818Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ UK
| | - Christopher J. Serpell
- grid.9759.20000 0001 2232 2818School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NH UK
| | - Mick F. Tuite
- grid.9759.20000 0001 2232 2818Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ UK
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- grid.12082.390000 0004 1936 7590Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG UK
| | - Wei-Feng Xue
- grid.9759.20000 0001 2232 2818Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ UK
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21
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Ke PC, Zhou R, Serpell LC, Riek R, Knowles TPJ, Lashuel HA, Gazit E, Hamley IW, Davis TP, Fändrich M, Otzen DE, Chapman MR, Dobson CM, Eisenberg DS, Mezzenga R. Half a century of amyloids: past, present and future. Chem Soc Rev 2020; 49:5473-5509. [PMID: 32632432 PMCID: PMC7445747 DOI: 10.1039/c9cs00199a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 272] [Impact Index Per Article: 68.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Amyloid diseases are global epidemics with profound health, social and economic implications and yet remain without a cure. This dire situation calls for research into the origin and pathological manifestations of amyloidosis to stimulate continued development of new therapeutics. In basic science and engineering, the cross-β architecture has been a constant thread underlying the structural characteristics of pathological and functional amyloids, and realizing that amyloid structures can be both pathological and functional in nature has fuelled innovations in artificial amyloids, whose use today ranges from water purification to 3D printing. At the conclusion of a half century since Eanes and Glenner's seminal study of amyloids in humans, this review commemorates the occasion by documenting the major milestones in amyloid research to date, from the perspectives of structural biology, biophysics, medicine, microbiology, engineering and nanotechnology. We also discuss new challenges and opportunities to drive this interdisciplinary field moving forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pu Chun Ke
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 111 Yixueyuan Rd, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruhong Zhou
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York, 10027, USA
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Roland Riek
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tuomas P. J. Knowles
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J J Thomson Avenue, CB3 0HE, Cambridge, UK
| | - Hilal A. Lashuel
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Neuroproteomics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ehud Gazit
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ian W. Hamley
- School of Chemistry, Food Biosciences and Pharmacy, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD, UK
| | - Thomas P. Davis
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld 4072, Australia
| | - Marcus Fändrich
- Institute of Protein Biochemistry, Ulm University, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Daniel Erik Otzen
- Department of Molecular Biology, Center for Insoluble Protein Structures (inSPIN), Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Matthew R. Chapman
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Centre for Microbial Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, USA
| | - Christopher M. Dobson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - David S. Eisenberg
- Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Biological Chemistry, UCLA-DOE Institute and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Raffaele Mezzenga
- Department of Health Science & Technology, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, LFO, E23, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang Pauli Strasse 10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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22
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Pollack SJ, Trigg J, Khanom T, Biasetti L, Marshall KE, Al-Hilaly YK, Rickard JE, Harrington CR, Wischik CM, Serpell LC. Paired Helical Filament-Forming Region of Tau (297-391) Influences Endogenous Tau Protein and Accumulates in Acidic Compartments in Human Neuronal Cells. J Mol Biol 2020; 432:4891-4907. [PMID: 32681841 PMCID: PMC7427330 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2020.05.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Assembly of tau protein into paired helical filaments and straight filaments is a key feature of Alzheimer's disease. Aggregation of tau has been implicated in neurodegeneration, cellular toxicity and the propagation, which accompanies disease progression. We have reported previously that a region of tau (297–391), referred to as dGAE, assembles spontaneously in physiological conditions to form paired helical filament-like fibres in vitro in the absence of additives such as heparin. This provides a valuable tool with which to explore the effects of tau in cell culture. Here we have studied the cellular uptake of soluble oligomeric and fibrillar forms of dGAE and examined the downstream consequences of tau internalisation into differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells using fluorescence and electron microscopy alongside structural and biochemical analyses. The assembled dGAE shows more acute cytotoxicity than the soluble, non-aggregated form. Conversely, the soluble form is much more readily internalised and, once within the cell, is able to associate with endogenous tau resulting in increased phosphorylation and aggregation of endogenous tau, which accumulates in lysosomal/endosomal compartments. It appears that soluble oligomeric forms are able to propagate tau pathology without being acutely toxic. The model system we have developed now permits the molecular mechanisms of propagation of tau pathology to be studied in vitro in a more physiological manner with a view to development of novel therapeutic approaches. Tau297–391 aggregates to form filaments toxic to cells in the absence of additives. Internalisation of soluble tau297–391 into cells leads to increased insoluble Ptau. Soluble tau297–391 accumulates with endogenous tau in endo-lysosomal compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia J Pollack
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E. Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Jasmine Trigg
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E. Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Tahmida Khanom
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E. Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Luca Biasetti
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E. Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Karen E Marshall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E. Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E. Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK; Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Janet E Rickard
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, UK
| | - Charles R Harrington
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, UK; TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, AB24 5RP, UK
| | - Claude M Wischik
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, UK; TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, AB24 5RP, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E. Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK.
