| 1. |
- Berntsson, Elina, et al.
(författare)
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Residue-specific binding of Ni(II) ions influences the structure and aggregation of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides
- 2023
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. AD brains display deposits of insoluble amyloid plaques consisting mainly of aggregated amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides, and Aβ oligomers are likely a toxic species in AD pathology. AD patients display altered metal homeostasis, and AD plaques show elevated concentrations of metals such as Cu, Fe, and Zn. Yet, the metal chemistry in AD pathology remains unclear. Ni(II) ions are known to interact with Aβ peptides, but the nature and effects of such interactions are unknown. Here, we use numerous biophysical methods-mainly spectroscopy and imaging techniques-to characterize Aβ/Ni(II) interactions in vitro, for different Aβ variants: Aβ(1-40), Aβ(1-40)(H6A, H13A, H14A), Aβ(4-40), and Aβ(1-42). We show for the first time that Ni(II) ions display specific binding to the N-terminal segment of full-length Aβ monomers. Equimolar amounts of Ni(II) ions retard Aβ aggregation and direct it towards non-structured aggregates. The His6, His13, and His14 residues are implicated as binding ligands, and the Ni(II)·Aβ binding affinity is in the low µM range. The redox-active Ni(II) ions induce formation of dityrosine cross-links via redox chemistry, thereby creating covalent Aβ dimers. In aqueous buffer Ni(II) ions promote formation of beta sheet structure in Aβ monomers, while in a membrane-mimicking environment (SDS micelles) coil-coil helix interactions appear to be induced. For SDS-stabilized Aβ oligomers, Ni(II) ions direct the oligomers towards larger sizes and more diverse (heterogeneous) populations. All of these structural rearrangements may be relevant for the Aβ aggregation processes that are involved in AD brain pathology.
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| 2. |
- Båth, Petra, 1988, et al.
(författare)
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Lipidic cubic phase serial femtosecond crystallography structure of a photosynthetic reaction centre
- 2022
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Ingår i: Acta Crystallographica Section D-Structural Biology. - : International Union of Crystallography (IUCr). - 2059-7983. ; 78, s. 698-708
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Serial crystallography is a rapidly growing method that can yield structural insights from microcrystals that were previously considered to be too small to be useful in conventional X-ray crystallography. Here, conditions for growing microcrystals of the photosynthetic reaction centre of Blastochloris viridis within a lipidic cubic phase (LCP) crystallization matrix that employ a seeding protocol utilizing detergent-grown crystals with a different crystal packing are described. LCP microcrystals diffracted to 2.25 angstrom resolution when exposed to XFEL radiation, which is an improvement of 0.15 angstrom over previous microcrystal forms. Ubiquinone was incorporated into the LCP crystallization media and the resulting electron density within the mobile Q(B) pocket is comparable to that of other cofactors within the structure. As such, LCP microcrystallization conditions will facilitate time-resolved diffraction studies of electron-transfer reactions to the mobile quinone, potentially allowing the observation of structural changes associated with the two electron-transfer reactions leading to complete reduction of the ubiquinone ligand.
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| 3. |
- Pansieri, Jonathan, et al.
(författare)
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Pro-Inflammatory S100A9 Protein Aggregation Promoted by NCAM1 Peptide Constructs
- 2019
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Ingår i: ACS Chemical Biology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1554-8929 .- 1554-8937. ; 14:7, s. 1410-1417
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Amyloid cascade and neuroinflammation are hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases, and pro-inflammatory S100A9 protein is central to both of them. Here, we have shown that NCAM1 peptide constructs carrying polycationic sequences derived from A beta peptide (KKLVFF) and PrP protein (KKRPKP) significantly promote the S100A9 amyloid self-assembly in a concentration-dependent manner by making transient interactions with individual S100A9 molecules, perturbing its native structure and acting as catalysts. Since the individual molecule misfolding is a rate-limiting step in S100A9 amyloid aggregation, the effects of the NCAM1 construct on the native S100A9 are so critical for its amyloid self-assembly. S100A9 rapid self assembly into large aggregated clumps may prevent its amyloid tissue propagation, and by modulating S100A9 aggregation as a part of the amyloid cascade, the whole process may be effectively tuned.
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| 4. |
- Pansieri, Jonathan, et al.
