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1.
ChemMedChem ; : e202400310, 2024 Aug 01.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39090029

RESUMO

Studies of the structure and dynamics of oligomeric aggregates of amyloidogenic peptides pose challenges due to their transient nature. This concept article provides a brief overview of various nucleation mechanisms with reference to the classical nucleation theory and illustrates the advantages of incubating amyloidogenic peptides in reverse micelles (RMs). The use of RMs not only facilitates size regulation of oligomeric aggregates but also provides an avenue to explore protein-protein interactions among the oligomeric aggregates of various amyloidogenic peptides. Additionally, we envision the feasibility of preparing brain tissue-derived oligomeric aggregates using RMs, potentially advancing the development of monoclonal antibodies with enhanced potency against these pathological species in vivo.

2.
J Oral Rehabil ; 2024 Aug 16.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39152540

RESUMO

OBJECTIVE: Anterior disc displacement (ADD) has been used to establish temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) models. Based on whether preserve of the retrodiscal attachment, the modelling methodologies include ADD with dissecting the retrodiscal attachment (ADDwd) and ADD without dissecting the retrodiscal attachment (ADDwod). This article aims to determine which model better matches the micromechanical and microstructural progression of TMD. METHODS: Through meticulous microscopic observations, the microstructure and micromechanical deformation of the TMJ discs in ADDwd and ADDwod rabbit models were compared at 2 and 20 weeks. RESULT: Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that collagen fibres became slenderized and straightened, collagen fibrils lost diameter and arrangement in the ADDwd group at 2 weeks. Meanwhile, nanoindentation and atomic electron microscopy showed that the micro- and nano- mechanical properties decreased dramatically. However, the ADDwod group exhibited no significant microstructure and micromechanical deformations at 2 weeks. Dissection of the retrodiscal attachment contribute in the acceleration of disease progression at the early stage, the devastating discal phenotype remained fundamentally the same within the two models at 20 weeks. CONCLUSION: ADDwod models, induced stable and persistent disc deformation, therefore, can better match the progression of TMD. While ADDwd models can be considered for experiments which aim to obtain advanced phenotype in a short time.

3.
ACS Chem Neurosci ; 2024 Aug 19.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39158263

RESUMO

The inhibition of amyloid-ß (Aß) fibrillation and clearance of Aß aggregates have emerged as a potential pharmacological strategy to alleviate Aß aggregate-induced neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Maity et al. shortlisted ADH-353 from a small library of positively charged N-substituted oligopyrrolamides for its notable ability to inhibit Aß fibrillation, disintegrate intracellular cytotoxic Aß oligomers, and alleviate Aß-induced cytotoxicity in the SH-SY5Y and N2a cells. However, the molecular mechanism through which ADH-353 interacts with the Aß42 fibrils, leading to their disruption and subsequent clearance, remains unclear. Thus, a detailed molecular mechanism underlying the disruption of neurotoxic Aß42 fibrils (PDB ID 2NAO) by ADH-353 has been illuminated in this work using molecular dynamics simulations. Interestingly, conformational snapshots during simulation depicted the shortening and disappearance of ß-strands and the emergence of a helix conformation, indicating a loss of the well-organized ß-sheet-rich structure of the disease-relevant Aß42 fibril on the incorporation of ADH-353. ADH-353 binds strongly to the Aß42 fibril (ΔGbinding= -142.91 ± 1.61 kcal/mol) with a notable contribution from the electrostatic interactions between positively charged N-propylamine side chains of ADH-353 with the glutamic (Glu3, Glu11, and Glu22) and aspartic (Asp7 and Asp23) acid residues of the Aß42 fibril. This aligns well with heteronuclear single quantum coherence NMR studies, which depict that the binding of ADH-353 with the Aß peptide is driven by electrostatic and hydrophobic contacts. Furthermore, a noteworthy decrease in the binding affinity of Aß42 fibril chains on the incorporation of ADH-353 indicates the weakening of interchain interactions leading to the disruption of the double-horseshoe conformation of the Aß42 fibril. The illumination of key interactions responsible for the destabilization of the Aß42 fibril by ADH-353 in this work will greatly aid in designing new chemical scaffolds with enhanced efficacy for the clearance of Aß aggregates in AD.

