Alexey K. Surin

One of the possible mechanisms of amyloid fibrils formation based on the sizes of primary and secondary folding nuclei of Aβ40 and Aβ42

In the presented paper, theoretical as well as electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction experimental approaches were employed for studding the process of Aβ amyloid formation. Using quantitative estimates of a number of monomers which form the nuclei of amyloid fibrils the sizes of folding nuclei of amyloid fibrils for Aβ40 and 42 have been determined for the first time. We have shown that the size of the primary nucleus of Aβ42 peptide fibrils corresponds to 3 monomers, the size of the secondary nucleus for this peptide is 2 monomers. Applying the same analysis to Aβ40 we conclude that the size of the primary nucleus is 2 monomers, and the size of the secondary nucleus is one monomer. Summation of our theoretical and experimental results has allowed us to propose a new model of the structural organization of amyloid fibrils. Our model suggests that the generation of fibrils takes place along the following simplified pathway: a monomer→a ring oligomer→a mature fibril consisting of ring oligomers. These data shed more light upon our understanding of what sizes of the oligomers could represent main targets for future therapies (tetramers for Aβ42 and trimers for Aβ40), and aid in the development of inhibitors of Aβ40 and 42 oligomer formation.

Studies of Polymorphism of Amyloid-β 42 Peptide from Different Suppliers

The aim of this study was to investigate the process of amyloidogenesis of amyloid-β (Aβ)42 peptide, by means of fluorescence spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and mass spectrometry. It has been repeatedly reported in the literature that the process of fibril formation by Aβ42 peptide depends considerably not only upon the specific conditions (ionic conditions, pH, temperature, mixing, etc.), as well as the manufacturing route (synthetic or recombinant), but also on the methods of synthesis and purification. We have, for the first time, systematically analyzed samples of Aβ42 peptide supplied by five different companies (Anaspec, Invitrogen, Enzo, Sigma-Aldrich, and SynthAssist) and obtained evidence of significant variability, including lot to lot variations. All studied samples formed amyloid-like fibrils at pH3-6, and the fibrils contained cross-β structures. Samples from Anaspec, Invitrogen, and Enzo formed one particular type of amyloid-like fibrils, while the samples from Sigma-Aldrich and SynthAssist formed another distinct type of fibrils. The observed polymorphism emphasizes the capacity of the Aβ42 peptide to act as a prion agent with varying structural characteristics. The presented data have allowed us to propose a possible mechanism of formation of amyloid-like fibrils.

A novel web server predicts amino acid residue protection against hydrogen–deuterium exchange

MOTIVATION To clarify the relationship between structural elements and polypeptide chain mobility, a set of statistical analyses of structures is necessary. Because at present proteins with determined spatial structures are much less numerous than those with amino acid sequence known, it is important to be able to predict the extent of proton protection from hydrogen-deuterium (HD) exchange basing solely on the protein primary structure. RESULTS Here we present a novel web server aimed to predict the degree of amino acid residue protection against HD exchange solely from the primary structure of the protein chain under study. On the basis of the amino acid sequence, the presented server offers the following three possibilities (predictors) for users choice. First, prediction of the number of contacts occurring in this protein, which is shown to be helpful in estimating the number of protons protected against HD exchange (sensitivity 0.71). Second, probability of H-bonding in this protein, which is useful for finding the number of unprotected protons (specificity 0.71). The last is the use of an artificial predictor. Also, we report on mass spectrometry analysis of HD exchange that has been first applied to free amino acids. Its results showed a good agreement with theoretical data (number of protons) for 10 globular proteins (correlation coefficient 0.73). We pioneered in compiling two datasets of experimental HD exchange data for 35 proteins. AVAILABILITY The H-Protection server is available for users at http://bioinfo.protres.ru/ogp/ SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Determination of Size of Folding Nuclei of Fibrils Formed from Recombinant Aβ(1-40) Peptide.

We have developed a highly efficient method for purification of the recombinant product Aβ(1-40) peptide. The concentration dependence of amyloid formation by recombinant Aβ(1-40) peptide was studied using fluorescence spectroscopy and electron microscopy. We found that the process of amyloid formation is preceded by lag time, which indicates that the process is nucleation-dependent. Further exponential growth of amyloid fibrils is followed by branching scenarios. Based on the experimental data on the concentration dependence, the sizes of the folding nuclei of fibrils were calculated. It turned out that the size of the primary nucleus is one “monomer” and the size of the secondary nucleus is zero. This means that the nucleus for new aggregates can be a surface of the fibrils themselves. Using electron microscopy, we have demonstrated that fibrils of these peptides are formed by the association of rounded ring structures.

Insulin and Lispro Insulin: What is Common and Different in Their Behavior?

There are different insulin analogues with various pharmacokinetic characteristics, such as, rapid-acting, long-acting, or intermediate-acting analogues. Since insulin tends to form amyloid aggregates, it is of particular interest to measure characteristic times of formation of amyloid aggregates and compare those to action times for insulin and its analogues. For the study we have chosen one of the insulin analogues - insulin Lispro, which is a fast acting insulin analog. It is usually thought of amyloid aggregation as a nucleation-dependent process. We have estimated the size of the primary nucleus to be one monomer and the size of the secondary nucleus to be around zero in both insulin and Lispro insulin aggregation processes. The main structural element of insulin and Lispro insulin amyloid fibrils is a rounded ring oligomer of about 6-7 nm in diameter, about 2-3 nm in height and about 2 nm in diameter of the hole. Fibrils of several μm in length are produced due to interaction of such oligomers. The packing of ring oligomers in fibrils differs because of the difference in their orderliness. Though the initial stages of fibril formation (monomer, oligomer) are similar, the further process depends on the unique sequence of each peptide. Namely the sequence affects the final morphology of mature amyloids. These observations allow us to conclude that formation of fibrils by short peptides occurs via and by means of oligomer ring structures. Such an important issue as the nature of polymorphism of insulin amyloid fibrils has been settled by us. The role of early oligomeric aggregates in such processes as nucleation and aggregation of amyloid fibrils has been examined.

