Accumulating evidence links prefibrillar oligomeric species of the amyloid beta peptide (Abeta) to cellular toxicity in Alzheimer's disease, potentially via disruption of biological membranes. Congo red (CR) affects protein aggregation. It is known to self-associate into micelle-like assemblies but still reduces the toxicity of Abeta aggregates in cell cultures and model organisms. We show here that CR interacts with Abeta(1-40) in a manner similar to that of anionic detergents. Although CR promotes beta sheet formation and peptide aggregation, it may also solubilize toxic protein species, making them less harmful to critical cellular components and thereby reducing amyloid toxicity.

The aggregation of amyloid-beta (A beta) peptides is believed to be a major factor in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease Molecules binding with high affinity and selectivity to A beta-peptides are important tools for investigating the aggregation process An A beta-binding Affibody molecule, Z(A beta 3), has earlier been selected by phage display and shown to bind A beta(1-40) with nanomolar affinity and to inhibit A beta-peptide aggregation In this study, we create truncated functional versions of the Z(A beta 3) Affibody molecule better suited for chemical synthesis production Engineered Affibody molecules of different length were produced by solid phase peptide synthesis and allowed to form covalently linked homodimers by S-S-bridges The N-terminally truncated Affibody molecules Z(A beta 3)(12-58), Z(A beta 3)(15-58), and Z(A beta 3)(18-58) were produced in considerably higher synthetic yield than the corresponding full-length molecule Z(A beta 3)(1-58) Circular dichroism spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance-based biosensor analysis showed that the shortest Affibody molecule, Z(A beta 3)(18-58), exhibited complete loss of binding to the A beta(1-40)-peptide, while the Z(A beta 3)(12-58) and Z(A beta 3)(15-58) Affibody molecules both displayed approximately one order of magnitude higher binding affinity to the A beta(1-40)-peptide compared to the full-length Affibody molecule Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that the structure of A beta(1-40) in complex with the truncated Affibody dimers is very similar to the previously published solution structure of the A beta(1-40)-peptide in complex with the full-length Z(A beta 3) Affibody molecule This indicates that the N-terminally truncated Affibody molecules Z(A beta 3)(12-58) and Z(A beta 3)(15-58) are highly promising for further engineering and future use as binding agents to monomeric A beta(1-40)

In prion diseases, the cellular prion protein (PrP^C) becomes misfolded into the pathogenic scrapie isoform (PrP^Sc) responsible for prion infectivity. We show here that peptides derived from the prion protein N terminus have potent antiprion effects. These peptides are composed of a hydrophobic sequence followed by a basic segment. They are known to have cell-penetrating ability like regular cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), short peptides that can penetrate cellular membranes. Healthy (GT1–1) and scrapie-infected (ScGT1–1) mouse neuronal hypothalamic cells were treated with various CPPs, including the prion protein-derived CPPs. Lysates were analyzed for altered protein levels of PrP^C or PrP^Sc. Treatment with the prion protein-derived CPPs mouse mPrP_1–28 or bovine bPrP_1–30 significantly reduced PrP^Sc levels in prion-infected cells but had no effect on PrP^C levels in noninfected cells. Further, presence of prion protein-derived CPPs significantly prolonged the time before infection was manifested when infecting GT1–1 cells with scrapie. Treatment with other CPPs (penetratin, transportan-10, or poly-L-arginine) or prion protein-derived peptides lacking CPP function (mPrP_23–28, mPrP_19–30, or mPrP_23–50) had no effect on PrP^Sc levels. The results suggest a mechanism by which the signal sequence guides the prion protein-derived CPP into a cellular compartment, where the basic segment binds specifically to PrP^Sc and disables formation of prions.—Löfgren, K., Wahlström, A., Lundberg, P., Langel, U., Gräslund, A., and Bedecs, K. Antiprion properties of prion protein-derived cell-penetrating peptides.

Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder linked to the amyloid β (Aβ) peptide, a 38-43 residue peptide. The detailed molecular disease mechanism(s) is (are) unknown, but oligomeric Aβ structures are proposed to be involved.

In common for the papers in this thesis is interactions; interactions between Aβ(1-40) and selected molecules and metal ions. The purpose has been to find out more about the structural states that Aβ can adopt, in particular the β-sheet state, which probably is linked to the oligomeric structures. The methods used have been nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy using Thioflavin T (ThT).

Upon addition of SDS/LiDS detergent or Congo red (CR) to Aβ(1-40), the initial random coil/PII-helix state was transformed into β-sheet and, in the case of detergent, a final α-helical state. In contrast to SDS/LiDS and CR, the dimeric Affibody molecule locks monomeric Aβ(1-40) in a β-hairpin state. It was found that by truncating the flexible N-terminal end of the Affibody molecule its affinity to Aβ was improved. The aggregation of Aβ(1-40) was further studied in the presence of a β-cyclodextrin dimer by a kinetic assay using ThT. Although having a weak dissociation constant in the millimolar range, the β-cyclodextrin dimer modified the aggregation pathways of Aβ.

Finally Aβ(1-40) was studied in presence of Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ at physiological and low pH. Cu²⁺ was observed to maintain its specific binding to Aβ when decreasing the pH to 5.5 while Zn²⁺ behaved differently. This could be of importance in the Alzheimer’s disease brain in which the environment can become acidic due to inflammation.       

In conclusion the results show that Aβ(1-40) is very sensitive to its environment, responding by adopting different conformations and aggregating in aqueous solutions. The β-sheet state is induced by varying molecules with different properties, properties that govern the final Aβ state.

The amyloid β peptide (Aβ) with 39–42 residues is the major component of amyloid plaques found in brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients, and soluble oligomeric peptide aggregates mediate toxic effects on neurons. The Aβ aggregation involves a conformational change of the peptide structure to β-sheet. In the present study, we report on the effect of detergents on the structure transitions of Aβ, to mimic the effects that biomembranes may have. In vitro, monomeric Aβ(1–40) in a dilute aqueous solution is weakly structured. By gradually adding small amounts of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or lithium dodecyl sulfate to a dilute aqueous solution, Aβ(1–40) is converted to β-sheet, as observed by CD at 3 °C and 20 °C. The transition is mainly a two-state process, as revealed by approximately isodichroic points in the titrations. Aβ(1–40) loses almost all NMR signals at dodecyl sulfate concentrations giving rise to the optimal β-sheet content (approximate detergent/peptide ratio = 20). Under these conditions, thioflavin T fluorescence measurements indicate a maximum of aggregated amyloid-like structures. The loss of NMR signals suggests that these are also involved in intermediate chemical exchange. Transverse relaxation optimized spectroscopy NMR spectra indicate that the C-terminal residues are more dynamic than the others. By further addition of SDS or lithium dodecyl sulfate reaching concentrations close to the critical micellar concentration, CD, NMR and FTIR spectra show that the peptide rearranges to form a micelle-bound structure with α-helical segments, similar to the secondary structures formed when a high concentration of detergent is added directly to the peptide solution.