Acceleration of amyloid fibril formation by carboxyl-terminal truncation of human serum amyloid A.

Human serum amyloid A (SAA) is a precursor protein of AA amyloidosis. Although the full-length SAA is 104 amino acids long, the C-terminal-truncated SAA lacking mainly residues 77-104 is predominantly deposited in AA amyloidosis. Nevertheless, the amyloid fibril formation of such truncated forms of human SAA has never been investigated. In the present study, we examined the effect of C-terminal truncation on amyloid fibril formation of human SAA induced by heparan sulfate (HS). Circular dichroism (CD) measurements demonstrated that the C-terminal truncation induces a reduced α-helical structure of the SAA molecule. HS-induced increases in thioflavin T fluorescence for SAA (1-76) peptide and less significant increases for full-length SAA were observed. CD spectral changes of SAA (1-76) peptide but not full-length SAA were observed when incubated with HS, although the spectrum was not typical for a ß-structure. Fourier transform infrared experiments clearly revealed that SAA (1-76) peptide forms a ß-sheet structure. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that short fibrillar aggregates of SAA (1-76) peptides, which became longer with increasing peptide concentrations, were observed under conditions in which full-length SAA scarcely formed fibrillar aggregates. These results suggested that the C-terminal truncation of human SAA accelerates amyloid fibril formation.

Effect of lipid environment on amyloid fibril formation of human serum amyloid A.

Human serum amyloid A (SAA) is a precursor protein of AA amyloidosis and a component of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), thus it is essential to investigate the amyloid fibril formation of SAA under a lipid environment. We used synthetic fragment peptides corresponding to the N-terminal (residues 1-27) and central (residues 43-63) regions of the SAA molecule, which are known to have amyloidogenic properties. Measurements of tryptophan fluorescence in conjunction with circular dichroism showed that SAA (1-27) peptide binds to neutral and acidic lysophospholipids, whereas SAA (43-63) peptide binds only to acidic lysophospholipids. For both these SAA peptides, binding to lysophospholipids inhibited heparin-induced amyloid-like fibril formation by stabilizing the α-helical structure. However, acidic lysophospholipids implied a possibility to promote fibril formation of SAA (1-27) peptide by themselves. These results suggest that the amyloid fibril formation of SAA may be modulated by altering the lipid head group composition of HDLs during metabolism.

Structural requirements of glycosaminoglycans for facilitating amyloid fibril formation of human serum amyloid A.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a precursor protein of amyloid fibrils. Given that heparan sulfate (HS), a glycosaminoglycan (GAG), is detected in amyloid deposits, it has been suggested that GAG is a key component of amyloid fibril formation. We previously reported that heparin (an analog of HS) facilitates the fibril formation of SAA, but the structural requirements remain unknown. In the present study, we investigated the structural requirements of GAGs for facilitating the amyloid fibril formation of SAA. Spectroscopic analyses using structurally diverse GAG analogs suggested that the fibril formation of SAA was facilitated irrespective of the backbone structure of GAGs; however, the facilitating effect was strongly correlated with the degree of sulfation. Microscopic analyses revealed that the morphologies of SAA aggregates were modulated by the GAGs. The HS molecule, which is less sulfated than heparin but contains highly sulfated domains, exhibited a relatively high potential to facilitate fibril formation compared to other GAGs. The length dependence of fragmented heparins on the facilitating effect suggested that a high density of sulfate groups is also required. These results indicate that not only the degree of sulfation but also the lengths of sulfated domains in GAG play important roles in fibril formation of SAA.

Effect of amino acid variations in the central region of human serum amyloid A on the amyloidogenic properties.

Human serum amyloid A (SAA) is a precursor protein of the amyloid fibrils that are responsible for AA amyloidosis. Of the four human SAA genotypes, SAA1 is most commonly associated with AA amyloidosis. Furthermore, SAA1 has three major isoforms (SAA1.1, 1.3, and 1.5) that differ by single amino acid variations at two sites in their 104-amino acid sequences. In the present study, we examined the effect of amino acid variations in human SAA1 isoforms on the amyloidogenic properties. All SAA1 isoforms adopted α-helix structures at 4°C, but were unstructured at 37°C. Heparin-induced amyloid fibril formation of SAA1 was observed at 37°C, as evidenced by the increased thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence and ß-sheet structure formation. Despite a comparable increase in ThT fluorescence, SAA1 molecules retained their α-helix structures at 4°C. At both temperatures, no essential differences in ThT fluorescence and secondary structures were observed among the SAA1 isoforms. However, the fibril morphologies appeared to differ; SAA1.1 formed long and curly fibrils, whereas SAA1.3 formed thin and straight fibrils. The peptides corresponding to the central regions of the SAA1 isoforms containing amino acid variations showed distinct amyloidogenicities, reflecting their direct effects on amyloid fibril formation. These findings may provide novel insights into the influence of amino acid variations in human SAA on the pathogenesis of AA amyloidosis.