| 1. |
- Cabaleiro-Lago, Celia, et al.
(author)
-
Inhibition of IAPP and IAPP(20-29) fibrillation by polymeric nanoparticles
- 2010
-
In: Langmuir. - : The American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0743-7463 .- 1520-5827. ; 26:5, s. 3453-3461
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The fibrillation process of the islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) and its fragment (IAPP(20-29)) was studied by means of Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy in the absence and presence of N-isopropylacrylamide:N-tert-butylacrylamide (NiPAM:BAM) copolymeric nanoparticles. The process was found to be strongly affected by the presence of the nanoparticles, which retard protein fibrillation as a function of the chemical surface properties of the nanoparticles. The NiPAM:BAM ratio was varied from 50:50 to 100:0. The nanoparticles with higher fraction of NiPAM imposed the strongest retardation of IAPP and IAPP(20-29) fibrillation. These particles have the strongest hydrogen bonding capacity due to the less bulky N-isopropyl group and thus less steric hindrance of the hydrogen-bonding groups of the nanoparticle polymer backbone. Kinetic fibrillation data, as monitored by ThT fluorescence and supported by surface plasmon resonance experiments, suggest that the peptide is strongly absorbed onto the surface of the nanoparticles. This interaction reduces the concentration of peptide free in solution available to proceed to fibrillation which results in an increased lag time of fibrillation, observed as a delayed onset of ThT fluorescence increase, plus a reduction of the amount of fibrils formed as indicated by the equilibrium values at the end of the fibrillation reaction. For the fragment (IAPP(20-29)), the presence of nanoparticles changes the mechanism of association from monomers to fibrils, by interfering with early oligomeric species along the fibrillation pathway.
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| 2. |
- Hellstrand, Erik, et al.
(author)
-
Förster resonance energy transfer studies of calmodulin produced by native protein ligation reveal inter-domain electrostatic repulsion.
- 2013
-
In: The FEBS Journal. - : Wiley. - 1742-464X. ; 280:11, s. 2675-2687
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study explores the influence of long-range intra-protein electrostatic interactions on the conformation of calmodulin in solution. Ensemble Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is measured for calmodulin with a fluorophore pair incorporated specifically with a donor at residue 17 and an acceptor at position 117. This construct was generated by a combination of solid phase peptide synthesis, cloning, expression and native chemical ligation. This labelling method has not previously been used with calmodulin and represents a convenient method for ensuring the explicit positioning of the fluorophores. The ensemble FRET experiments reveal significant electrostatic repulsion between the globular domains in the calcium-free protein. At low salt, calmodulin has a relatively extended conformation and the distance between the domains is further increased by denaturation, by heat or by non-ionic denaturants. The repulsion between domains is screened by salt and is also diminished by calcium binding, which changes the protein net charge from -23 to -15. Compared with the calcium-free form at low salt, the FRET efficiency for the calcium-bound form has, on average, increased 10-fold. The conformation of the calcium form is insensitive to salt screening. These results imply that when the two globular domains of calmodulin interact with target, there is no significant free energy penalty due to electrostatic interactions.
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| 3. |
- Linse, Björn, et al.
(author)
-
Monte Carlo simulations of protein amyloid formation reveal origin of sigmoidal aggregation kinetics.
- 2011
-
In: Molecular BioSystems. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1742-2051 .- 1742-206X. ; 7, s. 2296-2303
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Severe conditions and lack of cure for many amyloid diseases make it highly desired to understand the underlying principles of formation of fibrillar aggregates (amyloid). Here, amyloid formation from peptides was studied using Monte Carlo simulations. Systems of 20, 50, 100, 200 or 500 hexapeptides were simulated. Association kinetics were modeled equal for fibrillar and other (inter- and intra-peptide) contacts and assumed to be faster the lower the effective contact order, which represents the distance in space. Attempts to form contacts were thus accepted with higher probability the lower the effective contact order, whereby formation of new contacts next to preexisting ones is favored by shorter physical separation. Kinetic discrimination was invoked by using two different life-times for formed contacts. Contacts within amyloid fibrils were assumed to have on average longer life-time than other contacts. We find that the model produces fibrillation kinetics with a distinct lag phase, and that the fibrillar contacts need to dissociate on average 5-20 times slower than all other contacts for the fibrillar structure to dominate at equilibrium. Analysis of the species distribution along the aggregation process shows that no other intermediate is ever more populated than the dimer. Instead of a single nucleation event there is a concomitant increase in average aggregate size over the whole system, and the occurrence of multiple parallel processes makes the process more reproducible the larger the simulated system. The sigmoidal shape of the aggregation curves arises from cooperativity among multiple interactions within each pair of peptides in a fibril. A governing factor is the increasing probability as the aggregation process proceeds of neighboring reinforcing contacts. The results explain the very strong bias towards cross β-sheet fibrils in which the possibilities for cooperativity among interactions involving neighboring residues and the repetitive use of optimal side-chain interactions are explored at maximum.
