Miyo Sakai

Metal Ion-dependent Effects of Clioquinol on the Fibril Growth of an Amyloid β Peptide

Although metal ions such as Cu2+, Zn2+, and Fe3+ are implicated to play a key role in Alzheimer disease, their role is rather complex, and comprehensive understanding is not yet obtained. We show that Cu2+ and Zn2+ but not Fe3+ renders the amyloid β peptide, Aβ1–40, nonfibrillogenic in nature. However, preformed fibrils of Aβ1–40 were stable when treated with these metal ions. Consequently, fibril growth of Aβ1–40 could be switched on/off by switching the molecule between its apo- and holo-forms. Clioquinol, a potential drug for Alzheimer disease, induced resumption of the Cu2+-suppressed but not the Zn2+-suppressed fibril growth of Aβ1–40. The observed synergistic effect of clioquinol and Zn2+ suggests that Zn2+-clioquinol complex effectively retards fibril growth. Thus, clioquinol has dual effects; although it disaggregates the metal ion-induced aggregates of Aβ1–40 through metal chelation, it further retards the fibril growth along with Zn2+. These results indicate the mechanism of metal ions in suppressing Aβ amyloid formation, as well as providing information toward the use of metal ion chelators, particularly clioquinol, as potential drugs for Alzheimer disease.

αB-crystallin, a small heat-shock protein, prevents the amyloid fibril growth of an amyloid β-peptide and β2-microglobulin

AlphaB-crystallin, a small heat-shock protein, exhibits molecular chaperone activity. We have studied the effect of alphaB-crystallin on the fibril growth of the Abeta (amyloid beta)-peptides Abeta-(1-40) and Abeta-(1-42). alphaB-crystallin, but not BSA or hen egg-white lysozyme, prevented the fibril growth of Abeta-(1-40), as revealed by thioflavin T binding, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and CD spectroscopy. Comparison of the activity of some mutants and chimaeric alpha-crystallins in preventing Abeta-(1-40) fibril growth with their previously reported chaperone ability in preventing dithiothreitol-induced aggregation of insulin suggests that there might be both common and distinct sites of interaction on alpha-crystallin involved in the prevention of amorphous aggregation of insulin and fibril growth of Abeta-(1-40). alphaB-crystallin also prevents the spontaneous fibril formation (without externally added seeds) of Abeta-(1-42), as well as the fibril growth of Abeta-(1-40) when seeded with the Abeta-(1-42) fibril seed. Sedimentation velocity measurements show that alphaB-crystallin does not form a stable complex with Abeta-(1-40). The mechanism by which it prevents the fibril growth differs from the known mechanism by which it prevents the amorphous aggregation of proteins. alphaB-crystallin binds to the amyloid fibrils of Abeta-(1-40), indicating that the preferential interaction of the chaperone with the fibril nucleus, which inhibits nucleation-dependent polymerization of amyloid fibrils, is the mechanism that is predominantly involved. We found that alphaB-crystallin prevents the fibril growth of beta2-microglobulin under acidic conditions. It also retards the depolymerization of beta2-microglobulin fibrils, indicating that it can interact with the fibrils. Our study sheds light on the role of small heat-shock proteins in protein conformational diseases, particularly in Alzheimers disease.

Amyloid Nucleation Triggered by Agitation of β2-Microglobulin under Acidic and Neutral pH Conditions

Amyloid nucleation through agitation was studied with beta2-microglobulin, which is responsible for dialysis-related amyloidosis, in the presence of salt under acid and neutral pH conditions. First, the aggregation of beta2-microglobulin in NaCl solutions was achieved by mildly agitating for 24 h at 37 degrees C protein solutions in three different states: acid-unfolded, salt-induced protofibrillar, and native. The formation of aggregates was confirmed by an increase in light scattering intensity of the solutions. Then, the aggregated samples were incubated without agitation at 37 degrees C for up to 25-45 days. The structural changes in the aggregated state during the incubation period were examined by means of fluorescence spectroscopy with thioflavin T, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. The results revealed that all the samples in the different states produced a mature amyloid nucleus upon agitation, after which the fibrils elongated without any detectable lag phase during the incubation, with the acid-unfolded protein better suited to undergoing the structural rearrangements necessary to form amyloid fibrils than the more structured forms. The amount of aggregate including the amyloid nucleus produced by agitation from the native conformation at neutral pH was estimated to be about 9% of all the protein by an analysis using ultracentrifugation. Additionally, amyloid nucleation by agitation was similarly achieved for a different protein, hen egg-white lysozyme, in 0.5 M NaCl solution at neutral pH. Taken together, the agitation-treated aggregates of both proteins have a high propensity to produce an amyloid nucleus even at neutral pH, providing evidence that the aggregation pathway involves amyloid nucleation under entirely native conditions.