4.
J Neurochem ; 2024 Aug 12.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39133499

RESUMO

The amyloid ß (Aß) peptide has a central role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. The peptide length can vary between 37 and 49 amino acids, with Aß1-42 being considered the most disease-related length. However, Aß1-40 is also found in Aß plaques and has shown to form intertwined fibrils with Aß1-42. The peptides have previously also shown to form different fibril conformations, proposed to be related to disease phenotype. To conduct more representative in vitro experiments, it is vital to uncover the impact of different fibril conformations on neurons. Hence, we fibrillized different Aß1-40:42 ratios in concentrations of 100:0, 90:10, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 10:90 and 0:100 for either 24 h (early fibrils) or 7 days (aged fibrils). These were then characterized based on fibril width, LCO-staining and antibody-staining. We further challenged differentiated neuronal-like SH-SY5Y human cells with the different fibrils and measured Aß content, cytotoxicity and autophagy function at three different time-points: 3, 24, and 72 h. Our results revealed that both Aß1-40:42 ratio and fibril maturation affect conformation of fibrils. We further show the impact of these conformation changes on the affinity to commonly used Aß antibodies, primarily affecting Aß1-40 rich aggregates. In addition, we demonstrate uptake of the aggregates by neuronally differentiated human cells, where aggregates with higher Aß1-42 ratios generally caused higher cellular levels of Aß. These differences in Aß abundance did not cause changes in cytotoxicity nor in autophagy activation. Our results show the importance to consider conformational differences of Aß fibrils, as this can have fundamental impact on Aß antibody detection. Overall, these insights underline the need for further exploration of the impact of conformationally different fibrils and the need to reliably produce disease relevant Aß aggregates.

5.
ACS Nano ; 2024 Aug 12.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39133543

RESUMO

Numerous small biomolecules exist in the human body and play roles in various biological and pathological processes. Small molecules are believed not to induce intrafibrillar mineralization alone. They are required to work in synergy with noncollagenous proteins (NCPs) and their analogs, e.g. polyelectrolytes, for inducing intrafibrillar mineralization, as the polymer-induced liquid-like precursor (PILP) process has been well-documented. In this study, we demonstrate that small charged molecules alone, such as sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium citrate, and (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane, could directly mediate fibrillar mineralization. We propose that small charged molecules might be immobilized in collagen fibrils to form the polyelectrolyte-like collagen complex (PLCC) via hydrogen bonds. The PLCC could attract CaP precursors along with calcium and phosphate ions for inducing mineralization without any polyelectrolyte additives. The small charged molecule-mediated mineralization process was evidenced by Cryo-TEM, AFM, SEM, FTIR, ICP-OES, etc., as the PLCC exhibited both characteristic features of collagen fibrils and polyelectrolyte with increased charges, hydrophilicity, and density. This might hint at one mechanism of pathological biomineralization, especially for understanding the ectopic calcification process.

6.
FEBS J ; 2024 Aug 08.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39116032

RESUMO

Protein liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a rapidly emerging field of study on biomolecular condensate formation. In recent years, this phenomenon has been implicated in the process of amyloid fibril formation, serving as an intermediate step between the native protein transition into their aggregated state. The formation of fibrils via LLPS has been demonstrated for a number of proteins related to neurodegenerative disorders, as well as other amyloidoses. Despite the surge in amyloid-related LLPS studies, the influence of protein condensate formation on the end-point fibril characteristics is still far from fully understood. In this work, we compare alpha-synuclein aggregation under different conditions, which promote or negate its LLPS and examine the differences between the formed aggregates. We show that alpha-synuclein phase separation generates a wide variety of assemblies with distinct secondary structures and morphologies. The LLPS-induced structures also possess higher levels of toxicity to cells, indicating that biomolecular condensate formation may be a critical step in the appearance of disease-related fibril variants.

7.
Carbohydr Polym ; 343: 122409, 2024 Nov 01.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39174076

RESUMO

The study focuses on developing a bioactive shape memory sponge to address the urgent demand for short-term rapid hemostasis and long-term wound healing in noncompressible hemorrhage cases. A composite sponge was created by spontaneously generating pores and double cross-linking under mild conditions using biomimetic collagen fibril (BCF) and oxidized alginate (OA) as natural backbone, combined with an inert calcium source (Ca) from CaCO3-GDL slow gelation mechanism. The optimized BCF/OACa (5/5) sponge efficiently absorbed blood after compression and recovered to its original state within 11.2 ± 1.3 s, achieving physical hemostatic mechanism. The composite sponge accelerated physiological coagulation by promoting platelet adhesion and activation through BCF, as well as enhancing endogenous and exogenous hemostatic pathways by Ca2+. Compared to commercial PVA expanding hemostatic sponge, the composite sponge reduced bleeding volume and shortened hemostasis time in rat liver injury pick and perforation wound models. Additionally, it stimulated fibroblast migration and differentiation, thus promoting wound healing. It is biodegradable with low inflammatory response and promotes granulation tissue regeneration. In conclusion, this biocomposite sponge provides multiple hemostatic pathways and biochemical support for wound healing, is biologically safe and easy to fabricate, process and use, with significant potential for clinical translation and application.


