Amyloid-α Peptide Formed through Alternative Processing of the Amyloid Precursor Protein Attenuates Alzheimer's Amyloid-ß Toxicity via Cross-Chaperoning.

Amyloid aggregation is a key feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a primary target for past and present therapeutic efforts. Recent research is making it increasingly clear that the heterogeneity of amyloid deposits, extending past the commonly targeted amyloid-ß (Aß), must be considered for successful therapy. We recently demonstrated that amyloid-α (Aα or p3), a C-terminal peptidic fragment of Aß, aggregates rapidly to form amyloids and can expedite the aggregation of Aß through seeding. Here, we advance the understanding of Aα biophysics and biology in several important ways. We report the first cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of an Aα amyloid fibril, proving unambiguously that the peptide is fibrillogenic. We demonstrate that Aα induces Aß to form amyloid aggregates that are less toxic than pure Aß aggregates and use nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to provide insights into specific interactions between Aα and Aß in solution. This is the first evidence that Aα can coassemble with Aß and alter its biological effects at relatively low concentrations. Based on the above, we urge researchers in the field to re-examine the significance of Aα in AD.

Probing differences among Aß oligomers with two triangular trimers derived from Aß.

The assembly of the ß-amyloid peptide (Aß) to form oligomers and fibrils is closely associated with the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Aß is a shape-shifting peptide capable of adopting many conformations and folds within the multitude of oligomers and fibrils the peptide forms. These properties have precluded detailed structural elucidation and biological characterization of homogeneous, well-defined Aß oligomers. In this paper, we compare the structural, biophysical, and biological characteristics of two different covalently stabilized isomorphic trimers derived from the central and C-terminal regions Aß. X-ray crystallography reveals the structures of the trimers and shows that each trimer forms a ball-shaped dodecamer. Solution-phase and cell-based studies demonstrate that the two trimers exhibit markedly different assembly and biological properties. One trimer forms small soluble oligomers that enter cells through endocytosis and activate capase-3/7-mediated apoptosis, while the other trimer forms large insoluble aggregates that accumulate on the outer plasma membrane and elicit cellular toxicity through an apoptosis-independent mechanism. The two trimers also exhibit different effects on the aggregation, toxicity, and cellular interaction of full-length Aß, with one trimer showing a greater propensity to interact with Aß than the other. The studies described in this paper indicate that the two trimers share structural, biophysical, and biological characteristics with oligomers of full-length Aß. The varying structural, assembly, and biological characteristics of the two trimers provide a working model for how different Aß trimers can assemble and lead to different biological effects, which may help shed light on the differences among Aß oligomers.

Effects of Familial Alzheimer's Disease Mutations on the Assembly of a ß-Hairpin Peptide Derived from Aß16-36.

Familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) is associated with mutations in the ß-amyloid peptide (Aß) or the amyloid precursor protein (APP). FAD mutations of Aß were incorporated into a macrocyclic peptide that mimics a ß-hairpin to study FAD point mutations K16N, A21G, E22Δ, E22G, E22Q, E22K, and L34V and their effect on assembly, membrane destabilization, and cytotoxicity. The X-ray crystallographic structures of the four E22 mutant peptides reveal that the peptides assemble to form the same compact hexamer. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) experiments reveal that the mutant FAD peptides assemble as trimers or hexamers, with peptides that have greater positive charge assembling as more stable hexamers. Mutations that increase the positive charge also increase the cytotoxicity of the peptides and their propensity to destabilize lipid membranes.

A Disulfide-Stabilized Aß that Forms Dimers but Does Not Form Fibrils.