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23
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Lutter L, Serpell CJ, Tuite MF, Serpell LC, Xue WF. Three-dimensional reconstruction of individual helical nano-filament structures from atomic force microscopy topographs. Biomol Concepts 2020; 11:102-115. [PMID: 32374275 DOI: 10.1515/bmc-2020-0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Atomic force microscopy, AFM, is a powerful tool that can produce detailed topographical images of individual nano-structures with a high signal-to-noise ratio without the need for ensemble averaging. However, the application of AFM in structural biology has been hampered by the tip-sample convolution effect, which distorts images of nano-structures, particularly those that are of similar dimensions to the cantilever probe tips used in AFM. Here we show that the tip-sample convolution results in a feature-dependent and non-uniform distribution of image resolution on AFM topographs. We show how this effect can be utilised in structural studies of nano-sized upward convex objects such as spherical or filamentous molecular assemblies deposited on a flat surface, because it causes 'magnification' of such objects in AFM topographs. Subsequently, this enhancement effect is harnessed through contact-point based deconvolution of AFM topographs. Here, the application of this approach is demonstrated through the 3D reconstruction of the surface envelope of individual helical amyloid filaments without the need of cross-particle averaging using the contact-deconvoluted AFM topographs. Resolving the structural variations of individual macromolecular assemblies within inherently heterogeneous populations is paramount for mechanistic understanding of many biological phenomena such as amyloid toxicity and prion strains. The approach presented here will also facilitate the use of AFM for high-resolution structural studies and integrative structural biology analysis of single molecular assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liisa Lutter
- Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NJ, Canterbury, UK
| | | | - Mick F Tuite
- Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NJ, Canterbury, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, BN1 9QG, Falmer, Brighton, UK
| | - Wei-Feng Xue
- Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NJ, Canterbury, UK
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24
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Habila N, Kulkarni K, Lee TH, Al-Garawi ZS, Serpell LC, Aguilar MI, Del Borgo MP. Transition of Nano-Architectures Through Self-Assembly of Lipidated β 3-Tripeptide Foldamers. Front Chem 2020; 8:217. [PMID: 32296680 PMCID: PMC7136582 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
β3-peptides consisting exclusively of β3-amino acids adopt a variety of non-natural helical structures and can self-assemble into well-defined hierarchical structures by axial head-to-tail self-assembly resulting in fibrous materials of varying sizes and shapes. To allow control of fiber morphology, a lipid moiety was introduced within a tri-β3-peptide sequence at each of the three amino acid positions and the N-terminus to gain finer control over the lateral assembly of fibers. Depending on the position of the lipid, the self-assembled structures formed either twisted ribbon-like fibers or distinctive multilaminar nanobelts. The nanobelt structures were comprised of multiple layers of peptide fibrils as revealed by puncturing the surface of the nanobelts with an AFM probe. This stacking phenomenon was completely inhibited through changes in pH, indicating that the layer stacking was mediated by electrostatic interactions. Thus, the present study is the first to show controlled self-assembly of these fibrous structures, which is governed by the location of the acyl chain in combination with the 3-point H-bonding motif. Overall, the results demonstrate that the nanostructures formed by the β3-tripeptide foldamers can be tuned via sequential lipidation of N-acetyl β3-tripeptides which control the lateral interactions between peptide fibrils and provide defined structures with a greater homogeneous population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Habila
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Ketav Kulkarni
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Tzong-Hsien Lee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Zahraa S Al-Garawi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Chemistry Department, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Marie-Isabel Aguilar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Mark P Del Borgo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Department of Pharmacology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
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25
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Marshall KE, Vadukul DM, Staras K, Serpell LC. Misfolded amyloid-β-42 impairs the endosomal-lysosomal pathway. Cell Mol Life Sci 2020; 77:5031-5043. [PMID: 32025743 PMCID: PMC7658065 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03464-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Misfolding and aggregation of proteins is strongly linked to several neurodegenerative diseases, but how such species bring about their cytotoxic actions remains poorly understood. Here we used specifically-designed optical reporter probes and live fluorescence imaging in primary hippocampal neurons to characterise the mechanism by which prefibrillar, oligomeric forms of the Alzheimer’s-associated peptide, Aβ42, exert their detrimental effects. We used a pH-sensitive reporter, Aβ42-CypHer, to track Aβ internalisation in real-time, demonstrating that oligomers are rapidly taken up into cells in a dynamin-dependent manner, and trafficked via the endo-lysosomal pathway resulting in accumulation in lysosomes. In contrast, a non-assembling variant of Aβ42 (vAβ42) assayed in the same way is not internalised. Tracking ovalbumin uptake into cells using CypHer or Alexa Fluor tags shows that preincubation with Aβ42 disrupts protein uptake. Our results identify a potential mechanism by which amyloidogenic aggregates impair cellular function through disruption of the endosomal–lysosomal pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen E Marshall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Devkee M Vadukul
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Kevin Staras
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK.
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK.
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26
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Al-Hilaly YK, Foster BE, Biasetti L, Lutter L, Pollack SJ, Rickard JE, Storey JMD, Harrington CR, Xue WF, Wischik CM, Serpell LC. Tau (297-391) forms filaments that structurally mimic the core of paired helical filaments in Alzheimer's disease brain. FEBS Lett 2019; 594:944-950. [PMID: 31721178 PMCID: PMC7078754 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The constituent paired helical filaments (PHFs) in neurofibrillary tangles are insoluble intracellular deposits central to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Full-length tau requires the addition of anionic cofactors such as heparin to enhance assembly. We have shown that a fragment from the proteolytically stable core of the PHF, tau 297-391 known as 'dGAE', spontaneously forms cross-β-containing PHFs and straight filaments under physiological conditions. Here, we have analysed and compared the structures of the filaments formed by dGAE in vitro with those deposited in the brains of individuals diagnosed with AD. We show that dGAE forms PHFs that share a macromolecular structure similar to those found in brain tissue. Thus, dGAEs may serve as a model system for studying core domain assembly and for screening for inhibitors of tau aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- Dementia Research Group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, E Sussex, UK.,Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Bronwen E Foster
- Dementia Research Group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, E Sussex, UK
| | - Luca Biasetti
- Dementia Research Group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, E Sussex, UK
| | - Liisa Lutter
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Saskia J Pollack
- Dementia Research Group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, E Sussex, UK
| | | | - John M D Storey
- Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, UK.,TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, UK
| | - Charles R Harrington
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK.,TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, UK
| | - Wei-Feng Xue
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Claude M Wischik
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK.,TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Dementia Research Group, Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, E Sussex, UK
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27
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Sampani SI, Al-Hilaly YK, Malik S, Serpell LC, Kostakis GE. Zinc-dysprosium functionalized amyloid fibrils. Dalton Trans 2019; 48:15371-15375. [PMID: 31107476 DOI: 10.1039/c9dt01134j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The heterometallic Zn2Dy2 entity bearing partially saturated metal centres covalently decorates a highly ordered amyloid fibril core and the functionalised assembly exhibits catalytic Lewis acid behaviour.