Assuntos
Alginatos , Materiais Biomiméticos , Colágeno , Hemorragia , Hemostáticos , Cicatrização , Alginatos/química , Alginatos/farmacologia , Animais , Cicatrização/efeitos dos fármacos , Colágeno/química , Ratos , Hemorragia/tratamento farmacológico , Materiais Biomiméticos/química , Materiais Biomiméticos/farmacologia , Hemostáticos/farmacologia , Hemostáticos/química , Masculino , Ratos Sprague-Dawley , Hemostasia/efeitos dos fármacos , Oxirredução , Adesividade Plaquetária/efeitos dos fármacos
8.
Front Aging Neurosci ; 16: 1369733, 2024.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39104707

RESUMO

Cognitive impairments are a common feature of synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's Disease Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies. These pathologies are characterized by accumulation of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites as well as neuronal cell death. Alpha-synuclein is the main proteinaceous component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. To model these pathologies in vivo, toxins that selectively target certain neuronal populations or different means of inducing alpha-synuclein aggregation can be used. Alpha-synuclein accumulation can be induced by genetic manipulation, viral vector overexpression or the use of preformed fibrils of alpha-synuclein. In this review, we summarize the cognitive impairments associated with different models of synucleinopathies and relevance to observations in human diseases.

9.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 121(35): e2321633121, 2024 Aug 27.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39172784

RESUMO

α-synuclein (α-syn) assembles into structurally distinct fibril polymorphs seen in different synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy. Targeting these unique fibril structures using chemical ligands holds diagnostic significance for different disease subtypes. However, the molecular mechanisms governing small molecules interacting with different fibril polymorphs remain unclear. Here, we investigated the interactions of small molecules belonging to four distinct scaffolds, with different α-syn fibril polymorphs. Using cryo-electron microscopy, we determined the structures of these molecules when bound to the fibrils formed by E46K mutant α-syn and compared them to those bound with wild-type α-syn fibrils. Notably, we observed that these ligands exhibit remarkable binding adaptability, as they engage distinct binding sites across different fibril polymorphs. While the molecular scaffold primarily steered the binding locations and geometries on specific sites, the conjugated functional groups further refined this adaptable binding by fine-tuning the geometries and binding sites. Overall, our finding elucidates the adaptability of small molecules binding to different fibril structures, which sheds light on the diagnostic tracer and drug developments tailored to specific pathological fibril polymorphs.


Assuntos
Amiloide , Microscopia Crioeletrônica , alfa-Sinucleína , alfa-Sinucleína/metabolismo , alfa-Sinucleína/química , Amiloide/metabolismo , Amiloide/química , Ligantes , Humanos , Sítios de Ligação , Ligação Proteica , Doença de Parkinson/metabolismo , Mutação
10.
Food Res Int ; 192: 114779, 2024 Sep.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39147467

RESUMO

Rice bran protein fibril (RBPF)-high internal phase Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs) loaded with ß-carotene (CE) were constructed to enhance stability and bioavailability of CE. Rice bran (RB) protein with varying oxidation degrees was extracted from RB with varying storage period (0-10 days) to prepare RBPF by acid-heating (90 °C, 2-12 h) to stabilize HIPPEs. The influence of protein oxidation on the encapsulation properties of RBPF-HIPPEs was studied. The results showed that CE-HIPPEs could be stably stored for 56 days at 25 °C. When RB storage time was the same, the average particle size, lipid hydroperoxide content, and malondialdehyde content of CE-HIPPEs and the CE degradation rate initially fell, and then grew as the acid-heating time prolonged, while the ζ-potential value, viscosity, viscoelasticity, free fatty acid (FFA) release rate, and bioaccessibility first rose, and subsequently fell. When acid-heating time of RBPF was the same, the average particle size, lipid hydroperoxide content, and malondialdehyde content of CE-HIPPEs initially fell, and subsequently increased with RB storage time extended, while the ζ-potential value, viscosity, viscoelasticity, FFA release rate, and bioaccessibility initially increased, and then decreased. Overall, Moderate oxidation and moderate acid-heating enhanced the stability as well as rheological properties of CE-HIPPEs, thus improving the stability and bioaccessibility of CE. This study offered a new insight into the delivery of bioactive substances by protein fibril aggregates-based HIPPEs.