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| 4. |
- Linse, Sara, et al.
(author)
-
Protein folding through kinetic discrimination
- 2007
-
In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5126 .- 0002-7863. ; 129:27, s. 8481-8486
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Proteins fold on a mu s-ms time scale. However, the number of possible conformations of the polypeptide backbone is so large that random sampling would not allow the protein to fold within the lifetime of the universe, the Levinthal paradox. We show here that a protein chain can fold efficiently with high fidelity if on average native contacts survive longer than non-native ones, that is, if the dissociation rate constant for breakage of a contact is lower for native than for non-native interactions. An important consequence of this finding is that no pathway needs to be specified for a protein to fold. Instead, kinetic discrimination among formed contacts is a sufficient criterion for folding to proceed to the native state. Successful protein folding requires that productive contacts survive long enough to obtain a certain level of probability that other native contacts form before the first interacting unit dissociates. If native contacts survive longer than non-native ones, this prevents misfolding and provides the folding process with directionality toward the native state. If on average all contacts survive equally long, the protein chain is deemed to fold through random search through all possible conformations (i.e., the Levinthal paradox). A modest degree of cooperativity among the native contacts, that is, decreased dissociation rate next to neighboring contacts, shifts the required ratio of dissociation rates into a realistic regime and makes folding a stochastic process with a nucleation step. No kinetic discrimination needs to be invoked in regards to the association process, which is modeled as dependent on the diffusion rate of chain segments.
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| 5. |
- O'Connell, David, et al.
(author)
-
Integrated protein array screening and high throughput validation of 70 novel neural calmodulin binding proteins
- 2010
-
In: Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. - 1535-9484. ; 9:6, s. 1118-1132
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Calmodulin is an essential regulator of intracellular processes in response to extracellular stimuli mediated by a rise in Ca(2+) ion concentration. To profile protein-protein interactions of calmodulin in human brain, we probed a high content human protein array with fluorophore-labelled calmodulin in the presence of Ca(2+). This protein array contains 37,200 redundant proteins, incorporating over 10,000 unique human neural proteins from a human brain cDNA library. We designed a screen to find high affinity (K(D) = 1 muM) binding partners of calmodulin and identified 76 human proteins from all intracellular compartments, of which 72 are novel. We measured the binding kinetics of 74 targets with calmodulin using a high throughput surface plasmon resonance assay. Most of the novel calmodulin-target complexes identified have low dissociation rates (koff = 10(3) s(-1)) and high affinity (K(D) = 1 muM), consistent with the design of the screen. Many of the identified proteins are known to assemble in neural tissue, forming assemblies such as the spectrin scaffold and the postsynaptic density. We have developed a microarray of the identified target proteins with which we can characterise the biochemistry of calmodulin for all targets in parallel. Four novel targets were verified in neural cells by co-immunoprecipitation, and four were selected for exploration of the calmodulin-binding regions. Using synthetic peptides and isothermal titration calorimetry, calmodulin binding motifs were identified in the potassium voltage gated channel Kv6.1, (residues 474-493), CaM kinase-like vesicle-associated protein (302-316), EF-hand domain family member A2 (202-216) and phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase, type I, gamma (400-415).
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| 6. |
- Szczepankiewicz, Olga, et al.
(author)
-
N-Terminal Extensions Retard Aβ42 Fibril Formation but Allow Cross-Seeding and Coaggregation with Aβ42.