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28
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McAulay K, Dietrich B, Su H, Scott MT, Rogers S, Al-Hilaly YK, Cui H, Serpell LC, Seddon AM, Draper ER, Adams DJ. Using chirality to influence supramolecular gelation. Chem Sci 2019; 10:7801-7806. [PMID: 31588329 PMCID: PMC6761870 DOI: 10.1039/c9sc02239b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Most low molecular weight gelators are chiral, with racemic mixtures often unable to form gels. Here, we show an example where all enantiomers, diastereomers and racemates of a single functionalized dipeptide can form gels. At high pH, different self-assembled aggregates are formed and these directly template the structures formed in the gel. Hence, solutions and gels with different properties can be accessed simply by varying the chirality. This opens up new design rules for the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate McAulay
- School of Chemistry , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , G12 8QQ , UK .
| | - Bart Dietrich
- School of Chemistry , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , G12 8QQ , UK .
| | - Hao Su
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , Whiting School of Engineering , Johns Hopkins University , 3400 North Charles Street , Baltimore , MD 21218 , USA
| | - Michael T Scott
- School of Chemistry , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , G12 8QQ , UK .
| | - Sarah Rogers
- ISIS Pulsed Neutron Source , Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Didcot , OX11 0QX , UK
| | - Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- School of Life Sciences , University of Sussex , Falmer , UK
- Chemistry Department , College of Science , Mustansiriyah University , Baghdad , Iraq
| | - Honggang Cui
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , Whiting School of Engineering , Johns Hopkins University , 3400 North Charles Street , Baltimore , MD 21218 , USA
| | | | - Annela M Seddon
- School of Physics , HH Wills Physics Laboratory , University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue , Bristol , BS8 1TL , UK
- Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials , HH Wills Physics Laboratory , University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue , Bristol , BS8 1TL , UK
| | - Emily R Draper
- School of Chemistry , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , G12 8QQ , UK .
| | - Dave J Adams
- School of Chemistry , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , G12 8QQ , UK .
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29
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Abstract
Many proteins and peptides are able to self-assemble in solution in vitro and in vivo to form amyloid-like fibrils. These fibrils share common structural characteristics. In order for a fibril to be characterized as amyloid, it is expected to fit certain criteria including the composition of cross-β. Here we describe how the formation of amyloid fibrils can be characterized in vitro using a variety of methods including circular dichroism and intrinsic tyrosine/tryptophan fluoresence to follow conformational changes; Thioflavin and/or ThS assembly to monitor nucleation and growth; transmission electron microscopy to visualize fibrillar morphology and X-ray fiber diffraction to examine cross-β structure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, East Sussex, UK
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
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30
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Erskine E, Morris RJ, Schor M, Earl C, Gillespie RMC, Bromley KM, Sukhodub T, Clark L, Fyfe PK, Serpell LC, Stanley‐Wall NR, MacPhee CE. Formation of functional, non-amyloidogenic fibres by recombinant Bacillus subtilis TasA. Mol Microbiol 2018; 110:897-913. [PMID: 29802781 PMCID: PMC6334530 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial biofilms are communities of microbial cells encased within a self-produced polymeric matrix. In the Bacillus subtilis biofilm matrix, the extracellular fibres of TasA are essential. Here, a recombinant expression system allows interrogation of TasA, revealing that monomeric and fibre forms of TasA have identical secondary structure, suggesting that fibrous TasA is a linear assembly of globular units. Recombinant TasA fibres form spontaneously, and share the biological activity of TasA fibres extracted from B. subtilis, whereas a TasA variant restricted to a monomeric form is inactive and subjected to extracellular proteolysis. The biophysical properties of both native and recombinant TasA fibres indicate that they are not functional amyloid-like fibres. A gel formed by TasA fibres can recover after physical shear force, suggesting that the biofilm matrix is not static and that these properties may enable B. subtilis to remodel its local environment in response to external cues. Using recombinant fibres formed by TasA orthologues we uncover species variability in the ability of heterologous fibres to cross-complement the B. subtilis tasA deletion. These findings are indicative of specificity in the biophysical requirements of the TasA fibres across different species and/or reflect the precise molecular interactions needed for biofilm matrix assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliot Erskine
- Division of Molecular Microbiology, School of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeDundeeDD1 4HNUK
| | - Ryan J. Morris
- James Clerk Maxwell Building, School of Physics, and AstronomyUniversity of Edinburgh, The Kings Buildings, Peter Guthrie Tait RoadEdinburghEH9 3FDUK
| | - Marieke Schor
- James Clerk Maxwell Building, School of Physics, and AstronomyUniversity of Edinburgh, The Kings Buildings, Peter Guthrie Tait RoadEdinburghEH9 3FDUK
| | - Chris Earl
- Division of Molecular Microbiology, School of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeDundeeDD1 4HNUK
| | - Rachel M. C. Gillespie
- Division of Molecular Microbiology, School of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeDundeeDD1 4HNUK
| | - Keith M. Bromley
- James Clerk Maxwell Building, School of Physics, and AstronomyUniversity of Edinburgh, The Kings Buildings, Peter Guthrie Tait RoadEdinburghEH9 3FDUK
| | - Tetyana Sukhodub
- Division of Molecular Microbiology, School of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeDundeeDD1 4HNUK
| | - Lauren Clark
- James Clerk Maxwell Building, School of Physics, and AstronomyUniversity of Edinburgh, The Kings Buildings, Peter Guthrie Tait RoadEdinburghEH9 3FDUK
