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- Flagmeier, Patrick, et al.
(author)
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Direct measurement of lipid membrane disruption connects kinetics and toxicity of Aβ42 aggregation
- 2020
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In: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1545-9993 .- 1545-9985. ; 27:10, s. 886-891
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The formation of amyloid deposits in human tissues is a defining feature of more than 50 medical disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. Strong genetic and histological evidence links these conditions to the process of protein aggregation, yet it has remained challenging to identify a definitive connection between aggregation and pathogenicity. Using time-resolved fluorescence microscopy of individual synthetic vesicles, we show for the Aβ42 peptide implicated in Alzheimer’s disease that the disruption of lipid bilayers correlates linearly with the time course of the levels of transient oligomers generated through secondary nucleation. These findings indicate a specific role of oligomers generated through the catalytic action of fibrillar species during the protein aggregation process in driving deleterious biological function and establish a direct causative connection between amyloid formation and its pathological effects.
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| 2. |
- Staats, Roxine, et al.
(author)
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Screening of small molecules using the inhibition of oligomer formation in α-synuclein aggregation as a selection parameter
- 2020
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In: Communications Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3669. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aggregation of α-synuclein is a central event in Parkinsons’s disease and related synucleinopathies. Since pharmacologically targeting this process, however, has not yet resulted in approved disease-modifying treatments, there is an unmet need of developing novel methods of drug discovery. In this context, the use of chemical kinetics has recently enabled accurate quantifications of the microscopic steps leading to the proliferation of protein misfolded oligomers. As these species are highly neurotoxic, effective therapeutic strategies may be aimed at reducing their numbers. Here, we exploit this quantitative approach to develop a screening strategy that uses the reactive flux toward α-synuclein oligomers as a selection parameter. Using this approach, we evaluate the efficacy of a library of flavone derivatives, identifying apigenin as a compound that simultaneously delays and reduces the formation of α-synuclein oligomers. These results demonstrate a compound selection strategy based on the inhibition of the formation of α-synuclein oligomers, which may be key in identifying small molecules in drug discovery pipelines for diseases associated with α-synuclein aggregation.
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