| 1. |
- Göransson, Anna-Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Dissecting the Aggregation Events of Alzheimer’s disease Associated Aβ peptide Variants by the Combined use of Different Fluorescent Probes
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The formation of soluble prefibrillar oligomeric species of the amyloid β peptide (Aβ) has been implicated as a causative agent in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is therefore important to characterize the properties of these aggregates, which precede the formation of amyloid fibrils. We studied the in vitro aggregation process of two Aβ40 peptide variants through the combined use of four different fluorescent probes and transmission electron microscopy. Previous studies have shown that these two studied Aβ40 variants exhibit different levels of neurodegeneration when expressed in the central nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster. In the present study, we demonstrate distinct differences in aggregate morphology and their binding properties to different fluorescent probes during in vitro fibrillation of these Aβ peptides. Our results indicate a potential link between the observed neurodegenerative properties and the biophysical properties of distinct aggregated Aβ species.
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| 2. |
- Klingstedt, Therése, et al.
(författare)
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The structural basis for optimal performance of oligothiophene based fluorescent amyloid ligands : Conformational flexibility is essential for spectral assignment of a diversity of protein aggregates
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Protein misfolding diseases are characterized by deposition of protein aggregates and optical ligands for molecular characterization of these disease-associated structures are important for understanding their potential role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs) have proven useful for optical identification of a broader subset of disease-associated protein aggregates than conventional ligands, such as Thioflavin T (ThT) and Congo red. Herein, the molecular requirements for achieving LCOs able to detect non-thioflavinophilic Aβ aggregates or non-congophilic prion aggregates, as well as spectrally discriminate Aβ and tau aggregates, were investigated. An anionic pentameric LCO was subjected to chemical engineering by i) replacing thiophene units with selenophene or phenylene moieties or ii) alternating the anionic substituents along the thiophene backbone. In addition, two asymmetric tetrameric ligands were generated. Overall, the results from this study identified conformational freedom and extended conjugation of the conjugated backbone as crucial determinants for obtaining superior thiophene-based optical ligands for sensitive detection and spectral assignment of diseaseassociated protein aggregates.
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| 3. |
- Sörgjerd, Karin, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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BiP can function as a molecular shepherd that alleviates oligomer toxicity and amass amyloid
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A wide range of diseases are linked to protein misfolding and aggregation inside and outside the cell. It is of utmost interest to understand how the molecular chaperone machinery of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) handles the expression of highly amyloidogenic proteins. We explored the hypothesis that the ER located Hsp70 molecular chaperone BiP plays a crucial role in amyloid diseases and influence the misfolding process and disease progression. We used the transthyretin mutant TTR D18G associated with an unusual central nervous system amyloid disease as the model substrate because it represents the most destabilized and degraded TTR variant known. Over-expression of TTR D18G in concert with BiP showed that BiP selectively recognize the amyloidogenic mutant protein as compared to wild type in human cells and collects the mutant in stable intermediate size oligomers within the ER. Furthermore, whereas TTR D18G was found to be highly cytotoxic to neuroblastoma cells, TTR D18G preincubated with BiP was non-toxic indicating that BiP protects the cell from cytotoxicity. BiP was also found present in cerebellar amyloid deposits and co-localized with TTR in a TTR D18G patient suggesting that the complex can be found in the extracellular space. We promote a fundamental role of BiP in misfolding diseases and describe a molecular shepharding function of BiP in sequestrating amyloidogenic protein molecules in benign oligomeric states.
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