(författare)
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Templating S100A9 amyloids on Aβ fibrillar surfaces revealed by charge detection mass spectrometry, microscopy, kinetic and microfluidic analyses
- 2020
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Ingår i: Chemical Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2041-6520 .- 2041-6539. ; 11:27, s. 7031-7039
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mechanism of amyloid co-aggregation and its nucleation process are not fully understood in spite of extensive studies. Deciphering the interactions between proinflammatory S100A9 protein and Aβ42 peptide in Alzheimer's disease is fundamental since inflammation plays a central role in the disease onset. Here we use innovative charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS) together with biophysical techniques to provide mechanistic insight into the co-aggregation process and differentiate amyloid complexes at a single particle level. Combination of mass and charge distributions of amyloids together with reconstruction of the differences between them and detailed microscopy reveals that co-aggregation involves templating of S100A9 fibrils on the surface of Aβ42 amyloids. Kinetic analysis further corroborates that the surfaces available for the Aβ42 secondary nucleation are diminished due to the coating by S100A9 amyloids, while the binding of S100A9 to Aβ42 fibrils is validated by a microfluidic assay. We demonstrate that synergy between CDMS, microscopy, kinetic and microfluidic analyses opens new directions in interdisciplinary research.
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| 5. |
- Sarabi, Daniel, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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Modeling difference x-ray scattering observations from an integral membrane protein within a detergent micelle
- 2022
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Ingår i: Structural Dynamics-Us. - : AIP Publishing. - 2329-7778. ; 9:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Time-resolved x-ray solution scattering (TR-XSS) is a sub-field of structural biology, which observes secondary structural changes in proteins as they evolve along their functional pathways. While the number of distinct conformational states and their rise and decay can be extracted directly from TR-XSS experimental data recorded from light-sensitive systems, structural modeling is more challenging. This step often builds from complementary structural information, including secondary structural changes extracted from crystallographic studies or molecular dynamics simulations. When working with integral membrane proteins, another challenge arises because x-ray scattering from the protein and the surrounding detergent micelle interfere and these effects should be considered during structural modeling. Here, we utilize molecular dynamics simulations to explicitly incorporate the x-ray scattering cross term between a membrane protein and its surrounding detergent micelle when modeling TR-XSS data from photoactivated samples of detergent solubilized bacteriorhodopsin. This analysis provides theoretical foundations in support of our earlier approach to structural modeling that did not explicitly incorporate this cross term and improves agreement between experimental data and theoretical predictions at lower x-ray scattering angles. (C) The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Svedruzic, Z. M., et al.
(författare)
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The Binding of Different Substrate Molecules at the Docking Site and the Active Site of gamma-Secretase Can Trigger Toxic Events in Sporadic and Familial Alzheimer's Disease
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1422-0067. ; 24:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pathogenic changes in gamma-secretase activity, along with its response to different drugs, can be affected by changes in the saturation of gamma-secretase with its substrate. We analyze the saturation of gamma-secretase with its substrate using multiscale molecular dynamics studies. We found that an increase in the saturation of gamma-secretase with its substrate could result in the parallel binding of different substrate molecules at the docking site and the active site. The C-terminal domain of the substrate bound at the docking site can interact with the most dynamic presenilin sites at the cytosolic end of the active site tunnel. Such interactions can inhibit the ongoing catalytic activity and increase the production of the longer, more hydrophobic, and more toxic A beta proteins. Similar disruptions in dynamic presenilin structures can be observed with different drugs and disease-causing mutations. Both, C99-beta CTF-APP substrate and its different A beta products, can support the toxic aggregation. The aggregation depends on the substrate N-terminal domain. Thus, the C99-beta CTF-APP substrate and beta-secretase path can be more toxic than the C83-alpha CTF-APP substrate and alpha-secretase path. Nicastrin can control the toxic aggregation in the closed conformation. The binding of the C99-beta CTF-APP substrate to gamma-secretase can be controlled by substrate channeling between the nicastrin and beta-secretase. We conclude that the presented two-substrate mechanism could explain the pathogenic changes in gamma-secretase activity and A beta metabolism in different sporadic and familial cases of Alzheimer's disease. Future drug-development efforts should target different cellular mechanisms that regulate the optimal balance between gamma-secretase activity and amyloid metabolism.
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