| | - Paul K. Fyfe
- Division of Molecular Microbiology, School of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeDundeeDD1 4HNUK
| | | | - Nicola R. Stanley‐Wall
- Division of Molecular Microbiology, School of Life SciencesUniversity of DundeeDundeeDD1 4HNUK
| | - Cait E. MacPhee
- James Clerk Maxwell Building, School of Physics, and AstronomyUniversity of Edinburgh, The Kings Buildings, Peter Guthrie Tait RoadEdinburghEH9 3FDUK
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31
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Christofferson AJ, Al-Garawi ZS, Todorova N, Turner J, Del Borgo MP, Serpell LC, Aguilar MI, Yarovsky I. Identifying the Coiled-Coil Triple Helix Structure of β-Peptide Nanofibers at Atomic Resolution. ACS Nano 2018; 12:9101-9109. [PMID: 30157375 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b03131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Peptide self-assembly represents a powerful bottom-up approach to the fabrication of nanomaterials. β3-Peptides are non-natural peptides composed entirely of β-amino acids, which have an extra methylene in the backbone, and we reported fibers derived from the self-assembly of β3-peptides that adopt 14-helical structures. β3-Peptide assemblies represent a class of stable nanomaterials that can be used to generate bio- and magneto-responsive materials with proteolytic stability. However, the three-dimensional structure of many of these materials remains unknown. To develop structure-based criteria for the design of β3-peptide-based biomaterials with tailored function, we investigated the structure of a tri-β3-peptide nanoassembly by molecular dynamics simulations and X-ray fiber diffraction analysis. Diffraction data was collected from aligned fibrils formed by Ac-β3[LIA] in water and used to inform and validate the model structure. Models with 3-fold radial symmetry resulted in stable fibers with a triple-helical coiled-coil motif and measurable helical pitch and periodicity. The fiber models revealed a hydrophobic core and twist along the fiber axis arising from a maximization of contacts between hydrophobic groups of adjacent tripeptides on the solvent-exposed fiber surface. These atomic structures of macroscale fibers derived from β3-peptide-based materials provide valuable insight into the effects of the geometric placement of the side chains and the influence of solvent on the core fiber structure which is perpetuated in the superstructure morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zahraa S Al-Garawi
- School of Life Sciences , University of Sussex , Falmer , East Sussex BN1 9QG , U.K
- Chemistry Department , Mustansiriyah University , Baghdad Iraq
| | - Nevena Todorova
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , Victoria 3001 , Australia
| | - Jack Turner
- School of Life Sciences , University of Sussex , Falmer , East Sussex BN1 9QG , U.K
| | - Mark P Del Borgo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Biomedicine Discovery Institute , Monash University , Melbourne , Victoria 3800 , Australia
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences , University of Sussex , Falmer , East Sussex BN1 9QG , U.K
| | - Marie-Isabel Aguilar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Biomedicine Discovery Institute , Monash University , Melbourne , Victoria 3800 , Australia
| | - Irene Yarovsky
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , Victoria 3001 , Australia
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32
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Al-Hilaly YK, Pollack SJ, Rickard JE, Simpson M, Raulin AC, Baddeley T, Schellenberger P, Storey JMD, Harrington CR, Wischik CM, Serpell LC. Cysteine-Independent Inhibition of Alzheimer's Disease-like Paired Helical Filament Assembly by Leuco-Methylthioninium (LMT). J Mol Biol 2018; 430:4119-4131. [PMID: 30121297 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2018.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is a tauopathy characterized by pathological fibrillization of tau protein to form the paired helical filaments (PHFs), which constitute neurofibrillary tangles. The methylthioninium (MT) moiety reverses the proteolytic stability of the PHF core and is in clinical development for treatment of Alzheimer's disease in a stable reduced form as leuco-MT. It has been hypothesized that MT acts via oxidation of cysteine residues, which is incompatible with activity in the predominantly reducing environment of living cells. We have shown recently that the PHF-core tau unit assembles spontaneously in vitro to form PHF-like filaments. Here we describe studies using circular dichroism, SDS-PAGE, transmission electron microscopy and site-directed mutagenesis to elucidate the mechanism of action of the MT moiety. We show that MT inhibitory activity is optimal in reducing conditions, that the active moiety is the reduced leuco-MT form of the molecule and that its mechanism of action is cysteine independent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- Dementia Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom; Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Saskia J Pollack
- Dementia Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Janet E Rickard
- Institute of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Simpson
- TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, United Kingdom; Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, United Kingdom
| | - Ana-Caroline Raulin
- Dementia Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Baddeley
- TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, United Kingdom; Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, United Kingdom
| | - Pascale Schellenberger
- Dementia Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - John M D Storey
- TauRx Therapeutics Ltd., Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, United Kingdom; Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, United Kingdom
| | - Charles R Harrington
- Institute of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, United Kingdom; Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, United Kingdom
| | - Claude M Wischik
- Institute of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZP, United Kingdom; Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, United Kingdom.
| | - Louise C Serpell
- Dementia Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, E Sussex, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom.