Structural model of amyloid fibrils for amyloidogenic peptide from Bgl2p–glucantransferase of S. cerevisiae cell wall and its modifying analog. New morphology of amyloid fibrils

We performed a comparative study of the process of amyloid formation by short homologous peptides with a substitution of aspartate for glutamate in position 2 - VDSWNVLVAG (AspNB) and VESWNVLVAG (GluNB) - with unblocked termini. Peptide AspNB (residues 166-175) corresponded to the predicted amyloidogenic region of the protein glucantransferase Bgl2 from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall. The process of amyloid formation was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy (FS), electron microscopy (EM), tandem mass spectrometry (TMS), and X-ray diffraction (XD) methods. The experimental study at pH3.0 revealed formation of amyloid fibrils with similar morphology for both peptides. Moreover, we found that the morphology of fibrils made of untreated ammonia peptide is not mentioned in the literature. This morphology resembles snakes lying side by side in the form of a wave without intertwining. Irrespective of the way of the peptide preparation, the rate of fibril formation is higher for AspNB than for GluNB. However, preliminary treatment with ammonia highly affected fibril morphology especially for AspNB. Such treatment allowed us to obtain a lag period during the process of amyloid formation. It showed that the process was nucleation-dependent. With or without treatment, amyloid fibrils consisted of ring-like oligomers with the diameter of about 6nm packed either directly ring-to-ring or ring-on-ring with a slight shift. We also proposed the molecular structure of amyloid fibrils for two studied peptides.

The Mechanism Underlying Amyloid Polymorphism is Opened for Alzheimer’s Disease Amyloid-β Peptide

It has been demonstrated using Aβ40 and Aβ42 recombinant and synthetic peptides that their fibrils are formed of complete oligomer ring structures. Such ring structures have a diameter of about 8-9 nm, an oligomer height of about 2- 4 nm, and an internal diameter of the ring of about 3-4 nm. Oligomers associate in a fibril in such a way that they interact with each other, overlapping slightly. There are differences in the packing of oligomers in fibrils of recombinant and synthetic Aβ peptides. The principal difference is in the degree of orderliness of ring-like oligomers that leads to generation of morphologically different fibrils. Most ordered association of ring-like structured oligomers is observed for a recombinant Aβ40 peptide. Less ordered fibrils are observed with the synthetic Aβ42 peptide. Fragments of fibrils the most protected from the action of proteases have been determined by tandem mass spectrometry. It was shown that unlike Aβ40, fibrils of Aβ42 are more protected, showing less ordered organization compared to that of Aβ40 fibrils. Thus, the mass spectrometry data agree with the electron microscopy data and structural models presented here.

Comparison of experimental and theoretical data on hydrogen-deuterium exchange for ten globular proteins

The number of protons available for hydrogen-deuterium exchange was predicted for ten globular proteins using a method described elsewhere by the authors. The average number of protons replaced by deuterium was also determined by mass spectrometry of the intact proteins in their native conformations. Based on these data, we find that two models proposed earlier agree with each other in estimation of the number of protons replaced by deuterium. Using a model with a probability scale for hydrogen bond formation, we estimated a number of protons replaced by deuterium that is close to the experimental data for long-term incubation in D2O (24 h). Using a model based on estimations with a scale of the expected number of contacts in globular proteins there is better agreement with the experimental data obtained for a short period of incubation in D2O (15 min). Therefore, the former model determines weakly fluctuating parts of a protein that are in contact with solvent only for a small fraction of the time. The latter model (based on the scale of expected number of contacts) predicts either flexible parts of a protein chain exposed to interactions with solvent or disordered parts of the protein.

X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy data for amyloid formation of Aβ40 and Aβ42

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “One of the possible mechanisms of amyloid fibrils formation based on the sizes of primary and secondary folding nuclei of Aβ40 and Aβ42” (Dovidchenko et al., 2016) [1]. Aβ peptide is one of the most intensively studied amyloidogenic peptides. Despite the huge number of articles devoted to studying different fragments of Aβ peptide there are only several papers with correct kinetics data, also there are a few papers with X-ray data, especially for Aβ42. Our data present X-ray diffraction patterns both for Aβ40 and Aβ42 as well for Tris–HCl and wax. Moreover, our data provide kinetics of amyloid formation by recombinant Аβ40 and synthetic Аβ42 peptides by using electron microscopy.

Determination of regions involved in amyloid fibril formation for Aβ(1-40) peptide

The studies of amyloid structures and the process of their formation are important problems of biophysics. One of the aspects of such studies is to determine the amyloidogenic regions of a protein chain that form the core of an amyloid fibril. We have theoretically predicted the amyloidogenic regions of the Aβ(1-40) peptide capable of forming an amyloid structure. These regions are from 16 to 21 and from 32 to 36 amino acid residues. In this work, we have attempted to identify these sites experimentally by the method of tandem mass spectrometry. As a result, we show that regions of the Aβ(1-40) peptide from 16 to 22 and from 28 to 40 amino acid residues are resistant to proteases, i.e. they are included in the core of amyloid fibrils. Our results correlate with the results of the theoretical prediction.