Protein aggregation is a complex process resulting in the formation of heterogeneous mixtures of aggregate populations that are closely linked to neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we find that soluble aggregates formed at different stages of the aggregation process of amyloid beta (Aβ42) induce the disruption of lipid bilayers and an inflammatory response to different extents. Further, by using gradient ultracentrifugation assay, we show that the smaller aggregates are those most potent at inducing membrane permeability and most effectively inhibited by antibodies binding to the C-terminal region of Aβ42. By contrast, we find that the larger soluble aggregates are those most effective at causing an inflammatory response in microglia cells and more effectively inhibited by antibodies targeting the N-terminal region of Aβ42. These findings suggest that different toxic mechanisms driven by different soluble aggregated species of Aβ42 may contribute to the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

The ordered assembly of amyloidogenic proteins causes a wide spectrum of common neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. These diseases share common features with prion diseases, in which misfolded proteins can self-replicate and transmit disease across different hosts. Deciphering the molecular mechanisms that underlie the amplification of aggregates is fundamental for understanding how pathological deposits can spread through the brain and drive disease. Here, we used single-molecule microscopy to study the assembly and replication of tau at the single aggregate level. We found that tau aggregates have an intrinsic ability to amplify by filament fragmentation, and determined the doubling times for this replication process by kinetic modeling. We then simulated the spreading time for aggregates through the brain and found this to be in good agreement with both the observed time frame for spreading of pathological tau deposits in Alzheimer's disease and in experimental models of tauopathies. With this work we begin to understand the physical parameters that govern the spreading rates of tau and other amyloids through the human brain.

The aberrant misfolding and subsequent conversion of monomeric protein into amyloid aggregates characterises many neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. These aggregates are highly heterogeneous in structure, generally of low abundance and typically smaller than the diffraction limit of light (≈250 nm). To overcome the challenges these characteristics pose to the study of endogenous aggregates formed in cells, we have developed a method to characterise them at the nanometre scale without the need for a conjugated fluorophore. Using a combination of DNA PAINT and an amyloid‐specific aptamer, we demonstrate that this technique is able to detect and super‐resolve a range of aggregated species, including those formed by α‐synuclein and amyloid‐β. Additionally, this method enables endogenous protein aggregates within cells to be characterised. We found that neuronal cells derived from patients with Parkinson's disease contain a larger number of protein aggregates than those from healthy controls.

The molecular mechanism of protein aggregation is of both fundamental and clinical importance as amyloid aggregates are linked to a number of neurodegenerative disorders. Such protein aggregates include macroscopic insoluble fibrils as well as small soluble oligomeric species. Time-dependent resolution of these species is prerequisite for a detailed quantitative understanding of protein aggregation; this remains challenging due to the lack of methods for detecting and characterizing transient and heterogeneous protein oligomers. Here we have used single molecule fluorescence techniques combined with mechanistic modeling to study the heparin-induced aggregation of the repeat region of tau, which forms the core region of neurofibrillary tangles found in Alzheimer's disease. We distinguish several subpopulations of oligomers with different stability and follow their evolution during aggregation reactions as a function of temperature and concentration. Employment of techniques from chemical kinetics reveals that the two largest populations are structurally distinct from fibrils and are both kinetically and thermodynamically unstable. The first population is in rapid exchange with monomers and held together by electrostatic interactions; the second is kinetically more stable, dominates at later times, and is probably off-pathway to fibril formation. These more stable oligomers may contribute to other oligomer induced effects in the cellular environment, for example, by overloading protein quality control systems. We also show that the shortest growing filaments remain suspended in aqueous buffer and thus comprise a third, smaller population of transient oligomers with cross-β structure. Overall our data show that a diverse population of oligomers of different structures and half-lives are formed during the aggregation reaction with the great majority of oligomers formed not going on to form fibrils.

As a key player of the protein quality control network of the cell, the molecular chaperone Hsp70 inhibits the aggregation of the amyloid protein tau. To date, the mechanism of this inhibition and the tau species targeted by Hsp70 remain unknown. This is partly due to the inherent difficulty of studying amyloid aggregates because of their heterogeneous and transient nature. Here, we used ensemble and single-molecule fluorescence measurements to dissect how Hsp70 counteracts the self-assembly process of the K18 ΔK280 tau variant. We found that Hsp70 blocks the early stages of tau aggregation by suppressing the formation of tau nuclei. Additionally, Hsp70 sequesters oligomers and mature tau fibrils with nanomolar affinity into a protective complex, efficiently neutralizing their ability to damage membranes and seed further tau aggregation. Our results provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms by which the chaperone Hsp70 counteracts the formation, propagation, and toxicity of tau aggregates.