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33
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Maina MB, Bailey LJ, Doherty AJ, Serpell LC. The Involvement of Aβ42 and Tau in Nucleolar and Protein Synthesis Machinery Dysfunction. Front Cell Neurosci 2018; 12:220. [PMID: 30123109 PMCID: PMC6086011 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is distinguished from other dementias by observation of extracellular Amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, comprised of fibrils of Aβ and tau protein, respectively. At early stages, AD is characterized by minimal neurodegeneration, oxidative stress, nucleolar stress, and altered protein synthesis machinery. It is generally believed that Aβ oligomers are the neurotoxic species and their levels in the AD brain correlate with the severity of dementia suggesting that they play a critical role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Here, we show that the incubation of differentiated human neuroblastoma cells (SHSY5Y) with freshly prepared Aβ42 oligomers initially resulted in oxidative stress and subtle nucleolar stress in the absence of DNA damage or cell death. The presence of exogenous Aβ oligomers resulted in altered nuclear tau levels as well as phosphorylation state, leading to altered distribution of nucleolar tau associated with nucleolar stress. These markers of cellular dysfunction worsen over time alongside a reduction in ribosomal RNA synthesis and processing, a decrease in global level of newly synthesized RNA and reduced protein synthesis. The interplay between Aβ and tau in AD remains intriguing and Aβ toxicity has been linked to tau phosphorylation and changes in localization. These findings provide evidence for the involvement of Aβ42 effects on nucleolar tau and protein synthesis machinery dysfunction in cultured cells. Protein synthesis dysfunction is observed in mild cognitive impairment and early AD in the absence of significant neuronal death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud B Maina
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Department of Human Anatomy, College of Medical Sciences, Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria
| | - Laura J Bailey
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Aidan J Doherty
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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34
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Maina MB, Bailey LJ, Wagih S, Biasetti L, Pollack SJ, Quinn JP, Thorpe JR, Doherty AJ, Serpell LC. The involvement of tau in nucleolar transcription and the stress response. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2018; 6:70. [PMID: 30064522 PMCID: PMC6066928 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-018-0565-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau is known for its pathological role in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Tau is found in many subcellular compartments such as the cytosol and the nucleus. Although its normal role in microtubule binding is well established, its nuclear role is still unclear. Here, we reveal that tau localises to the nucleolus in undifferentiated and differentiated neuroblastoma cells (SHSY5Y), where it associates with TIP5, a key player in heterochromatin stability and ribosomal DNA (rDNA) transcriptional repression. Immunogold labelling on human brain sample confirms the physiological relevance of this finding by showing tau within the nucleolus colocalises with TIP5. Depletion of tau results in an increase in rDNA transcription with an associated decrease in heterochromatin and DNA methylation, suggesting that under normal conditions tau is involved in silencing of the rDNA. Cellular stress induced by glutamate causes nucleolar stress associated with the redistribution of nucleolar non-phosphorylated tau, in a similar manner to fibrillarin, and nuclear upsurge of phosphorylated tau (Thr231) which doesn't colocalise with fibrillarin or nucleolar tau. This suggests that stress may impact on different nuclear tau species. In addition to involvement in rDNA transcription, nucleolar non-phosphorylated tau also undergoes stress-induced redistribution similar to many nucleolar proteins.
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MESH Headings
- Brain/metabolism
- Brain/ultrastructure
- Cell Differentiation/physiology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cell Nucleolus/drug effects
- Cell Nucleolus/metabolism
- Cell Nucleolus/ultrastructure
- Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/metabolism
- Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/ultrastructure
- DNA, Ribosomal/genetics
- DNA, Ribosomal/metabolism
- Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists/pharmacology
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/drug effects
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/genetics
- Glutamic Acid/pharmacology
- Heterochromatin/physiology
- Histones/metabolism
- Humans
- Immunoprecipitation
- Microscopy, Confocal
- Microscopy, Electron
- Neuroblastoma/pathology
- Neuroblastoma/ultrastructure
- Nuclear Proteins/genetics
- Nuclear Proteins/metabolism
- Protein Transport/drug effects
- RNA, Messenger
- RNA, Small Interfering/genetics
- RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism
- Transcription, Genetic/drug effects
- Transfection
- tau Proteins/genetics
- tau Proteins/metabolism
- tau Proteins/ultrastructure
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud B Maina
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Medical Science, Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria
| | - Laura J Bailey
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RQ, UK
| | - Sherin Wagih
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Luca Biasetti
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Saskia J Pollack
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - James P Quinn
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Julian R Thorpe
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Aidan J Doherty
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RQ, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9QG, UK.
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35
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Al-Hilaly YK, Pollack SJ, Vadukul DM, Citossi F, Rickard JE, Simpson M, Storey JM, Harrington CR, Wischik CM, Serpell LC. Alzheimer's Disease-like Paired Helical Filament Assembly from Truncated Tau Protein Is Independent of Disulfide Crosslinking. J Mol Biol 2017; 429:3650-3665. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2017.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2017] [Revised: 09/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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36
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Al-Garawi ZS, Morris KL, Marshall KE, Eichler J, Serpell LC. The diversity and utility of amyloid fibrils formed by short amyloidogenic peptides. Interface Focus 2017; 7:20170027. [PMID: 29147557 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2017.0027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyloidogenic peptides are well known for their involvement in diseases such as type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. However, more recently, amyloid fibrils have been shown to provide scaffolding and protection as functional materials in a range of organisms from bacteria to humans. These roles highlight the incredible tensile strength of the cross-β amyloid architecture. Many amino acid sequences are able to self-assemble to form amyloid with a cross-β core. Here we describe our recent advances in understanding how sequence contributes to amyloidogenicity and structure. For example, we describe penta- and hexapeptides that assemble to form different morphologies; a 12mer peptide that forms fibrous crystals; and an eight-residue peptide originating from α-synuclein that has the ability to form nanotubes. This work provides a wide range of peptides that may be exploited as fibrous bionanomaterials. These fibrils provide a scaffold upon which functional groups may be added, or templated assembly may be performed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahraa S Al-Garawi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex BN1 9QG, UK.,Chemistry Department, College of Sciences, Al-Mustansyria University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Kyle L Morris
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Karen E Marshall
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Jutta Eichler
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex BN1 9QG, UK
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37
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Al-Garawi ZS, McIntosh BA, Neill-Hall D, Hatimy AA, Sweet SM, Bagley MC, Serpell LC. The amyloid architecture provides a scaffold for enzyme-like catalysts. Nanoscale 2017; 9:10773-10783. [PMID: 28722055 DOI: 10.1039/c7nr02675g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Natural biological enzymes possess catalytic sites that are generally surrounded by a large three-dimensional scaffold. However, the proportion of the protein molecule that participates in the catalytic reaction is relatively small. The generation of artificial or miniature enzymes has long been a focus of research because enzyme mimetics can be produced with high activity at low cost. These enzymes aim to mimic the active sites without the additional architecture contributed by the protein chain. Previous work has shown that amyloidogenic peptides are able to self-assemble to create an active site that is capable of binding zinc and catalysing an esterase reaction. Here, we describe the structural characterisation of a set of designed peptides that form an amyloid-like architecture and reveal that their capability to mimic carbonic anhydrase and serve as enzyme-like catalysts is related to their ability to self-assemble. These amyloid fibril structures can bind the metal ion Zn2+via a three-dimensional arrangement of His residues created by the amyloid architecture. Our results suggest that the catalytic efficiency of amyloid-like assembly is not only zinc-dependent but also depends on an active centre created by the peptides which is, in turn, dependent on the ordered architecture. These fibrils have good esterase activity, and they may serve as good models for the evolution of modern-day enzymes. Furthermore, they may be useful in designing self-assembling fibrils for applications as metal ion catalysts. This study also demonstrates that the ligands surrounding the catalytic site affect the affinity of the zinc-binding site to bind the substrate contributing to the enzymatic activity of the assembled peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z S Al-Garawi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK.