Assuntos
Emulsões , Oryza , Oxirredução , Tamanho da Partícula , beta Caroteno , beta Caroteno/química , Oryza/química , Disponibilidade Biológica , Proteínas de Plantas/química , Viscosidade , Malondialdeído
11.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39169473

RESUMO

Amyloid fibril formation is associated with various amyloidoses, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Despite the numerous studies on the inhibition of amyloid formation, the prevention and treatment of a majority of amyloid-related disorders are still challenging. In this study, we investigated the effects of various plant extracts on amyloid formation of α-synuclein. We found that the extracts from Eucalyptus gunnii are able to inhibit amyloid formation, and to disaggregate preformed fibrils, in vitro. The extract itself did not lead cell damage. In the extract, miquelianin, which is a glycosylated form of quercetin and has been detected in the plasma and the brain, was identified and assessed to have a moderate inhibitory activity, compared to the effects of ellagic acid and quercetin, which are strong inhibitors for amyloid formation. The properties of miquelianin provide insights into the mechanisms controlling the assembly of α-synuclein in the brain.

12.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 121(33): e2406775121, 2024 Aug 13.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39116134

RESUMO

Biofilm-protected pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus causes chronic infections that are difficult to treat. An essential building block of these biofilms are functional amyloid fibrils that assemble from phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs). PSMα1 cross-seeds other PSMs into cross-ß amyloid folds and is therefore a key element in initiating biofilm formation. However, the paucity of high-resolution structures hinders efforts to prevent amyloid assembly and biofilm formation. Here, we present a 3.5 Å resolution density map of the major PSMα1 fibril form revealing a left-handed cross-ß fibril composed of two C2-symmetric U-shaped protofilaments whose subunits are unusually tilted out-of-plane. Monomeric α-helical PSMα1 is extremely cytotoxic to cells, despite the moderate toxicity of the cross-ß fibril. We suggest mechanistic insights into the PSM functional amyloid formation and conformation transformation on the path from monomer-to-fibril formation. Details of PSMα1 assembly and fibril polymorphism suggest how S. aureus utilizes functional amyloids to form biofilms and establish a framework for developing therapeutics against infection and antimicrobial resistance.


Assuntos
Amiloide , Biofilmes , Staphylococcus aureus , Staphylococcus aureus/metabolismo , Staphylococcus aureus/fisiologia , Biofilmes/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Amiloide/metabolismo , Amiloide/química , Toxinas Bacterianas/metabolismo , Toxinas Bacterianas/química , Conformação Proteica , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Modelos Moleculares
13.
Front Chem ; 12: 1419019, 2024.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39072260

RESUMO

Human amylin (hIAPP) is found in the form of amyloid deposits within the pancreatic cells of nearly all patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, rat amylin (rIAPP) and pramlintide - hIAPP analogs - are both non-toxic and non-amyloidogenic. Their primary sequences exhibit only slight variations in a few amino acid residues, primarily concentrated in the central region, spanning residues 20 to 29. This inspired us to study this fragment and investigate the impact on the aggregation properties of substituting residues within the central region of amylin and its analogs. Six fragments derived from amylin have undergone comprehensive testing against various metal ions by implementing a range of analytical techniques, including Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Thioflavin T (ThT) assays, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and cytotoxicity assays. These methodologies serve to provide a thorough understanding of how the substitutions and interactions with metal ions impact the aggregation behavior of amylin and its analogs.

14.
J Texture Stud ; 55(4): e12855, 2024 Aug.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38992897

RESUMO

The effects of oil type, emulsifier type, and emulsion particle size on the texture, gel strength, and rheological properties of SPI emulsion-filled gel (SPI-FG) and TFSP emulsion-filled gel (TFSP-FG) were investigated. Using soybean protein isolate or sodium caseinate as emulsifiers, emulsions with cocoa butter replacer (CBR), palm oil (PO), virgin coconut oil (VCO), and canola oil (CO) as oil phases were prepared. These emulsions were filled into SPI and TFSP gel substrates to prepare emulsion-filled gels. Results that the hardness and gel strength of both gels increased with increasing emulsion content when CBR was used as the emulsion oil phase. However, when the other three liquid oils were used as the oil phase, the hardness and gel strength of TFSP-FG decreased with the increasing of emulsion content, but those of SPI-FG increased when SPI was used as emulsifier. Additionally, the hardness and gel strength of both TFSP-FG and SPI-FG increased with the decreasing of mean particle size of emulsions. Rheological measurements were consistent with textural measurements and found that compared with SC, TFSP-FG, and SPI-FG showed higher G' values when SPI was used as emulsifier. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) observation showed that the distribution and stability of emulsion droplets in TFSP-FG and SPI-FG were influenced by the oil type, emulsifier type and emulsion particle size. SPI-stabilized emulsion behaved as active fillers in SPI-FG reinforcing the gel matrix; however, the gel matrix of TFSP-FG still had many void pores when SPI-stabilized emulsion was involved. In conclusion, compared to SPI-FG, the emulsion filler effect that could reinforce gel networks became weaker in TFSP-FG.


