Steven S.-S. Wang

The epigenetic effects of amyloid-β1-40 on global DNA and neprilysin genes in murine cerebral endothelial cells

Amyloid-beta (Abeta) is the core component of senile plaques, which are the pathological markers for Alzheimers disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. DNA methylation/demethylation plays a crucial role in gene regulation and could also be responsible for presentation of senescence. Oxidative stress, which may be induced by Abeta, is thought to be an important contributor of DNA hyper-methylation; however, contradicting this is the fact that global DNA hypo-methylation has been found in aging brains. It therefore remains largely unknown as to whether Abeta does in fact cause DNA methylation/demethylation. Neprilysin (NEP) is one of the enzymes responsible for Abeta degradation, with its expression decreasing in both Alzheimer and aging brains. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we explore whether Abeta is responsible for alteration of the global DNA methylation status on a murine cerebral endothelial cells model, and also use methylation-specific PCR (MSPCR) to examine whether DNA methylation status is altered on the NEP promoter region. We find that Abeta reduces global DNA methylation whilst increasing NEP DNA methylation and further suppressing the NEP expression in mRNA and protein levels. Our results support that Abeta induces epigenetic effects, implying that DNA methylation may be part of a vicious cycle involving the reduction in NEP expression along with a resultant increase in Abeta accumulation, and that Abeta may induce global DNA hypo-methylation.

Amyloid fibrillation and cytotoxicity of insulin are inhibited by the amphiphilic surfactants

Amyloid fibrils have been associated with at least 25 different degenerative diseases. The 51-residue polypeptide hormone insulin, which is associated with type II diabetes, has been shown to self-assemble to form amyloid fibrils in vitro. With bovine insulin as a model, the research presented here explores the effects of two amphiphilic surfactants (1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (di-C7-PC) and 1,2-diheptanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (di-C7-PC)) on the in vitro fibrillation process of bovine insulin at pH 2.0 and 55 degrees C. We demonstrated that insulin fibrillation may be inhibited by both surfactants in a dose-dependent fashion. The best inhibition of fibril formation is observed when insulin is incubated with 4mM di-C7-PC. Moreover, the addition of either surfactant at the concentrations studied attenuated insulin fibril-induced cytotoxicity in both PC12 and SH-SY5Y cell lines. The results from this work may contribute to the understanding of the molecular factors affecting amyloid fibrillation and the molecular mechanism(s) of the interactions between the membrane and amyloid proteins.

Investigation of the Mechanism of β-Amyloid Fibril Formation by Kinetic and Thermodynamic Analyses

Extracellular beta-amyloid (A beta) deposit is considered as one of the primary factors that induce Alzheimers disease (AD). The effects of various environmental factors, including temperature, ionic strength, and pH, on A beta (1-40) aggregation mechanisms were investigated in this study by spectrometry, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and hydrophobic fluorescence assay. In the aggregation process, the secondary structure of A beta (1-40) transforms to the beta-sheet conformation, which could be described as a two-state model. As the temperature and ionic strength increase, the conformation of A beta converts to the beta-sheet structure with an increased rate. Results of circular dichroism monitoring demonstrate that the rate constant of nucleation is smaller than that of elongation, and the nucleation is the rate-determining step during the overall A beta aggregation. The beta-sheet structure was stabilized by hydrophobic forces, as revealed by the ITC measurements. The different structural aggregates and forming pathways could be identified and discriminated at high and low ionic strengths, resulting in distinctive fibril conformations. Furthermore, the thermodynamic analysis shows that hydrophobic interaction is the major driving force in the nucleation step. Our study provides an insight into the discriminative mechanisms of beta-amyloid aggregation via kinetics and thermodynamics, especially the first reported thermodynamics information obtained by ITC.

Efficient and stable enzyme immobilization in a block copolypeptide vesicle-templated biomimetic silica support.

