| 1. |
- Chirapatpimol, K, et al.
(författare)
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Precision Measurement of the p(e,e′p)π0 Reaction at Threshold
- 2015
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114. ; 114:19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- New results are reported from a measurement of π^{0} electroproduction near threshold using the p(e,e^{'}p)π^{0} reaction. The experiment was designed to determine precisely the energy dependence of s- and p-wave electromagnetic multipoles as a stringent test of the predictions of chiral perturbation theory (ChPT). The data were taken with an electron beam energy of 1192 MeV using a two-spectrometer setup in Hall A at Jefferson Lab. For the first time, complete coverage of the ϕ_{π}^{*} and θ_{π}^{*} angles in the pπ^{0} center of mass was obtained for invariant energies above threshold from 0.5 up to 15 MeV. The 4-momentum transfer Q^{2} coverage ranges from 0.05 to 0.155 (GeV/c)^{2} in fine steps. A simple phenomenological analysis of our data shows strong disagreement with p-wave predictions from ChPT for Q^{2}>0.07 (GeV/c)^{2}, while the s-wave predictions are in reasonable agreement.
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| 2. |
- Arosio, Paolo, et al.
(författare)
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Kinetic analysis reveals the diversity of microscopic mechanisms through which molecular chaperones suppress amyloid formation
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is increasingly recognized that molecular chaperones play a key role in modulating the formation of amyloid fibrils, a process associated with a wide range of human disorders. Understanding the detailed mechanisms by which they perform this function, however, has been challenging because of the great complexity of the protein aggregation process itself. In this work, we build on a previous kinetic approach and develop a model that considers pairwise interactions between molecular chaperones and different protein species to identify the protein components targeted by the chaperones and the corresponding microscopic reaction steps that are inhibited. We show that these interactions conserve the topology of the unperturbed reaction network but modify the connectivity weights between the different microscopic steps. Moreover, by analysing several protein-molecular chaperone systems, we reveal the striking diversity in the microscopic mechanisms by which molecular chaperones act to suppress amyloid formation.
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| 3. |
- Chia, Sean, et al.
(författare)
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SAR by kinetics for drug discovery in protein misfolding diseases
- 2018
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424. ; 115:41, s. 10245-10250
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To develop effective therapeutic strategies for protein misfolding diseases, a promising route is to identify compounds that inhibit the formation of protein oligomers. To achieve this goal, we report a structure.activity relationship (SAR) approach based on chemical kinetics to estimate quantitatively how small molecules modify the reactive flux toward oligomers. We use this estimate to derive chemical rules in the case of the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ), which we then exploit to optimize starting compounds to curtail Aâ oligomer formation. We demonstrate this approach by converting an inactive rhodanine compound into an effective inhibitor of Aβ oligomer formation by generating chemical derivatives in a systematic manner. These results provide an initial demonstration of the potential of drug discovery strategies based on targeting directly the production of protein oligomers.
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| 4. |
- Cohen, Samuel I.A., et al.
(författare)
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Distinct thermodynamic signatures of oligomer generation in the aggregation of the amyloid-β peptide
- 2018
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Ingår i: Nature Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1755-4330 .- 1755-4349. ; 10:5, s. 523-531
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mapping free-energy landscapes has proved to be a powerful tool for studying reaction mechanisms. Many complex biomolecular assembly processes, however, have remained challenging to access using this approach, including the aggregation of peptides and proteins into amyloid fibrils implicated in a range of disorders. Here, we generalize the strategy used to probe free-energy landscapes in protein folding to determine the activation energies and entropies that characterize each of the molecular steps in the aggregation of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ42), which is associated with Alzheimer's disease. Our results reveal that interactions between monomeric Aβ42 and amyloid fibrils during fibril-dependent secondary nucleation fundamentally reverse the thermodynamic signature of this process relative to primary nucleation, even though both processes generate aggregates from soluble peptides. By mapping the energetic and entropic contributions along the reaction trajectories, we show that the catalytic efficiency of Aβ42 fibril surfaces results from the enthalpic stabilization of adsorbing peptides in conformations amenable to nucleation, resulting in a dramatic lowering of the activation energy for nucleation.