Assuntos
Emulsificantes , Emulsões , Géis , Tamanho da Partícula , Reologia , Proteínas de Soja , Proteínas de Soja/química , Emulsões/química , Emulsificantes/química , Géis/química , Óleos de Plantas/química , Óleo de Palmeira/química , Óleo de Brassica napus/química , Óleo de Coco/química , Dureza , Caseínas/química , Gorduras na Dieta
15.
Biochem Soc Trans ; 2024 Jul 19.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39034652

RESUMO

The aggregation of amyloid-beta (Aß) peptides into cross-ß structures forms a variety of distinct fibril conformations, potentially correlating with variations in neurodegenerative disease progression. Recent advances in techniques such as X-ray crystallography, solid-state NMR, and cryo-electron microscopy have enabled the development of high-resolution molecular structures of these polymorphic amyloid fibrils, which are either grown in vitro or isolated from human and transgenic mouse brain tissues. This article reviews our current understanding of the structural polymorphisms in amyloid fibrils formed by Aß40 and Aß42, as well as disease-associated mutants of Aß peptides. The aim is to enhance our understanding of various molecular interactions, including hydrophobic and ionic interactions, within and among cross-ß structures.

16.
bioRxiv ; 2024 Jul 16.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39071267

RESUMO

Proteins which bind intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) with high affinity and specificity could have considerable utility for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. However, a general methodology for targeting IDPs/IDRs has yet to be developed. Here, we show that starting only from the target sequence of the input, and freely sampling both target and binding protein conformation, RFdiffusion can generate binders to IDPs and IDRs in a wide range of conformations. We use this approach to generate binders to the IDPs Amylin, C-peptide and VP48 in a range of conformations with Kds in the 3 -100nM range. The Amylin binder inhibits amyloid fibril formation and dissociates existing fibers, and enables enrichment of amylin for mass spectrometry-based detection. For the IDRs G3bp1, common gamma chain (IL2RG) and prion, we diffused binders to beta strand conformations of the targets, obtaining 10 to 100 nM affinity. The IL2RG binder colocalizes with the receptor in cells, enabling new approaches to modulating IL2 signaling. Our approach should be widely useful for creating binders to flexible IDPs/IDRs spanning a wide range of intrinsic conformational preferences.

17.
Regen Biomater ; 11: rbae070, 2024.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39022124

RESUMO

A hybrid material possessing both componential and structural imitation of bone tissue is the preferable composites for bone defect repair. Inspired by the microarchitecture of native bone, this work synthesized in vitro a functional mineralized collagen fibril (MCF) material by utilizing the method of in situ co-precipitation, which was designed to proceed in the presence of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), thus achieving APS load within the biomineralized collagen-Astragalus polysaccharide (MCAPS) fibrils. Transmission electron microscope (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) identified the details of the intrafibrillar mineralization of the MCAPS fibrils, almost mimicking the secondary level of bone tissue microstructure. A relatively uniform and continuous mineral layer formed on and within all collagen fibrils and the mineral phase was identified as typical weak-crystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) with a Ca/P ratio of about 1.53. The proliferation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) and mouse embryo osteoblast precursor cells (MC3T3-E1) obtained a significant promotion by MCAPS. As for the osteogenic properties of MCAPS, a distinct increase in the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the number of calcium nodules (CN) in BMSC and MC3T3-E1 was detected. The up-regulation of three osteogenic-related genes of RUNX-2, BMP-2 and OCN were confirmed via reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to further verify the osteogenic performance promotion of MCAPS. A period of 14 days of culture demonstrated that MCAPS-L exhibited a preferable efficacy in enhancing ALP activity and CN quantity, as well as in promoting the expression of osteogenic-related genes over MCAPS-M and MCAPS-H, indicating that a lower dose of APS within the material of MCAPS is more appropriate for its osteogenesis promotion properties.