We report the immobilization of a model enzyme, papain, within silica matrices by combining vesiclization of poly-l-lysine-b-polyglycine block copolypeptides with following silica mineralization. Our novel strategy utilizes block polypeptide vesicles to induce the condensation of orthosilicic acid while trapping an enzyme within and between vesicles. The polypeptide mediated silica-immobilized enzyme exhibits enhanced pH and thermal stability and reusability, comparing with the free and vesicle encapsulated enzyme. The enhanced enzymatic activity in the immobilized enzyme is due to the confinement of the enzyme in the polypeptide mediated silica matrices. Kinetic analysis shows that the enzyme functionality is determined by the structure and property of silica/polypeptide matrices. The proposed novel strategy provides an alternative route for the synthesis of a broad range of functional bionanocomposites entrapped within silica nanostructures.

Inhibition of Amyloid Fibrillization of Hen Egg-White Lysozymes by Rifampicin and p-Benzoquinone

It has been reported that more than 20 different human proteins can fold abnormally, resulting in the formation of pathological deposits and several lethal degenerative diseases. Despite extensive investigations on amyloid fibril formation, the detailed molecular mechanism remained rather elusive. The current research, utilizing hen egg‐white lysozymes as a model system, is aimed at exploring inhibitory activities of two potential molecules against lysozyme fibril formation. We first demonstrated that the formation of lysozyme amyloid fibrils at pH 2.0 was markedly enhanced by the presence of agitation in comparison with its quiescent counterpart. Next, via numerous spectroscopic techniques and transmission electron microscopy, our results revealed that the inhibition of lysozyme amyloid formation by either rifampicin or its analogue p‐benzoquinone followed a concentration‐dependent fashion. Furthermore, while both inhibitors were shown to acquire an anti‐aggregating and a disaggregating activity, rifampicin, in comparison with p‐benzoquinone, served as a more effective inhibitor against in vitro amyloid fibrillogenesis of lysozyme. It is our belief that the data reported in this work will not only reinforce the findings validated by others that rifampicin and p‐benzoquinone serve as two promising preventive molecules against amyloid fibrillogenesis, but also shed light on a rational design of effective therapeutics for amyloidogenic diseases.

Investigating the effects of sodium dodecyl sulfate on the aggregative behavior of hen egg-white lysozyme at acidic pH.

The research presented here is aimed at examining the effects of sodium dodecyl sulfate on the aggregative behavior of hen egg-white lysozyme at pH 2.0. Through various spectroscopic techniques, dynamic light scattering, and electron microscopy, we first demonstrated that SDS exhibited a biphasic effect on lysozyme fibrillation. The presence of SDS at higher concentrations (e.g., 0.25, 5.00, or 20.00 mM SDS) was found to suppress fibril formation of lysozyme whereas fibrillogenic lysozyme-SDS ensemble containing beta-sheet-rich conformation was observed upon the addition of lower concentrations of SDS (e.g., 0.00, 0.06, or 0.1mM SDS). Next, our equilibrium urea-unfolding data revealed that lysozyme samples with higher SDS concentrations showed superior thermodynamic stabilities over the ones with no or lower levels of SDS. Finally, the correlation between SDS concentration and lysozyme aggregative/fibrillogenic propensity and the underlying interacting mechanism were further explored using surface tensiometry and isothermal titration calorimetry. We believe the outcome from this work may not only help decipher the molecular mechanism of amyloid fibrillation, but also shed light on a rational design of potential therapeutic strategies for amyloid pathology.

Curcumin's pre-incubation temperature affects its inhibitory potency toward amyloid fibrillation and fibril-induced cytotoxicity of lysozyme.