Age-related changes of alpha-crystallin aggregate in human lens

Summary.Lens alpha-crystallin, composed of two subunits alpha A- and alpha B-crystallin, forms large aggregates in the lens of the eye. The present study investigated the aggregate of human lens alpha-crystallin from elderly and young donors. Recombinant alpha A- and alpha B-crystallins in molar ratios of alpha A to alpha B at 1:1, corresponding to the aged sample, were also studied in detail. We found by ultra-centrifugation analysis that the alpha-crystallin aggregate from elderly donors was large and heterogeneous with an average sedimentation coefficient of 30 S and a range of 20–60 S at 37 °C. This was higher compared to the young samples that had an average sedimentation coefficient of 17 S. The sedimentation coefficients of recombinant alpha A- and alpha B-crystallins were approximately 12 S and 15 S, respectively. Even when recombinant alpha-crystallins were mixed in molar ratios equivalent to those found in vivo, similar S values as the native aged alpha-crystallin aggregates were not obtained.Changes in the self-association of alpha-crystallin aggregate were correlated to changes in chaperone activity. Alpha-crystallin from young donors, and recombinant alpha A- and alpha B-crystallin and their mixtures showed chaperone activity, which was markedly lost in samples from the aged alpha-crystallin aggregates.

Differential rate constants of racemization of aspartyl and asparaginyl residues in human alpha A-crystallin mutants.

Asp58 and Asp151 in alpha A-crystallin of human eye lenses become highly inverted and isomerized to d-beta-Asp residues with age. Racemization was previously shown to proceed rapidly when the residue on the carboxyl side of the Asp residue is small. Asn was also demonstrated to be more susceptible to racemization than Asp in protein. In this study, the changes of rate constants for racemization at Asp58 and Asp151 and at Asn58 and Asn151 were investigated using D58N, S59T, D151N and A152V mutants obtained through site-directed mutagenesis. The rate constant of racemization at Asn151 in D151N was found to be 1.5 times more rapid than Asp151 in the wild-type. For A152V, the rate constant at Asp151 was 1/4 that of the wild-type. There were no significant differences in the rate constants of racemization for both Asp58 and Asn58 residues. The aggregate size of D58N, S59T and D151N mutants increased or increased in polydispersity and their chaperone activities decreased. The size and chaperone activity of A152V was unchanged. These results suggest that structures close to Asp58 and Asp151 residues in the protein affect the rate constant of Asp racemization and the size and chaperone function of alpha A-crystallin.

Investigation of the protein pre-crystallization solution using analytical ultracentrifugation.

Analytical ultracentrifugation was used to study the crystal growth units in hen egg-white lysozyme pre-crystallization solution. Solutions containing various concentrations of lysozyme and NaCl in 50 mM sodium acetate buffer were used for experiments. The crystallization solution was ultracentrifuged using a mode where the sedimentation and diffusion are in equilibrium. The protein concentration gradient in the centrifugation cell was measured by light absorption and the molecular weight was calculated from the concentration gradient data. The results were analyzed assuming that the molecules have no interaction with each other. In all solutions except for 0.4 M NaCl, 30 mg ml(-1) lysozyme solution, it was shown that the molecular weight falls in the range 12,000-16,500 Da. In 0.4 M NaCl, 30 mg ml(-1) lysozyme solution no analysis was made because crystals appeared at the bottom of the cell after centrifugation. Since the calculated molecular weight of lysozyme monomer is 14,400 Da, it was concluded that the lysozyme molecule predominantly exists as a monomer in undersaturated and supersaturated solutions.