Recent experiments have shown that the Taiwan mutation (D7H) slows the fibril formation of amyloid peptides Aβ40 and Aβ42. Motivated by this finding, we have studied the influence of D7H mutation on structures of Aβ peptide monomers using the replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations with OPLS force field and implicit water model. Our study reveals that the mechanism behind modulation of aggregation rates is associated with decrease of β-content and dynamics of the salt bridge D23-K28. Estimating the bending free energy of this salt bridge, we have found that, in agreement with the experiments, the fibril formation rate of both peptides Aβ40 and Aβ42 is reduced about two times by mutation.

Microbubbles in combination with ultrasound provide a new and promising way to deliver drugs into living cells. It is believed that the stable vibration or the collapse of the bubbles under ultrasound are the two main mechanisms that induce the formation of pores in the cell membranes, through which drugs may get inside the cell cytoplasm. The bubble collapse hypothesis is not only intuitive since released shock waves can easily penetrate and create pores in the membrane, but it is also confirmed by both experiment and theory. In contrast, the molecular mechanism of stable vibration is not well-understood because of experimental difficulties resulting from the fragility of bubbles and the lack of molecular dynamics simulation studies. To obtain a better understanding of this mechanism, we developed a lipid-coated bubble model that we applied to simulate the stable cavitation of the bubble in the presence of a lipid bilayer. We show that the wall shear stress generated by the bubble vibration does not induce the membrane pore formation. Instead, the bubble fuses with the membrane and subsequent cavitation pulls lipid molecules out of the membrane, creating pores. This could help one to choose the best combination of the bubble shell materials, the ultrasound frequency, and intensity, so that the opening and closing of pores will be optimized.

Formation of intracellular plaques and small oligomeric species of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides inside neurons is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The most abundant Aβ species in the brain are Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42, which are composed, respectively, of 40 and 42 residues. Aβ1-42 differs from Aβ1-40 only in two residues, Ile41 and Ala42, yet it shows remarkably faster aggregation and greater neurotoxicity than Aβ1-40. Thus, it is crucial to understand the relative contributions of Ile41 and Ala42 to these distinct behaviors. To achieve this, secondary structures of the Aβ1-41 monomer, which contribute to aggregation propensity, were studied by all-atom molecular dynamics simulation in an implicit solvent and compared to those of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42. We find that the secondary structure populations of Aβ1-41 are much closer to those of Aβ1-40 than to those of Aβ1-42, suggesting that Aβ1-41 and Aβ1-40 are likely to have similar aggregation properties. This prediction was confirmed through a thioflavin-T aggregation assay. Thus, our finding indicates that the hydrophobic residue at position 42 is the major contributor to the increased fibril formation rates and consequently neurotoxicity of Aβ peptides.

Self-assembled functional peptide biomaterials are emerging with a wide range of envisioned applications in the field of nanotechnology. Currently, methods and tools have been developed to control and manipulate as well as to explore new properties of self-assembled structures. However, considerably fewer studies are being devoted to developing efficient methods to degrade or recycle such extremely stable biomaterials. With this in mind, here we suggest a theoretical framework, inspired by the recent developed mid-infrared free-electron laser pulse technology, to dissociate peptide nanotubes. Adopting a diphenylalanine channel as a prototypical example, we find that the primary step in the dissociation process occurs due to the strong resonance between the carboxylate bond vibrations of the diphenylalanine peptides and the tuned laser frequencies. The effects of laser irradiation are determined by a balance between tube formation and dissociation. Our work shows a proof of concept and should provide a motivation for future experimental developments with the final aim to open a new and efficient way to cleave or to recycle bio-inspired materials.