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38
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Ardoña HAM, Draper ER, Citossi F, Wallace M, Serpell LC, Adams DJ, Tovar JD. Kinetically Controlled Coassembly of Multichromophoric Peptide Hydrogelators and the Impacts on Energy Transport. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 139:8685-8692. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b04006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Emily R. Draper
- School
of Chemistry, WESTChem, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca Citossi
- School
of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Wallace
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- School
of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Dave J. Adams
- School
of Chemistry, WESTChem, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
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39
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Kubánková M, López-Duarte I, Bull JA, Vadukul DM, Serpell LC, de Saint Victor M, Stride E, Kuimova MK. Probing supramolecular protein assembly using covalently attached fluorescent molecular rotors. Biomaterials 2017. [PMID: 28622603 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Changes in microscopic viscosity and macromolecular crowding accompany the transition of proteins from their monomeric forms into highly organised fibrillar states. Previously, we have demonstrated that viscosity sensitive fluorophores termed 'molecular rotors', when freely mixed with monomers of interest, are able to report on changes in microrheology accompanying amyloid formation, and measured an increase in rigidity of approximately three orders of magnitude during aggregation of lysozyme and insulin. Here we extend this strategy by covalently attaching molecular rotors to several proteins capable of assembly into fibrils, namely lysozyme, fibrinogen and amyloid-β peptide (Aβ(1-42)). We demonstrate that upon covalent attachment the molecular rotors can successfully probe supramolecular assembly in vitro. Importantly, our new strategy has wider applications in cellulo and in vivo, since covalently attached molecular rotors can be successfully delivered in situ and will colocalise with the aggregating protein, for example inside live cells. This important advantage allowed us to follow the microscopic viscosity changes accompanying blood clotting and during Aβ(1-42) aggregation in live SH-SY5Y cells. Our results demonstrate that covalently attached molecular rotors are a widely applicable tool to study supramolecular protein assembly and can reveal microrheological features of aggregating protein systems both in vitro and in cellulo not observable through classical fluorescent probes operating in light switch mode.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markéta Kubánková
- Chemistry Department, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Ismael López-Duarte
- Chemistry Department, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - James A Bull
- Chemistry Department, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Devkee M Vadukul
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
| | | | - Eleanor Stride
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Marina K Kuimova
- Chemistry Department, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
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40
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Ford L, Crossley M, Vadukul DM, Kemenes G, Serpell LC. Structure-dependent effects of amyloid-β on long-term memory in Lymnaea stagnalis. FEBS Lett 2017; 591:1236-1246. [PMID: 28337747 PMCID: PMC5435943 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.12633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Revised: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Amyloid‐β (Aβ) peptides are implicated in the causation of memory loss, neuronal impairment, and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. Our recent work revealed that Aβ 1–42 and Aβ 25–35 inhibit long‐term memory (LTM) recall in Lymnaea stagnalis (pond snail) in the absence of cell death. Here, we report the characterization of the active species prepared under different conditions, describe which Aβ species is present in brain tissue during the behavioral recall time point and relate the sequence and structure of the oligomeric species to the resulting neuronal properties and effect on LTM. Our results suggest that oligomers are the key toxic Aβ1–42 structures, which likely affect LTM through synaptic plasticity pathways, and that Aβ 1–42 and Aβ 25–35 cannot be used as interchangeable peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenzie Ford
- Sussex NeuroscienceSchool of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
- Present address: Department of NeuroscienceColumbia UniversityNew YorkNY10032USA
- Present address: Howard Hughes Medical InstituteColumbia UniversityNew YorkNY10032USA
| | - Michael Crossley
- Sussex NeuroscienceSchool of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
| | - Devkee M. Vadukul
- Sussex NeuroscienceSchool of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
| | - György Kemenes
- Sussex NeuroscienceSchool of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
| | - Louise C. Serpell
- Sussex NeuroscienceSchool of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
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41
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Louise C Serpell
- b School of Life Sciences , University of Sussex , Brighton , UK
| | | | - Mitsuyasu Toyoda
- d Department of Surgical Pathology , Tokyo Medical College Hospital Nishishinjuku , Sinjuku-ku , Tokyo , Japan
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42
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Colquhoun C, Draper ER, Schweins R, Marcello M, Vadukul D, Serpell LC, Adams DJ. Controlling the network type in self-assembled dipeptide hydrogels. Soft Matter 2017; 13:1914-1919. [PMID: 28186211 DOI: 10.1039/c6sm02666d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
We show that the same low molecular weight gelator can form gels using three different methods. Gels were formed from a high pH solution either by adding a salt or by adding an acid; gels were also formed by adding water to a solution of the gelator in an organic solvent. The mechanical properties for the gels formed by the different methods are different from one another. We link this to the network type that is formed, as well as the fibrous structures that are formed. The salt-triggered gels show a significant number of fibres that tend to align. The acid-triggered gels contain many thin fibres, which form an entangled network. The solvent-triggered gels show the presence of spherulitic domains. We show that it is tractable to vary the trigger mechanism for an established, robust gelator to prepare gels with targeted properties as opposed to synthesising new gelators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Colquhoun
- Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering - School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Emily R Draper
- School of Chemistry, Joseph Black Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
| | - Ralf Schweins
- Institut Laue-Langevin, Large Scale Structures Group, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 20156, F-38042 Grenoble CEDEX 9, France
| | - Marco Marcello
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Devkee Vadukul
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Dave J Adams
- School of Chemistry, Joseph Black Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
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43
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Vadukul DM, Gbajumo O, Marshall KE, Serpell LC. Amyloidogenicity and toxicity of the reverse and scrambled variants of amyloid-β 1-42. FEBS Lett 2017; 591:822-830. [PMID: 28185264 PMCID: PMC5363225 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.12590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
β‐amyloid 1‐42 (Aβ1‐42) is a self‐assembling peptide that goes through many conformational and morphological changes before forming the fibrils that are deposited in extracellular plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. The link between Aβ1‐42 structure and toxicity is of major interest, in particular, the neurotoxic potential of oligomeric species. Many studies utilise reversed (Aβ42‐1) and scrambled (AβS) forms of amyloid‐β as control peptides. Here, using circular dichroism, thioflavin T fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy, we reveal that both control peptides self‐assemble to form fibres within 24 h. However, oligomeric Aβ reduces cell survival of hippocampal neurons, while Aβ42‐1 and Aβs have reduced effect on cellular health, which may arise from their ability to assemble rapidly to form protofibrils and fibrils.
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44
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Al-Hilaly YK, Biasetti L, Blakeman BJF, Pollack SJ, Zibaee S, Abdul-Sada A, Thorpe JR, Xue WF, Serpell LC. The involvement of dityrosine crosslinking in α-synuclein assembly and deposition in Lewy Bodies in Parkinson's disease. Sci Rep 2016; 6:39171. [PMID: 27982082 PMCID: PMC5159849 DOI: 10.1038/srep39171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by intracellular, insoluble Lewy bodies composed of highly stable α-synuclein (α-syn) amyloid fibrils. α-synuclein is an intrinsically disordered protein that has the capacity to assemble to form β-sheet rich fibrils. Oxidiative stress and metal rich environments have been implicated in triggering assembly. Here, we have explored the composition of Lewy bodies in post-mortem tissue using electron microscopy and immunogold labeling and revealed dityrosine crosslinks in Lewy bodies in brain tissue from PD patients. In vitro, we show that dityrosine cross-links in α-syn are formed by covalent ortho-ortho coupling of two tyrosine residues under conditions of oxidative stress by fluorescence and confirmed using mass-spectrometry. A covalently cross-linked dimer isolated by SDS-PAGE and mass analysis showed that dityrosine dimer was formed via the coupling of Y39-Y39 to give a homo dimer peptide that may play a key role in formation of oligomeric and seeds for fibril formation. Atomic force microscopy analysis reveals that the covalent dityrosine contributes to the stabilization of α-syn assemblies. Thus, the presence of oxidative stress induced dityrosine could play an important role in assembly and toxicity of α-syn in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK.,College of Sciences, Chemistry Department, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Luca Biasetti
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Ben J F Blakeman
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Saskia J Pollack
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Shahin Zibaee
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, MRC Centre, Hills Rd, Cambridge, CB2 OQH, UK
| | - Alaa Abdul-Sada
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Julian R Thorpe
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Wei-Feng Xue
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
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Al-Garawi ZS, Kostakis GE, Serpell LC. Chemically and thermally stable silica nanowires with a β-sheet peptide core for bionanotechnology. J Nanobiotechnology 2016; 14:79. [PMID: 27905946 PMCID: PMC5134108 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-016-0231-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A series of amyloidogenic peptides based on the sequence KFFEAAAKKFFE template the silica precursor, tetraethyl orthosilicate to form silica-nanowires containing a cross-β peptide core. RESULTS Investigation of the stability of these fibres reveals that the silica layers protect the silica-nanowires allowing them to maintain their shape and physical and chemical properties after incubation with organic solvents such as 2-propanol, ethanol, and acetonitrile, as well as in a strong acidic solution at pH 1.5. Furthermore, these nanowires were thermally stable in an aqueous solution when heated up to 70 °C, and upon autoclaving. They also preserved their conformation following incubation up to 4 weeks under these harsh conditions, and showed exceptionally high physical stability up to 1000 °C after ageing for 12 months. We show that they maintain their β-sheet peptide core even after harsh treatment by confirming the β-sheet content using Fourier transform infrared spectra. The silica nanowires show significantly higher chemical and thermal stability compared to the unsiliconised fibrils. CONCLUSIONS The notable chemical and thermal stability of these silica nanowires points to their potential for use in microelectromechanics processes or fabrication for nanotechnological devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahraa S Al-Garawi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, East Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK.,Chemistry Department, College of Sciences, Al-Mustansyria University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - George E Kostakis
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, East Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, East Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK.