- 2015
-
In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5126 .- 0002-7863. ; 137:46, s. 14673-14685
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Amyloid β-protein (Aβ) sequence length variants with varying aggregation propensity coexist in vivo, where coaggregation and cross-catalysis phenomena may affect the aggregation process. Until recently, naturally occurring amyloid β-protein (Aβ) variants were believed to begin at or after the canonical β-secretase cleavage site within the amyloid β-protein precursor. However, N-terminally extended forms of Aβ (NTE-Aβ) were recently discovered and may contribute to Alzheimer's disease. Here, we have used thioflavin T fluorescence to study the aggregation kinetics of Aβ42 variants with N-terminal extensions of 5-40 residues, and transmission electron microscopy to analyze the end states. We find that all variants form amyloid fibrils of similar morphology as Aβ42, but the half-time of aggregation (t1/2) increases exponentially with extension length. Monte Carlo simulations of model peptides suggest that the retardation is due to an underlying general physicochemical effect involving reduced frequency of productive molecular encounters. Indeed, global kinetic analyses reveal that NTE-Aβ42s form fibrils via the same mechanism as Aβ42, but all microscopic rate constants (primary and secondary nucleation, elongation) are reduced for the N-terminally extended variants. Still, Aβ42 and NTE-Aβ42 coaggregate to form mixed fibrils and fibrils of either Aβ42 or NTE-Aβ42 catalyze aggregation of all monomers. NTE-Aβ42 monomers display reduced aggregation rate with all kinds of seeds implying that extended termini interfere with the ability of monomers to nucleate or elongate. Cross-seeding or coaggregation may therefore represent an important contribution in the in vivo formation of assemblies believed to be important in disease.
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| 7. |
- Abou-Hachem, Maher, et al.
(author)
-
Calcium binding and thermostability of carbohydrate binding module CBM4-2 of Xyn10A from Rhodothermus marinus.
- 2002
-
In: Biochemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0006-2960 .- 1520-4995. ; 41:18, s. 5720-5729
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Calcium binding to carbohydrate binding module CBM4-2 of xylanase 10A (Xyn10A) from Rhodothermus marinus was explored using calorimetry, NMR, fluorescence, and absorbance spectroscopy. CBM4-2 binds two calcium ions, one with moderate affinity and one with extremely high affinity. The moderate-affinity site has an association constant of (1.3 +/- 0.3) x 10(5) M(-1) and a binding enthalpy DeltaH(a) of -9.3 +/- 0.4 kJ x mol(-1), while the high-affinity site has an association constant of approximately 10(10) M(-1) and a binding enthalpy DeltaH(a) of -40.5 +/- 0.5 kJ x mol(-1). The locations of the binding sites have been identified by NMR and structural homology, and were verified by site-directed mutagenesis. The high-affinity site consists of the side chains of E11 and D160 and backbone carbonyls of E52 and K55, while the moderate-affinity site comprises the side chain of D29 and backbone carbonyls of L21, A22, V25, and W28. The high-affinity site is in a position analogous to the calcium site in CBM4 structures and in a recent CBM22 structure. Binding of calcium increases the unfolding temperature of the protein (T(m)) by approximately 23 degrees C at pH 7.5. No correlation between binding affinity and T(m) change was noted, as each of the two calcium ions contributes almost equally to the increase in unfolding temperature.
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| 8. |
- Abou-Hachem, Maher, et al.
(author)
-
The modular organisation and stability of a thermostable family 10 xylanase
- 2003
-
In: Biocatalysis and Biotransformation. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1024-2422 .- 1029-2446. ; 21:5-6, s. 253-260
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The thermophilic marine bacterium Rhodothermus marinus produces a modular family 10 xylanase (Xyn10A). It consists of two N-terminal family 4 carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) followed by a domain of unknown function (D3), and a catalytic module (CM) flanked by a small fifth domain (D5) at its C-terminus. Several truncated mutants of the enzyme have been produced and characterised with respect to biochemical properties and stability. Multiple calcium binding sites are shown to be present in the two N-terminal CBMs and recent evidence suggests that the third domain of the enzyme also has the ability to bind the same metal ligand. The specific binding of Ca2+ was demonstrated to have a pronounced effect on thermostability as shown by differential scanning calorimetry and thermal inactivation studies. Furthermore, deletion mutants of the enzyme were less stable than the full-length enzyme suggesting that module interactions contributed to the stability of the enzyme. Finally, recent evidence indicates that the fifth domain of Xyn10A is a novel type of module mediating cell-attachment.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Andersson, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