Aß dimers are a basic building block of many larger Aß oligomers and are among the most neurotoxic and pathologically relevant species in Alzheimer's disease. Homogeneous Aß dimers are difficult to prepare, characterize, and study because Aß forms heterogeneous mixtures of oligomers that vary in size and can rapidly aggregate into more stable fibrils. This paper introduces AßC18C33 as a disulfide-stabilized analogue of Aß42 that forms stable homogeneous dimers in lipid environments but does not aggregate to form insoluble fibrils. The AßC18C33 peptide is readily expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by reverse-phase HPLC to give ca. 8 mg of pure peptide per liter of bacterial culture. SDS-PAGE establishes that AßC18C33 forms homogeneous dimers in the membrane-like environment of SDS and that conformational stabilization of the peptide with a disulfide bond prevents the formation of heterogeneous mixtures of oligomers. Mass spectrometric (MS) studies in the presence of dodecyl maltoside (DDM) further confirm the formation of stable noncovalent dimers. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy establishes that AßC18C33 adopts a ß-sheet conformation in detergent solutions and supports a model in which the intramolecular disulfide bond induces ß-hairpin folding and dimer formation in lipid environments. Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence assays and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies indicate that AßC18C33 does not undergo fibril formation in aqueous buffer solutions and demonstrate that the intramolecular disulfide bond prevents fibril formation. The recently published NMR structure of an Aß42 tetramer (PDB: 6RHY) provides a working model for the AßC18C33 dimer, in which two ß-hairpins assemble through hydrogen bonding to form a four-stranded antiparallel ß-sheet. It is anticipated that AßC18C33 will serve as a stable, nonfibrilizing, and noncovalent Aß dimer model for amyloid and Alzheimer's disease research.

Expression of N-Terminal Cysteine Aß42 and Conjugation to Generate Fluorescent and Biotinylated Aß42.

Fluorescent derivatives of the ß-amyloid peptides (Aß) are valuable tools for studying the interactions of Aß with cells. Facile access to labeled expressed Aß offers the promise of Aß with greater sequence and stereochemical integrity, without impurities from amino acid deletion and epimerization. Here, we report methods for the expression of Aß42 with an N-terminal cysteine residue, Aß(C1-42), and its conjugation to generate Aß42 bearing fluorophores or biotin. The methods rely on the hitherto unrecognized observation that expression of the Aß(MC1-42) gene yields the Aß(C1-42) peptide, because the N-terminal methionine is endogenously excised by Escherichia coli. Conjugation of Aß(C1-42) with maleimide-functionalized fluorophores or biotin affords the N-terminally labeled Aß42. The expression affords ∼14 mg of N-terminal cysteine Aß from 1 L of bacterial culture. Subsequent conjugation affords ∼3 mg of labeled Aß from 1 L of bacterial culture with minimal cost for labeling reagents. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis indicates the N-terminal cysteine Aß to be >97% pure and labeled Aß peptides to be 94-97% pure. Biophysical studies show that the labeled Aß peptides behave like unlabeled Aß and suggest that labeling of the N-terminus does not substantially alter the properties of the Aß. We further demonstrate applications of the fluorophore-labeled Aß peptides by using fluorescence microscopy to visualize their interactions with mammalian cells and bacteria. We anticipate that these methods will provide researchers convenient access to useful N-terminally labeled Aß, as well as Aß with an N-terminal cysteine that enables further functionalization.

Repurposing Triphenylmethane Dyes to Bind to Trimers Derived from Aß.

Soluble oligomers of the ß-amyloid peptide, Aß, are associated with the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Although many small molecules bind to these assemblies, the details of how these molecules interact with Aß oligomers remain unknown. This paper reports that crystal violet, and other C3 symmetric triphenylmethane dyes, bind to C3 symmetric trimers derived from Aß17-36. Binding changes the color of the dyes from purple to blue, and causes them to fluoresce red when irradiated with green light. Job plot and analytical ultracentrifugation experiments reveal that two trimers complex with one dye molecule. Studies with several triphenylmethane dyes reveal that three N, N-dialkylamino substituents are required for complexation. Several mutant trimers, in which Phe19, Phe20, and Ile31 were mutated to cyclohexylalanine, valine, and cyclohexylglycine, were prepared to probe the triphenylmethane dye binding site. Size exclusion chromatography, SDS-PAGE, and X-ray crystallographic studies demonstrate that these mutations do not impact the structure or assembly of the triangular trimer. Fluorescence spectroscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation experiments reveal that the dye packs against an aromatic surface formed by the Phe20 side chains and is clasped by the Ile31 side chains. Docking and molecular modeling provide a working model of the complex in which the triphenylmethane dye is sandwiched between two triangular trimers. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the X-ray crystallographic structures of triangular trimers derived from Aß can be used to guide the discovery of ligands that bind to soluble oligomers derived from Aß.