18.
J Struct Biol ; : 108109, 2024 Jul 02.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38964522

RESUMO

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a category of neurodegenerative disorders (ND) that currently lack comprehensive and definitive treatment strategies. The etiology of PD can be attributed to the presence and aggregation of a protein known as α-synuclein. Researchers have observed that the application of an external electrostatic field holds the potential to induce the separation of the fibrous structures into peptides. To comprehend this phenomenon, our investigation involved simulations conducted on the α-synuclein peptides through the application of Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation techniques under the influence of a 0.1 V/nm electric field. The results obtained from the MD simulations revealed that in the presence of external electric field, the monomer and oligomeric forms of α-synuclein are experienced significant conformational changes which could prevent them from further aggregation. However, as the number of peptide units in the model system increases, forming trimers and tetramers, the stability against the electric field also increases. This enhanced stability in larger aggregates indicates a critical threshold in α-synuclein assembly where the electric field's effectiveness in disrupting the aggregation diminishes. Therefore, our findings suggest that early diagnosis and intervention could be crucial in preventing PD progression. When α-synuclein predominantly exists in its monomeric or dimeric form, applying even a lower electric field could effectively disrupt the initial aggregation process. Inhibition of α-synuclein fibril formation at early stages might serve as a viable solution to combat PD by halting the formation of more stable and pathogenic α-synuclein fibrils.

19.
Adv Mater ; : e2406922, 2024 Jul 16.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39011798

RESUMO

Double-fibril network morphology (DFNM), in which the donor and the acceptor can self-assemble into a double-fibril structure, is beneficial for exciton dissociation and charge transport in organic solar cells. Herein, it is demonstrated that such DFNM can be constructed and optimized in all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) with the assistance of 2-alkoxynaphthalene volatile solid additives. It is revealed that the incorporation of 2-alkoxynaphthalene can induce a stepwise regulation in the aggregation of donor and acceptor molecules during film casting and thermal annealing processes. Through altering the alkoxy of 2-alkoxynaphthalene solid additives, both the intermolecular interactions and molecular miscibility with the host materials can be precisely tuned, which allows for the optimization of the molecular aggregation process and facilitation of molecular self-assembly, and thus leading to reinforced molecular packing and optimized DFNM. As a result, an unprecedented efficiency of 19.50% (certified as 19.1%) is obtained for 2-ethoxynaphthalene-processed PM6:PY-DT-X all-PSCs with excellent photostability (T80 = 1750 h). This work reveals that the optimization of DFNM via solid additive strategy is a promising avenue to boosting the performance of all-PSCs.

20.
Biophys Chem ; 313: 107293, 2024 Oct.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39004034

RESUMO

The secondary amyloidosis of humans is caused by the formation of hSAA fibrils in different organs and tissues. Until now hSAA was thought to have low amyloidogenicity in vitro and the majority of SAA aggregation experiments were done using murine protein or hSAA non-pathogenic isoforms. In this work a novel purification method for recombinant hSAA was introduced, enabling to obtain monomeric protein capable of amyloid aggregation under physiological conditions. The stability and amyloid aggregation of hSAA have been examined using a wide range of biophysical methods. It was shown that the unfolding of monomeric protein occurs through the formation of molten globule-like intermediate state. Polymorphism of hSAA amyloids was discovered to depend on the solution pH. At pH 8.5, rapid protein aggregation occurs, which leads to the formation of twisted short fibrils. Even a slight decrease of the pH to 7.8 results in delayed aggregation with the formation of long straight amyloids composed of laterally associated protofilaments. Limited proteolysis experiments have shown that full-length hSAA is involved in the formation of intermolecular interactions in both amyloid polymorphs. The results obtained, and the experimental approach used in this study can serve as a basis for further research on the mechanism of authentic hSAA amyloid formation.


Assuntos
Amiloide , Amiloidose , Dobramento de Proteína , Proteína Amiloide A Sérica , Humanos , Amiloidose/metabolismo , Concentração de Íons de Hidrogênio , Proteína Amiloide A Sérica/química , Proteína Amiloide A Sérica/metabolismo , Proteína Amiloide A Sérica/genética , Proteína Amiloide A Sérica/isolamento & purificação , Amiloide/química , Amiloide/metabolismo , Proteínas Recombinantes/isolamento & purificação , Proteínas Recombinantes/química , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Proteínas Recombinantes/genética
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