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46
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Marshall KE, Vadukul DM, Dahal L, Theisen A, Fowler MW, Al-Hilaly Y, Ford L, Kemenes G, Day IJ, Staras K, Serpell LC. A critical role for the self-assembly of Amyloid-β1-42 in neurodegeneration. Sci Rep 2016; 6:30182. [PMID: 27443509 PMCID: PMC4957119 DOI: 10.1038/srep30182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2016] [Accepted: 06/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyloid β1-42 (Aβ1-42) plays a central role in Alzheimer’s disease. The link between structure, assembly and neuronal toxicity of this peptide is of major current interest but still poorly defined. Here, we explored this relationship by rationally designing a variant form of Aβ1-42 (vAβ1-42) differing in only two amino acids. Unlike Aβ1-42, we found that the variant does not self-assemble, nor is it toxic to neuronal cells. Moreover, while Aβ1-42 oligomers impact on synaptic function, vAβ1-42 does not. In a living animal model system we demonstrate that only Aβ1-42 leads to memory deficits. Our findings underline a key role for peptide sequence in the ability to assemble and form toxic structures. Furthermore, our non-toxic variant satisfies an unmet demand for a closely related control peptide for Aβ1-42 cellular studies of disease pathology, offering a new opportunity to decipher the mechanisms that accompany Aβ1-42-induced toxicity leading to neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen E Marshall
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Devkee M Vadukul
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Liza Dahal
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Alina Theisen
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Milena W Fowler
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Youssra Al-Hilaly
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK.,College of Sciences, Chemistry Department, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Lenzie Ford
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - György Kemenes
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Iain J Day
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Kevin Staras
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
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48
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Abstract
Tau protein, found in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells, forms aggregates in neurons that constitutes one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For nearly four decades, research efforts have focused more on tau’s role in physiology and pathology in the context of the microtubules, even though, for over three decades, tau has been localised in the nucleus and the nucleolus. Its nuclear and nucleolar localisation had stimulated many questions regarding its role in these compartments. Data from cell culture, mouse brain, and the human brain suggests that nuclear tau could be essential for genome defense against cellular distress. However, its nature of translocation to the nucleus, its nuclear conformation and interaction with the DNA and other nuclear proteins highly suggest it could play multiple roles in the nucleus. To find efficient tau-based therapies, there is a need to understand more about the functional relevance of the varied cellular distribution of tau, identify whether specific tau transcripts or isoforms could predict tau’s localisation and function and how they are altered in diseases like AD. Here, we explore the cellular distribution of tau, its nuclear localisation and function and its possible involvement in neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Bukar Maina
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, East Sussex, UK.
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Medical Science, Gombe State University, Gombe 760, Nigeria.
| | - Youssra K Al-Hilaly
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, East Sussex, UK.
- Chemistry Department, College of Sciences, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq.
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, East Sussex, UK.
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49
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Williams TL, Serpell LC, Urbanc B. Stabilization of native amyloid β-protein oligomers by Copper and Hydrogen peroxide Induced Cross-linking of Unmodified Proteins (CHICUP). Biochim Biophys Acta 2015; 1864:249-259. [PMID: 26699836 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2015.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Revised: 11/09/2015] [Accepted: 12/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Oligomeric assemblies are postulated to be proximate neurotoxic species in human diseases associated with aberrant protein aggregation. Their heterogeneous and transient nature makes their structural characterization difficult. Size distributions of oligomers of several amyloidogenic proteins, including amyloid β-protein (Aβ) relevant to Alzheimer's disease (AD), have been previously characterized in vitro by photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins (PICUP) followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Due to non-physiological conditions associated with the PICUP chemistry, Aβ oligomers cross-linked by PICUP may not be representative of in vivo conditions. Here, we examine an alternative Copper and Hydrogen peroxide Induced Cross-linking of Unmodified Proteins (CHICUP), which utilizes naturally occurring divalent copper ions and hydrogen peroxide and does not require photo activation. Our results demonstrate that CHICUP and PICUP applied to the two predominant Aβ alloforms, Aβ40 and Aβ42, result in similar oligomer size distributions. Thioflavin T fluorescence data and atomic force microscopy images demonstrate that both CHICUP and PICUP stabilize Aβ oligomers and attenuate fibril formation. Relative to noncross-linked peptides, CHICUP-treated Aβ40 and Aβ42 cause prolonged disruption to biomimetic lipid vesicles. CHICUP-stabilized Aβ oligomers link the amyloid cascade, metal, and oxidative stress hypotheses of AD into a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular basis of AD pathology. Because copper and hydrogen peroxide are elevated in the AD brain, CHICUP-stabilized Aβ oligomers are biologically relevant and should be further explored as a new therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas L Williams
- Department of Physics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, UK
| | - Brigita Urbanc
- Department of Physics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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50
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Abstract
Many peptides self‐assemble to form amyloid fibrils. We previously explored the sequence propensity to form amyloid using variants of a designed peptide with sequence KFFEAAAKKFFE. These variant peptides form highly stable amyloid fibrils with varied lateral assembly and are ideal to template further assembly of non‐proteinaceous material. Herein, we show that the fibrils formed by peptide variants can be coated with a layer of silica to produce silica nanowires using tetraethyl‐orthosilicate. The resulting nanowires were characterized using electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray fiber diffraction, FTIR and cross‐section EM to reveal a nanostructure with peptidic core. Lysine residues play a role in templating the formation of silica on the fibril surface and, using this library of peptides, we have explored the contributions of lysine as well as arginine to silica templating, and find that sequence plays an important role in determining the physical nature and structure of the resulting nanowires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahraa S Al-Garawi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG (UK); Chemistry Department, College of Sciences, Al-Mustansyriah University (Iraq)
| | - Julian R Thorpe
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG (UK)
| | - Louise C Serpell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG (UK)
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