-
Single-vesicle intensity and colocalization fluorescence microscopy to study lipid vesicle fusion, fission, and lipid exchange
- 2022
-
In: Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1662-5099. ; 15
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Interactions of lipid vesicles play important roles in a large variety of functions and dysfunctions in the human body. Vital for several biochemical functions is the interaction between monomeric proteins and lipid membranes, and the induced phenomena such as fusion between vesicles and cell membranes, lipid exchange between the membranes, or vesicle fission. Identification of single events and their frequency of occurrence would provide valuable information about protein-lipid interactions in both healthy and degenerative pathways. In this work, we present a single-vesicle intensity and colocalization fluorescence microscopy assay with a custom-written MATLAB analysis program. The assay can be used to study lipid exchange as well as vesicle fusion and fission between two vesicle populations labeled with different fluorescent dyes. Vesicles from the two populations are first mixed and docked to a glass surface. The sample is then simultaneously imaged using two separate wavelength channels monitoring intensity changes and colocalization of vesicles from the two populations. The monomeric pre-synaptic protein α-synuclein (α-syn) and small unilamellar vesicles consisting of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC), 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine, (DOPS), and monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) were used as a model system to evaluate the method. From our analysis, neither α-syn induced fusion nor lipid exchange was observed for vesicles consisting of DOPC:DOPS (7:3). However, including 10% GM1 in the vesicles resulted in a 91% increase of the number of vesicles within 10 min, combined with a 57% decrease in the average fluorescence intensity per vesicle, indicating that approximately half of the vesicles underwent fission. The method facilitates the study of lipid vesicle fusion, fission, and lipid exchange under controlled conditions. It also allows these events to be studied for systems with more complex composition including exosomes and lipid-based drug carriers, to enable a better understanding of their physicochemical properties.
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| 11. |
- Andersson, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
-
The density of anionic lipids modulates the adsorption of α-Synuclein onto lipid membranes
- 2024
-
In: Biophysical Chemistry. - 0301-4622. ; 305
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- α-Synuclein is an intrinsically disordered presynaptic protein associated with Parkinson's disease. The physiological role of α-Synuclein is not fully understood, but the protein is known to interact with lipid membranes. We here study how membrane charge affects the adsorption of α-Synuclein to (i) supported lipid bilayers and (ii) small unilamellar vesicles with varying amounts of anionic lipids. The results showed that α-Synuclein adsorbs onto membranes containing ≥5% anionic phosphatidylserine (DOPS) lipids, but not to membranes containing ≤1% DOPS. The density of adsorbed α-Synuclein increased steadily with the DOPS content up to 20% DOPS, after which it leveled off. The vesicles were saturated with α-Synuclein at a 3–5 times higher protein density compared to the supported bilayers, which suggests that a more deformable membrane binds more α-Synuclein. Altogether, the results show that both membrane charge density and flexibility influence the association of α-Synuclein to lipid membranes.
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| 12. |
- André, Ingemar, et al.
(author)
-
Measurement of Ca2+-binding constants of proteins and presentation of the CaLigator software.
- 2002
-
In: Analytical Biochemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 1096-0309 .- 0003-2697. ; 305:2, s. 195-205
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The complexity of Ca2+ cell signaling is dependent on a plethoria of Ca2+-binding proteins that respond to signals in different ranges of Ca2+ concentrations. Since the function of these proteins is directly coupled to their Ca2+-binding properties, there is a need for accurately determined equilibrium Ca2+-binding constants. In this work we outline the experimental techniques available to determine Ca2+-binding constants in proteins, derive the models used to describe the binding, and present CaLigator, software for least-square fitting directly to the measured quantity. The use of the software is illustrated for Ca2+-binding data obtained for two deamidated forms of calbindin D(9k), either an isospartate-56 (beta form) or a normal Asp-56 (alpha form). Here, the Ca2+-binding properties of the two isoforms have been studied using the chelator method. The alpha form shows similar Ca2+-binding properties to the wild type while the beta form has lost both cooperativety and affinity.
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| 13. |
- André, Ingemar, et al.