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| 5. |
- Habchi, Johnny, et al.
(författare)
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Cholesterol catalyses Aβ42 aggregation through a heterogeneous nucleation pathway in the presence of lipid membranes
- 2018
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Ingår i: Nature Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1755-4330 .- 1755-4349. ; 10:6, s. 673-683
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with the aberrant aggregation of the amyloid-β peptide. Although increasing evidence implicates cholesterol in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, the detailed mechanistic link between this lipid molecule and the disease process remains to be fully established. To address this problem, we adopt a kinetics-based strategy that reveals a specific catalytic role of cholesterol in the aggregation of Aβ42 (the 42-residue form of the amyloid-β peptide). More specifically, we demonstrate that lipid membranes containing cholesterol promote Aβ42 aggregation by enhancing its primary nucleation rate by up to 20-fold through a heterogeneous nucleation pathway. We further show that this process occurs as a result of cooperativity in the interaction of multiple cholesterol molecules with Aβ42. These results identify a specific microscopic pathway by which cholesterol dramatically enhances the onset of Aβ42 aggregation, thereby helping rationalize the link between Alzheimer’s disease and the impairment of cholesterol homeostasis.
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| 6. |
- Limbocker, Ryan, et al.
(författare)
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Trodusquemine enhances Aβ42 aggregation but suppresses its toxicity by displacing oligomers from cell membranes
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transient oligomeric species formed during the aggregation process of the 42-residue form of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ42) are key pathogenic agents in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To investigate the relationship between Aβ42 aggregation and its cytotoxicity and the influence of a potential drug on both phenomena, we have studied the effects of trodusquemine. This aminosterol enhances the rate of aggregation by promoting monomer-dependent secondary nucleation, but significantly reduces the toxicity of the resulting oligomers to neuroblastoma cells by inhibiting their binding to the cellular membranes. When administered to a C. elegans model of AD, we again observe an increase in aggregate formation alongside the suppression of Aβ42-induced toxicity. In addition to oligomer displacement, the reduced toxicity could also point towards an increased rate of conversion of oligomers to less toxic fibrils. The ability of a small molecule to reduce the toxicity of oligomeric species represents a potential therapeutic strategy against AD.
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| 7. |
- Meisl, Georg, et al.
(författare)
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Kinetic analysis of amyloid formation
- 2018
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Ingår i: Methods in Molecular Biology. - New York, NY : Springer New York. - 1064-3745. ; 1779, s. 181-196
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The formation of amyloid fibrils is a central phenomenon in the progressive pathology of many neurodegenerative diseases, as well as in the fabrication of functional materials. Several different molecular processes acting in concert are responsible for the formation of amyloid fibrils from monomeric protein in solution. Here, we describe a method to determine which microscopic processes drive the overall formation of fibrils by using chemical kinetics in combination with systematic experimental datasets analysed in a global manner. We outline general concepts for obtaining suitable kinetic data and detail the key stages of data analysis, from quality control to the verification of a specific mechanism of aggregation.
