The ability of a single polypeptide sequence to grow into multiple stable amyloid fibrils sets these aggregates apart from most native globular proteins. The existence of multiple amyloid forms is the basis for strain effects in yeast prion biology, and may also contribute to variations in Alzheimer's disease pathology. However, the structural basis for amyloid polymorphism is poorly understood. We report here five structurally distinct fibrillar aggregates of the Alzheimer's plaque peptide Aβ(1-40), as well as a non-fibrillar aggregate induced by Zn +2 . Each of these conformational forms exhibits a unique profile of physical properties, and all the fibrillar forms "breed true" in elongation reactions at a common set of growth conditions. Consistent with their defining cross-β structure, we find that in this series the amyloid fibrils containing more extensive β-sheet exhibit greater stability. At the same time, side chain packing outside of the β-sheet regions also contributes to stability, and to stability differences between polymorphic forms. Stability comparison is facilitated by the unique feature that the free energy of the monomer (equivalent to the unfolded state in a protein folding reaction) does not vary, and hence can be ignored, in the comparison of ΔG° of elongation values for each polymorphic fibril obtained at a single set of conditions.The aggregated, β-sheet rich amyloid structure represents a stable, alternatively folded state of polypeptides. Amyloid fibrils are associated with several important neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases 1, as well as a number of peripheral diseases of organ failure 2. Amyloid fibrils can be produced in vitro from many proteins, consistent with the polymeric structure of proteins and the relationship of amyloid fibrils to synthetic polymers 3. The fundamental unit of amyloid fibrils is the cross-β structure, in which β-sheet extended chains and sheet-sheet stacking interactions are perpendicular to the fibril axis and β-sheet H-bonds are parallel to the fibril axis 4. Details of the threedimensional structures of amyloid fibrils are still being elucidated 5 ; 6 ; 7 ; 8 ; 9 ; 10 ; 11 ; 12 One striking feature of amyloid fibrils that sets them apart from most globular proteins is the ability of a single polypeptide chain to grow into more than one stable structure 13. The existence of multiple protein aggregate conformations, each of which can propagate with © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Corresponding author: Ronald Wetzel, Department of Structural Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Rm. 2046 Biomedical Sciences Tower 3, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15260. rwetzel@pitt.edu; Phone: 412-383-5271; Fax: 412-648-9008. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting ...

Since early oligomeric intermediates in amyloid assembly are often transient and difficult to distinguish, characterize and quantify, the mechanistic basis of the initiation of spontaneous amyloid growth is often opaque. We describe here an approach to the analysis of the Aβ aggregation mechanism that uses Aβ-polyglutamine hybrid peptides designed to retard amyloid maturation and an adjusted thioflavin intensity scale that reveals structural features of aggregation intermediates. The results support an aggregation initiation mechanism for Aβ-polyQ hybrids, and by extension for full-length Aβ peptides, in which a modular Aβ C-terminal segment mediates rapid, non-nucleated formation of α-helical oligomers. The resulting high local concentration of tethered amyloidogenic segments within these α-oligomers facilitates transition to a β-oligomer population that, via further remodelling and/or elongation steps, ultimately generates mature amyloid. Consistent with this mechanism, an engineered Aβ C-terminal fragment delays aggregation onset by Aβ-polyglutamine peptides and redirects assembly of Aβ42 fibrils.

The red shift in the fluorescence excitation spectra of thioflavin dyes upon binding to fibrils has been a boon to the amyloid field, offering simple and effective methods for the qualitative detection of amyloid in tissue samples and for quantitation of particular fibril preparations with gravimetric linearity. The quantitative aspect of the thioflavin T (ThT) response, however, comes with an important caveat that bestows both significant limitations and great untapped power. It is now well established that amyloid fibrils of different proteins, as well as polymorphic fibrils of the same protein, can exhibit vastly different ThT fluorescence intensities for the same weight concentration of aggregates. Furthermore, the aggregated intermediates commonly observed in amyloid assembly reactions can exhibit aggregate weight-normalized (AWN) ThT fluorescence intensities that vary from essentially zero through a wide range of intermediate values before reaching the intensity of homogeneous, mature amyloid. These features make it very difficult to quantitatively interpret, without additional data, the time-dependent development of ThT fluorescence intensity in an assembly reaction. In this chapter, we describe a method for coupling ex situ ThT fluorescence determinations with an analytical HPLC supported sedimentation assay (also described in detail) that can provide significant new insights into amyloid assembly reactions. The time dependent aggregation data provided by the sedimentation assay reveals a time course of aggregation that is largely independent of aggregate properties. In addition, the combination of these data with ThT measurements of the same reaction time points reveals important aspects of average aggregate structure at each time point. Examples of the use and potential value of AWN-ThT measurements during amyloid assembly Aβ and polyglutamine peptides are provided.