(author)
-
Residue-specific pK(a) determination of lysine and arginine side chains by indirect N-15 and C-13 NMR spectroscopy: Application to apo calmodulin
- 2007
-
In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5126 .- 0002-7863. ; 129:51, s. 15805-15813
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electrostatic interactions in proteins can be probed experimentally through determination of residue-specific acidity constants, We describe here triple-resonance NMR techniques for direct determination of lysine and arginine side-chain protonation states in proteins. The experiments are based on detection of nonexchangeable protons over the full range of pH and temperature and therefore are well suited for pK(a) determination of individual amino acid side chains. The experiments follow the side-chain N-15(zeta) (lysine) and N-15(epsilon) or C-13(zeta) (arginine) chemical shift, which changes due to sizable changes in the heteronuclear electron distribution upon (de)protonation. Since heteronuclear chemical shifts are overwhelmed by the charge state of the amino acid side chain itself, these methods supersede H-1-based NMR in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, and selectivity. Moreover, the N-15(zeta) and N-15(epsilon) nuclei may be used to probe changes in the local electrostatic environment. Applications to three proteins are described: apo calmodulin, calbindin D-9k, and FKBP12. For apo calmodulin, residue-specific pK(a) values of lysine side chains were determined to fall between 10.7 and 11.2 as a result of the high net negative charge on the protein surface. Ideal two-state titration behavior observed for all lysines indicates the absence of significant direct charge interactions between the basic residues. These results are compared with earlier studies based on chemical modification.
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| 14. |
- André, Ingemar, et al.
(author)
-
Salt enhances calmodulin-target interaction
- 2006
-
In: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1542-0086 .- 0006-3495. ; 90:8, s. 2903-2910
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Calmodulin (CaM) operates as a Ca2+ sensor and is known to interact with and regulate hundreds of proteins involved in a great many aspects of cellular function. It is of considerable interest to understand the balance of forces in complex formation of CaM with its target proteins. Here we have studied the importance of electrostatic interactions in the complex between CaM and a peptide derived from smooth-muscle myosin light-chain kinase by experimental methods and Monte Carlo simulations of electrostatic interactions. We show by Monte Carlo simulations that, in agreement with experimental data, the binding affinity between CaM and highly charged peptides is surprisingly insensitive to changes in the net charge of both the protein and peptide. We observe an increase in the binding affinity between oppositely charged partners with increasing salt concentration from zero to 100 mM, showing that formation of globular CaM-kinase type complexes is facilitated at physiological ionic strength. We conclude that ionic interactions in complex formation are optimized at pH and saline similar to the cell environment, which probably overrules the electrostatic repulsion between the negatively charged Ca2+-binding domains of CaM. We propose a conceivable rationalization of CaM electrostatics associated with interdomain repulsion.
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| 15. |
- André, Ingemar, et al.
(author)
-
Streptococcal M protein: Structural studies of the hypervariable region, free and bound to human C4BP
- 2006
-
In: Biochemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0006-2960 .- 1520-4995. ; 45:14, s. 4559-4568
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Streptococcus pyogenes is a Gram-positive bacterium that causes several diseases, including acute tonsillitis and toxic shock syndrome. The surface-localized M protein, which is the most extensively studied virulence factor of S. pyogenes, has an similar to 50-residue N-terminal hypervariable region (HVR) that plays a key role in the escape of the host immunity. Despite the extensive sequence variability in this region, many HVRs specifically bind human C4b-binding protein (C4BP), a plasma protein that inhibits complement activation. Although the more conserved parts of M protein are known to have dimeric coiled-coil structure, it is unclear whether the HVR also is a coiled coil. Here, we use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to study the conformational properties of HVRs from M4 and M22 proteins in isolation and in complex with the M protein binding portion of C4BP. We conclude that the HVRs of M4 and M22 are folded as coiled coils and that the folded nucleus of the M4 HVR has a length of similar to 27 residues. Moreover, we demonstrate that the C4BP binding surface of M4-N is found within a region of four heptad repeats. Using molecular modeling, we propose a model for the structure of the M4 HVR that is consistent with our experimental information from NMR spectroscopy.
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| 16. |
- André, Ingemar, et al.
(author)
-
The role of electrostatic interactions in calmodulin-peptide complex formation
- 2004
-
In: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1542-0086 .- 0006-3495. ; 87:3, s. 1929-1938
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The complex between calmodulin and the calmodulin-binding portion of smMLCKp has been studied. Electrostatic interactions have been anticipated to be important in this system where a strongly negative protein binds a peptide with high positive charge. Electrostatic interactions were probed by varying the pH in the range from 4 to 11 and by charge deletions in CaM and smMLCKp. The change in net charge of CaM from similar to-5 at pH 4.5 to -15 at pH 7.5 leaves the binding constant virtually unchanged. The affinity was also unaffected by mutations in CaM and charge substitutions in the peptide. The insensitivity of the binding constant to pH may seem surprising, but it is a consequence of the high charge on both protein and peptide. At low pH it is further attenuated by a charge regulation mechanism. That is, the protein releases a number of protons when binding the positively charged peptide. We speculate that the role of electrostatic interactions is to discriminate against unbound proteins rather than to increase the affinity for any particular target protein.