BACKGROUND More than twenty-seven human proteins can fold abnormally to form amyloid deposits associated with a number of degenerative diseases. The research reported here is aimed at exploring the connection between curcumins thermostability and its inhibitory activity toward the amyloid fibrillation of hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL). METHODS ThT fluorescence spectroscopy, equilibrium thermal denaturation analysis, and transmission electron microscopy were employed for structural characterization. MTT reduction and flow cytometric analyses were used to examine cell viability. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION The addition of thermally pre-treated curcumin was found to attenuate the formation of HEWL fibrils and the observed fibrillation inhibition was dependent upon the pre-incubation temperature of curcumin. Our results also demonstrated that the cytotoxic effects of fibrillar HEWL species on PC 12 and SH-SY5Y cells were decreased and negatively correlated with curcumins thermostability. Next, an enhanced stability of HEWL was perceived upon the addition of curcumin pre-incubated at lower temperature. Furthermore, we found that the alteration of curcumins thermostability was associated with its inhibitory potency against HEWL fibrillation. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE We believe that the results from this research may contribute to the development of effective therapeutics for amyloidoses.

Investigating the influences of redox buffer compositions on the amyloid fibrillogenesis of hen egg-white lysozyme

More than twenty different human proteins have been found to fold abnormally resulting in the formation of pathological deposits and several lethal degenerative diseases. Despite extensive investigations on amyloid fibril formation, the detailed molecular mechanism remained rather elusive. The present study is aimed at exploring the effect of the ratio of cysteine and cystine in the buffer on the fibrillation of hen egg-white lysozyme. Our results revealed that the inhibition of lysozyme amyloid formation by cysteine in the redox buffer followed a concentration-dependent fashion. Cystine, the oxidized form of cysteine, nevertheless, did not influence the final level of fibrillation although it lengthened the lag period of fibril formation. Moreover, the effect of the ratio of cysteine to cystine in the buffer on the fibrillogenesis of hen lysozyme was found to be greatly associated with the formation of mixed disulfide derivatives. Finally, a possible reaction mechanism was proposed to explain our experimental results. Our study shows that the concentration of mixed disulfide derivative was inversely correlated with the level of lysozyme fibrillogenesis. The results from this work may aid in comprehending the molecular mechanism(s) of amyloid fibrillogenesis for disulfide bonded proteins and the development of effective therapeutics for amyloidogenic diseases.

Effects of glutathione on amyloid fibrillation of hen egg-white lysozyme

This study examined the effects of glutathione on the fibrillation of hen egg-white lysozyme. We found that the fibrillation of lysozyme was considerably reduced by GSH while no anti-aggregating activity was detected with only GSSG. SDS-PAGE results also revealed that the addition of GSH led to an early occurrence of prominent lysozyme hydrolysis. Moreover, GSH was effective in inhibiting lysozyme fibrillation when GSH was added within 6 days of incubation. We conclude that the attenuation of lysozyme fibrillation is strongly dependent upon the redox environment. Our data may contribute to decipher the molecular mechanism of amyloid fibrillation.

Examining the levels of ganglioside and cholesterol in cell membrane on attenuation the cytotoxicity of beta-amyloid peptide.

The deposition of beta-amyloid (Abeta) on cell membranes is considered as one of the primary factors in having Alzheimers disease (AD). Recent studies have suggested that certain components of plasma membrane, ganglioside and cholesterol could accelerate the accumulation of Abeta on the plasma membranes. However, the effect of cholesterol and ganglioside (GM1) on Abeta cytotoxicity is still a controversial issue. The aim of this study is to understand the roles of GM1 and cholesterol in AD by using PC12, a neuron-like cell. The effects of the sequence, conformation, and concentration of Abeta on cytotoxicity were also investigated. Monomeric Abeta could attack the plasma membrane resulting in cytotoxicity, however, fibrillar Abeta was found to be less toxic. Our results showed that Abeta (1-40) was more toxic than Abeta (25-35) and the cytotoxicity of Abeta was proportional to its concentration. Besides, the depletion of GM1 from plasma membrane, it would block the Abeta-induced cytotoxicity. Decreasing the cholesterol level by around 30% could attenuate the cytotoxicity of Abeta. These findings validate our idea that the cholesterol could stabilize the lateral pressure derived from the formation of GM1-Abeta complex on the membrane surface. Furthermore, both GM1 and cholesterol are essential in mechanism of Abeta accumulation and could modulate the cytotoxicity of monomeric Abeta.