Methods for structural characterization of prefibrillar intermediates and amyloid fibrils

Langkilde, Annette Eva; Vestergaard, Bente

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2009.05.040

Cited by 66 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…It should be mentioned that intermediate structures formed during partial unfolding of proteins which are on their way to form amyloid structures have been shown to possess more cytotoxicity in comparison with the final fibrils [154,155], and as such, are currently the center of attention [156]. Characterization of these structures involves use of various methods [157]. These are capable of measuring folding events on microsecond timescale using ultra-rapid mixing [158], or detecting rare species (e.g.…”

Section: Preventing Amyloid Structure Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protein-Protein interactions leading to aggregation: Perspectives on mechanism, significance and control

Ebrahim‐Habibi

Morshedi

Rezaei‐Ghaleh

et al. 2010

JICS

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Protein aggregates, whether amorphous or structured (amyloid), have attracted much attention in recent years and despite extensive efforts, the mechanism of their formation is poorly understood. While "natural" aggregation (polymerization) of monomers could improve the biological function of some proteins, it is usually the darker side of this phenomenon which is discussed in many studies: deleterious aggregation that could lead to loss of biological activity under in vitro conditions or cause misfolding diseases. In this review, protein aggregation has been overviewed, starting from some general concepts involved in its formation, followed by mentioning studies aimed at elucidation of its kinetics and mechanism, or characterization of intermediates that would be aggregation-prone, and finally, reporting some of the studies related to the design of methods that would control the process. Similarly, amyloid aggregates have been defined, and current methods used in their characterization have been briefly described, with an emphasis on in silico studies. Finally, identification and design of such molecules which may be effective in control of this process is discussed.

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Section: Preventing Amyloid Structure Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protein-Protein interactions leading to aggregation: Perspectives on mechanism, significance and control

Ebrahim‐Habibi

Morshedi

Rezaei‐Ghaleh

et al. 2010

JICS

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“…[3] The complicated fibrillation processes in amyloidoses involve a large number of structural species and highly diverging mechanisms, which make these processes extremely difficult to control. [4] Developing methods for inhibiting the formation of these self-assembled fibrils is still challenging despite its therapeutic significance. [5] Small-molecule inhibitors have been widely investigated for amyloid inhibition.…”

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confidence: 99%

Supramolecular Inhibition of Amyloid Fibrillation by Cucurbit[7]uril

et al. 2014

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Amyloid fibrils are insoluble protein aggregates comprised of highly ordered β-sheet structures and they are involved in the pathology of amyloidoses, such as Alzheimer's disease. A supramolecular strategy is presented for inhibiting amyloid fibrillation by using cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]). CB[7] prevents the fibrillation of insulin and β-amyloid by capturing phenylalanine (Phe) residues, which are crucial to the hydrophobic interactions formed during amyloid fibrillation. These results suggest that the Phe-specific binding of CB[7] can modulate the intermolecular interaction of amyloid proteins and prevent the transition from monomeric to multimeric states. CB[7] thus has potential for the development of a therapeutic strategy for amyloidosis.

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“…The development of in vitro model systems together with various biophysical and biochemical techniques (7)(8)(9) has improved the knowledge on the physicochemical basis of amyloid formation as well as on their structural and biochemical properties. It is now well recognized that a common property of amyloid fibrils is the extensive stacking of intermolecular ␤-strands that are arranged perpendicularly to the fibril axis and stabilized by a dense network of non-covalent interactions (10 -13).…”

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confidence: 99%

Amyloid Features and Neuronal Toxicity of Mature Prion Fibrils Are Highly Sensitive to High Pressure

Moustaine

Perrier

et al. 2011

Journal of Biological Chemistry

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Prion proteins (PrP) can aggregate into toxic and possibly infectious amyloid fibrils. This particular macrostructure confers on them an extreme and still unexplained stability. To provide mechanistic insights into this self-assembly process, we used high pressure as a thermodynamic tool for perturbing the structure of mature amyloid fibrils that were prepared from recombinant full-length mouse PrP. Application of high pressure led to irreversible loss of several specific amyloid features, such as thioflavin T and 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate binding, alteration of the characteristic proteinase K digestion pattern, and a significant decrease in the ␤-sheet structure and cytotoxicity of amyloid fibrils. Partial disaggregation of the mature fibrils into monomeric soluble PrP was observed. The remaining amyloid fibrils underwent a change in secondary structure that led to morphologically different fibrils composed of a reduced number of proto-filaments. The kinetics of these reactions was studied by recording the pressure-induced dissociation of thioflavin T from the amyloid fibrils. Analysis of the pressure and temperature dependence of the relaxation rates revealed partly unstructured and hydrated kinetic transition states and highlighted the importance of collapsing and hydrating inter-and intramolecular cavities to overcome the high free energy barrier that stabilizes amyloid fibrils.Amyloid fibrils are filamentous polypeptide aggregates that are associated with devastating disorders such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases, type II diabetes, and prion (proteinaceous infectious particle) diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob and mad cow disease (1, 2). There is increasing evidence that under appropriate conditions the amyloid state is accessible also to many other proteins that are not related to diseases, suggesting that the amyloid state is a generic structural feature, which might be adopted by any polypeptide chain (3-6).The development of in vitro model systems together with various biophysical and biochemical techniques (7-9) has improved the knowledge on the physicochemical basis of amyloid formation as well as on their structural and biochemical properties. It is now well recognized that a common property of amyloid fibrils is the extensive stacking of intermolecular ␤-strands that are arranged perpendicularly to the fibril axis and stabilized by a dense network of non-covalent interactions (10 -13). These fibrils consist of a variable number and arrangement of thin assemblies called proto-filaments that give rise to different fibril morphologies of diameters between 5 and 30 nanometers, both in in vitro preparations or in tissues (14 -22). Fibrils and their precursors are generally cytotoxic (23, 24) and are, thus, thought to be responsible for the neurodegeneration that is associated with many amyloid diseases.Yet the fundamental parameters that govern the protein aggregation process and dictate fibril stability/clearance are not well known. As the study of protein folding has been greatly advanc...

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Methods for structural characterization of prefibrillar intermediates and amyloid fibrils

Cited by 66 publications

References 87 publications

Protein-Protein interactions leading to aggregation: Perspectives on mechanism, significance and control

Protein-Protein interactions leading to aggregation: Perspectives on mechanism, significance and control

Supramolecular Inhibition of Amyloid Fibrillation by Cucurbit[7]uril

Amyloid Features and Neuronal Toxicity of Mature Prion Fibrils Are Highly Sensitive to High Pressure

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