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| 17. |
- Aprile, Francesco A., et al.
(author)
-
Selective targeting of primary and secondary nucleation pathways in Ab42 aggregation using a rational antibody scanning method
- 2017
-
In: Science Advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 3:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Antibodies targeting Ab42 are under intense scrutiny because of their therapeutic potential for Alzheimer’s disease. To enable systematic searches, we present an “antibody scanning” strategy for the generation of a panel of antibodies against Ab42. Each antibody in the panel is rationally designed to target a specific linear epitope, with the selected epitopes scanning the Ab42 sequence. By screening in vitro the panel to identify the specific microscopic steps in the Ab42 aggregation process influenced by each antibody, we identify two antibodies that target specifically the primary and the secondary nucleation steps, which are key for the production of Ab42 oligomers. These two antibodies act, respectively, to delay the onset of aggregation and to block the proliferation of aggregates, and correspondingly reduce the toxicity in a Caenorhabditis elegans model over-expressing Ab42. These results illustrate how the antibody scanning method described here can be used to readily obtain very small antibody libraries with extensive coverage of the sequences of target proteins.
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| 18. |
- Areschoug, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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A Proline-Rich Region with a Highly Periodic Sequence in Streptococcal beta Protein Adopts the Polyproline II Structure and Is Exposed on the Bacterial Surface.
- 2002
-
In: Journal of Bacteriology. - 0021-9193. ; 184:22, s. 6376-6383
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Proline-rich regions have been identified in many surface proteins of pathogenic streptococci and staphylococci. These regions have been suggested to be located in cell wall-spanning domains and/or to be required for surface expression of the protein. Because little is known about these regions, which are found in extensively studied and biologically important surface proteins, we characterized the proline-rich region in one such protein, the beta protein of group B streptococci. The proline-rich region in beta, designated the XPZ region, has a proline at every third position, and the sequence is highly periodic in other respects. Immunochemical analysis showed that the XPZ region was not associated with the cell wall but was exposed on the bacterial surface. Moreover, characterization of a beta mutant lacking the XPZ region demonstrated that this region was not required for surface expression of the beta protein. Comparison of the XPZ region in different beta proteins showed that it varied in size but always retained the typical sequence periodicity. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that the XPZ region had the structure of a polyproline II helix, an extended and solvent-exposed structure with exactly three residues per turn. Because of the three-residue sequence periodicity in the XPZ region, it is expected to be amphipathic and to have distinct nonpolar and polar surfaces. This study identified a proline-rich structure with unique properties that is exposed on the surface of an important human pathogen.
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| 19. |
- Arosio, Paolo, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of the length distribution of amyloid fibrils by centrifugal sedimentation
- 2016
-
In: Analytical Biochemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-2697. ; 504, s. 7-13
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aggregation of normally soluble peptides and proteins into amyloid fibrils is a process associated with a wide range of pathological conditions, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. It has become apparent that aggregates of different sizes possess markedly different biological effects, with aggregates of lower relative molecular weight being associated with stronger neurotoxicity. Yet, although many approaches exist to measure the total mass concentration of aggregates, the ability to probe the length distribution of growing aggregates in solution has remained more elusive. In this work, we applied a differential centrifugation technique to measure the sedimentation coefficients of amyloid fibrils produced during the aggregation process of the amyloid β (M1-42) peptide (Aβ42). The centrifugal method has the advantage of providing structural information on the fibril distribution directly in solution and affording a short analysis time with respect to alternative imaging and analytical centrifugation approaches. We show that under quiescent conditions interactions between Aβ42 fibrils lead to lateral association and to the formation of entangled clusters. By contrast, aggregation under shaking generates a population of filaments characterized by shorter lengths. The results, which have been validated by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) analysis, highlight the important role that fibril-fibril assembly can play in the deposition of aggregation-prone peptides.
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| 20. |
- Arosio, Paolo, et al.