An Efficient Method for the Expression and Purification of Aß(M1-42).

Advances in amyloid research rely on improved access to the ß-amyloid peptide, Aß. N-Terminal methionine-extended Aß, Aß(M1-42), is a readily expressed and widely used form of Aß with properties comparable to those of the natural Aß(1-42) peptide. Expression of Aß(M1-42) is simple to execute and avoids an expensive and often difficult enzymatic cleavage step associated with expression and isolation of Aß(1-42). This paper reports an efficient method for the expression and purification of Aß(M1-42) and 15N-labeled Aß(M1-42). This method affords the pure peptide at ∼19 mg/L of bacterial culture through simple and inexpensive steps in 3 days. This paper also reports a simple method for the construction of recombinant plasmids and the expression and purification of Aß(M1-42) peptides containing familial mutations. We anticipate that these methods will enable experiments that would otherwise be hindered by insufficient access to Aß.

A Hexamer of a Peptide Derived from Aß16-36.

The absence of high-resolution structures of amyloid oligomers constitutes a major gap in our understanding of amyloid diseases. A growing body of evidence indicates that oligomers of the ß-amyloid peptide Aß are especially important in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. In many Aß oligomers, the Aß monomer components are thought to adopt a ß-hairpin conformation. This paper describes the design and study of a macrocyclic ß-hairpin peptide derived from Aß16-36. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and size exclusion chromatography studies show that the Aß16-36 ß-hairpin peptide assembles in solution to form hexamers, trimers, and dimers. X-ray crystallography reveals that the peptide assembles to form a hexamer in the crystal state and that the hexamer is composed of dimers and trimers. Lactate dehydrogenase release assays show that the oligomers formed by the Aß16-36 ß-hairpin peptide are toxic toward neuronally derived SH-SY5Y cells. Replica-exchange molecular dynamics demonstrates that the hexamer can accommodate full-length Aß. These findings expand our understanding of the structure, solution-phase behavior, and biological activity of Aß oligomers and may offer insights into the molecular basis of Alzheimer's disease.

Stabilization, Assembly, and Toxicity of Trimers Derived from Aß.

Oligomers of the ß-amyloid peptide Aß have emerged as important contributors to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. Mounting evidence suggests that Aß trimers and higher-order oligomers derived from trimers have special significance in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Elucidating the structures of these trimers and higher-order oligomers is paramount for understanding their role in neurodegeneration. This paper describes the design, synthesis, X-ray crystallographic structures, and biophysical and biological properties of two stabilized trimers derived from the central and C-terminal regions of Aß. These triangular trimers are stabilized through three disulfide cross-links between the monomer subunits. The X-ray crystallographic structures reveal that the stabilized trimers assemble hierarchically to form hexamers, dodecamers, and annular porelike structures. Solution-phase biophysical studies reveal that the stabilized trimers assemble in solution to form oligomers that recapitulate some of the higher-order assemblies observed crystallographically. The stabilized trimers share many of the biological characteristics of oligomers of full-length Aß, including toxicity toward a neuronally derived human cell line, activation of caspase-3 mediated apoptosis, and reactivity with the oligomer-specific antibody A11. These studies support the biological significance of the triangular trimer assembly of Aß ß-hairpins and may offer a deeper understanding of the molecular basis of Alzheimer's disease.

Molecular Engineering of the Peptoid Nanosheet Hydrophobic Core.

The relationship between the structure of sequence-defined peptoid polymers and their ability to assemble into well-defined nanostructures is important to the creation of new bioinspired platforms with sophisticated functionality. Here, the hydrophobic N-(2-phenylethyl)glycine (Npe) monomers of the standard nanosheet-forming peptoid sequence were modified in an effort to (1) produce nanosheets from relatively short peptoids, (2) inhibit the aggregation of peptoids in bulk solution, (3) increase nanosheet stability by promoting packing interactions within the hydrophobic core, and (4) produce nanosheets with a nonaromatic hydrophobic core. Fluorescence and optical microscopy of individual nanosheets reveal that certain modifications to the hydrophobic core were well tolerated, whereas others resulted in instability or aggregation or prevented assembly. Importantly, we demonstrate that substitution at the meta and para positions of the Npe aromatic ring are well tolerated, enabling significant opportunities to tune the functional properties of peptoid nanosheets. We also found that N-aryl glycine monomers inhibit nanosheet formation, whereas branched aliphatic monomers have the ability to form nanosheets. An analysis of the crystal structures of several N,N'-disubstituted diketopiperazines (DKPs), a simple model system, revealed that the preferred solid-state packing arrangement of the hydrophobic groups can directly inform the assembly of stable peptoid nanosheets.