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| 8. |
- Meisl, Georg, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular mechanisms of protein aggregation from global fitting of kinetic models.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature Protocols. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1750-2799 .- 1754-2189. ; 11:2, s. 252-272
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which soluble proteins convert into their amyloid forms is a fundamental prerequisite for understanding and controlling disorders that are linked to protein aggregation, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. However, because of the complexity associated with aggregation reaction networks, the analysis of kinetic data of protein aggregation to obtain the underlying mechanisms represents a complex task. Here we describe a framework, using quantitative kinetic assays and global fitting, to determine and to verify a molecular mechanism for aggregation reactions that is compatible with experimental kinetic data. We implement this approach in a web-based software, AmyloFit. Our procedure starts from the results of kinetic experiments that measure the concentration of aggregate mass as a function of time. We illustrate the approach with results from the aggregation of the β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides measured using thioflavin T, but the method is suitable for data from any similar kinetic experiment measuring the accumulation of aggregate mass as a function of time; the input data are in the form of a tab-separated text file. We also outline general experimental strategies and practical considerations for obtaining kinetic data of sufficient quality to draw detailed mechanistic conclusions, and the procedure starts with instructions for extensive data quality control. For the core part of the analysis, we provide an online platform (http://www.amylofit.ch.cam.ac.uk) that enables robust global analysis of kinetic data without the need for extensive programming or detailed mathematical knowledge. The software automates repetitive tasks and guides users through the key steps of kinetic analysis: determination of constraints to be placed on the aggregation mechanism based on the concentration dependence of the aggregation reaction, choosing from several fundamental models describing assembly into linear aggregates and fitting the chosen models using an advanced minimization algorithm to yield the reaction orders and rate constants. Finally, we outline how to use this approach to investigate which targets potential inhibitors of amyloid formation bind to and where in the reaction mechanism they act. The protocol, from processing data to determining mechanisms, can be completed in <1 d.
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| 9. |
- Šaric, Andela, et al.
(författare)
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Physical determinants of the self-replication of protein fibrils
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature Physics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1745-2473 .- 1745-2481. ; 12:9, s. 874-880
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ability of biological molecules to replicate themselves is the foundation of life, requiring a complex cellular machinery. However, a range of aberrant processes involve the self-replication of pathological protein structures without any additional assistance. One example is the autocatalytic generation of pathological protein aggregates, including amyloid fibrils, involved in neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we use computer simulations to identify the necessary requirements for the self-replication of fibrillar assemblies of proteins. We establish that a key physical determinant for this process is the affinity of proteins for the surfaces of fibrils. We find that self-replication can take place only in a very narrow regime of inter-protein interactions, implying a high level of sensitivity to system parameters and experimental conditions. We then compare our theoretical predictions with kinetic and biosensor measurements of fibrils formed from the Aβ peptide associated with Alzheimer's disease. Our results show a quantitative connection between the kinetics of self-replication and the surface coverage of fibrils by monomeric proteins. These findings reveal the fundamental physical requirements for the formation of supra-molecular structures able to replicate themselves, and shed light on mechanisms in play in the proliferation of protein aggregates in nature.
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| 10. |
- Törnquist, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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Secondary nucleation in amyloid formation
- 2018
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Ingår i: Chemical Communications. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1359-7345 .- 1364-548X. ; 54:63, s. 8667-8684
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nucleation of new peptide and protein aggregates on the surfaces of amyloid fibrils of the same peptide or protein has emerged in the past two decades as a major pathway for both the generation of molecular species responsible for cellular toxicity and for the autocatalytic proliferation of peptide and protein aggregates. A key question in current research is the molecular mechanism and driving forces governing such processes, known as secondary nucleation. In this context, the analogies with other self-assembling systems for which monomer-dependent secondary nucleation has been studied for more than a century provide a valuable source of inspiration. Here, we present a short overview of this background and then review recent results regarding secondary nucleation of amyloid-forming peptides and proteins, focusing in particular on the amyloid β peptide (Aβ) from Alzheimer's disease, with some examples regarding α-synuclein from Parkinson's disease. Monomer-dependent secondary nucleation of Aβ was discovered using a combination of kinetic experiments, global analysis, seeding experiments and selective isotope-enrichment, which pinpoint the monomer as the origin of new aggregates in a fibril-catalyzed reaction. Insights into driving forces are gained from variations of solution conditions, temperature and peptide sequence. Selective inhibition of secondary nucleation is explored as an effective means to limit oligomer production and toxicity. We also review experiments aimed at finding interaction partners of oligomers generated by secondary nucleation in an ongoing aggregation process. At the end of this feature article we bring forward outstanding questions and testable mechanistic hypotheses regarding monomer-dependent secondary nucleation in amyloid formation.
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