(author)
-
Kinetic analysis reveals the diversity of microscopic mechanisms through which molecular chaperones suppress amyloid formation
- 2016
-
In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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| 21. |
- Arosio, Paolo, et al.
(author)
-
Microfluidic Diffusion Analysis of the Sizes and Interactions of Proteins under Native Solution Conditions.
- 2016
-
In: ACS Nano. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1936-086X .- 1936-0851. ; 10:1, s. 333-341
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Characterizing the sizes and interactions of macromolecules under native conditions is a challenging problem in many areas of molecular sciences, which fundamentally arises from the polydisperse nature of biomolecular mixtures. Here, we describe a microfluidic platform for diffusional sizing based on monitoring micron-scale mass transport simultaneously in space and time. We show that the global analysis of such combined space-time data enables the hydrodynamic radii of individual species within mixtures to be determined directly by deconvoluting average signals into the contributions from the individual species. We demonstrate that the ability to perform rapid noninvasive sizing allows this method to be used to characterize interactions between biomolecules under native conditions. We illustrate the potential of the technique by implementing a single-step quantitative immunoassay that operates on a time scale of seconds and detects specific interactions between biomolecules within complex mixtures.
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| 22. |
- Arosio, Paolo, et al.
(author)
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On the lag phase in amyloid fibril formation
- 2015
-
In: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1463-9084 .- 1463-9076. ; 17:12, s. 7606-7618
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The formation of nanoscale amyloid fibrils from normally soluble peptides and proteins is a common form of self-assembly phenomenon that has fundamental connections with biological functions and human diseases. The kinetics of this process has been widely studied and exhibits on a macroscopic level three characteristic stages: a lag phase, a growth phase and a final plateau regime. The question of which molecular events take place during each one of these phases has been a central element in the quest for a mechanism of amyloid formation. In this review, we discuss the nature and molecular origin of the lag-phase in amyloid formation by making use of tools and concepts from physical chemistry, in particular from chemical reaction kinetics. We discuss how, in macroscopic samples, it has become apparent that the lag-phase is not a waiting time for nuclei to form. Rather, multiple parallel processes exist and typically millions of primary nuclei form during the lag phase from monomers in solution. Thus, the lag-time represents a time that is required for the nuclei that are formed early on in the reaction to grow and proliferate in order to reach an aggregate concentration that is readily detected in bulk assays. In many cases, this proliferation takes place through secondary nucleation, where fibrils may present a catalytic surface for the formation of new aggregates. Fibrils may also break (fragmentation) and thereby provide new ends for elongation. Thus, at least two -primary nucleation and elongation - and in many systems at least four - primary nucleation, elongation, secondary nucleation and fragmentation - microscopic processes occur during the lag phase. Moreover, these same processes occur during all three phases of the macroscopic aggregation process, albeit at different rates as governed by rate constants and by the concentration of reacting species at each point in time.
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| 23. |
- Arosio, Paolo, et al.
(author)
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Quantification of the Concentration of A beta 42 Propagons during the Lag Phase by an Amyloid Chain Reaction Assay
- 2014
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In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5126 .- 0002-7863. ; 136:1, s. 219-225
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aggregation of the amyloid beta peptide, A beta 42, implicated in Alzheimer's disease, is characterized by a lag phase followed by a rapid growth phase. Conventional methods to study this reaction are not sensitive to events taking place early in the lag phase promoting the assumption that only monomeric or oligomeric species are present at early stages and that the lag time is defined by the primary nucleation rate only. Here we exploit the high sensitivity of chemical chain reactions to the reagent composition to develop an assay which improves by 2 orders of magnitude the detection limit of conventional bulk techniques and allows the concentration of fibrillar A beta 42 propagons to be detected and quantified even during the lag time. The method relies on the chain reaction multiplication of a small number of initial fibrils by secondary nucleation on the fibril surface in the presence of monomeric peptides, allowing the quantification of the number of initial propagons by comparing the multiplication reaction kinetics with controlled seeding data. The quantitative results of the chain reaction assay are confirmed by qualitative transmission electron microscopy analysis. The results demonstrate the nonlinearity of the aggregation process which involves both primary and secondary nucleation events even at the early stages of the reaction during the lag-phase.
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| 24. |
- Aspuru-Guzik, A., et al.
(author)
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Charting a course for chemistry
- 2019
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In: Nature Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1755-4330 .- 1755-4349. ; 11:4, s. 286-294
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 25. |
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