On-resin N-terminal peptoid degradation: Toward mild sequencing conditions.

A novel approach to sequentially degrade peptoid N-terminal N-(substituted)glycine residues on the solid-phase using very mild conditions is reported. This method relies on the treatment of resin-bound, bromoacetylated peptoids with silver perchlorate in THF, leading to an intramolecular cyclization reaction to liberate the terminal residue as a N-substituted morpholine-2,5-dione, resulting in a truncated peptoid upon hydrolysis and a silver bromide byproduct. Side-chain functional group tolerance is explored and reaction kinetics are determined. In a series of pentapeptoids possessing variable, non-nucleophilic side-chains at the second position (R(2) ), we demonstrate that sequential N-terminal degradation of the first two residues proceeds in 87% and 74% conversions on average, respectively. We further demonstrate that the degradation reaction is selective for peptoids, and represents substantial progress toward a mild, iterative sequencing method for peptoid oligomers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 106: 726-736, 2016.

Square channels formed by a peptide derived from transthyretin.

High-resolution structures of peptide supramolecular assemblies are key to understanding amyloid diseases and designing peptide-based materials. This paper explores the supramolecular assembly of a macrocyclic ß-sheet peptide derived from transthyretin (TTR). The peptide mimics the ß-hairpin formed by the ß-strands G and H of TTR, which form the interface of the TTR tetramer. X-ray crystallography reveals that the peptide does not form a tetramer, but rather assembles to form square channels. The square channels are formed by extended networks of ß-sheets and pack in a "tilted windows" pattern. This unexpected structure represents an emergent property of the peptide and broadens the scope of known supramolecular assemblies of ß-sheets.

Accelerated Submonomer Solid-Phase Synthesis of Peptoids Incorporating Multiple Substituted N-Aryl Glycine Monomers.

N-Aryl glycines are a chemically diverse class of peptoid monomers that have strong structure-inducing propensities. Yet their use has been limited due to the sluggish reactivity of the weakly nucleophilic aniline submonomers. Here, we report up to a 76-fold rate acceleration of the displacement reaction using aniline submonomers in solid-phase peptoid synthesis. This is achieved by adding halophilic silver salts to the displacement reaction, facilitating bromide abstraction and AgBr precipitation. Mechanistic insight derived from analysis of a series of 15 substituted anilines reveals that the silver-mediated reaction proceeds through a transition state that has considerably less positive charge buildup on the incoming nucleophile and an enhanced leaving group. This straightforward enhancement to the submonomer method enables the rapid room temperature synthesis of a wide variety of N-aryl glycine-rich peptoid oligomers, possessing both electron-withdrawing and -donating substituents, in good yields.

A red-shifted, fast-relaxing azobenzene photoswitch for visible light control of an ionotropic glutamate receptor.

The use of azobenzene photoswitches has become a dependable method for rapid and exact modulation of biological processes and material science systems. The requirement of ultraviolet light for azobenzene isomerization is not ideal for biological systems due to poor tissue penetration and potentially damaging effects. While modified azobenzene cores with a red-shifted cis-to-trans isomerization have been previously described, they have not yet been incorporated into a powerful method to control protein function: the photoswitchable tethered ligand (PTL) approach. We report the synthesis and characterization of a red-shifted PTL, L-MAG0460, for the light-gated ionotropic glutamate receptor LiGluR. In cultured mammalian cells, the LiGluR+L-MAG0460 system is activated rapidly by illumination with 400-520 nm light to generate a large ionic current. The current rapidly turns off in the dark as the PTL relaxes thermally back to the trans configuration. The visible light excitation and single-wavelength behavior considerably simplify use and should improve utilization in tissue.