The amyloid hypothesis causatively
relates the fibrillar deposits
of amyloid β peptide (Aβ) to Alzheimer’s disease
(AD). More recent data, however, identify the soluble oligomers as
the major cytotoxic entities. Pyroglutamylated Aβ (pE-Aβ)
is present in AD brains and exerts augmented neurotoxicity, which
is believed to result from its higher β-sheet propensity and
faster fibrillization. While this concept is based on a set of experimental
results, others have reported similar β-sheet contents in unmodified
and pyroglutamylated Aβ, and slower aggregation of pE-Aβ
as compared to unmodified Aβ, leaving the issue unresolved.
Here, we assess the structural differences between Aβ and pE-Aβ
peptides that may underlie their distinct cytotoxicities. Transmission
electron microscopy identifies a larger number of prefibrillar aggregates
of pE-Aβ at early stages of aggregation and suggests that pE-Aβ
affects the fibrillogenesis even at low molar fractions. Circular
dichroism and FTIR data indicate that while the unmodified Aβ
readily forms β-sheet fibrils in aqueous media, pE-Aβ
displays increased α-helical and decreased β-sheet propensity.
Moreover, isotope-edited FTIR spectroscopy shows that pE-Aβ
reverses β-sheet formation and hence fibrillogenesis of the
unmodified Aβ peptide via a prion-like mechanism. These data
provide a novel structural mechanism for pE-Aβ hypertoxicity;
pE-Aβ undergoes faster formation of prefibrillar aggregates
due to its increased hydrophobicity, thus shifting the initial stages
of fibrillogenesis toward smaller, hypertoxic oligomers of partial
α-helical structure.