• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2018

Studies on the interactions of amyloidogenic proteins with trace metals, such as copper, have indicated that the metal ions perform a critical function in the early oligomerization process. Herein, we investigate the effects of Cu(II) ions on the active sequence regions of amyloidogenic proteins using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and collision induced dissociation tandem MS (CID-MS/MS). We chose three amyloidogenic peptides NNQQNY, LYQLEN, and VQIVYK from yeast prion like protein Sup35, insulin chain A, and tau protein, respectively. [Cu-peptide] complexes for all three peptides were observed in the mass spectra. The mass spectra also show that increasing Cu(II) concentrations decrease the population of existing peptide oligomers. The tandem mass spectrum of NNQQNY shows preferential binding for the N-terminal region. All three peptides are likely to appear to be in a Cu-monomer-monomer (Cu-M-M) structure instead of a monomer-Cu-monomer (M-Cu-M) structure.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.17-20
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• 2022

High-pressure (HP) NMR is a versatile tool to investigate diverse features of proteins. This technique has been particularly powerful to elucidate structural dynamics that only populates sufficiently in a pressurized condition. Amyloidogenic proteins, which are prone to aggregate and form amyloid fibrils, often maintains highly dynamic states in its native or aggregation-prone states, and HP NMR contributed much to advance our understandings of the dynamic behaviors of amyloidogenic proteins and the molecular mechanisms of their aggregation. In this mini review, we therefore summarize recent HP NMR studies on amyloid-beta (Aβ), the representative amyloidogenic intrinsically disordered protein (IDP).

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2019

The ${\pi}-{\pi}$ interactions of the peptide-dimer and peptide-trimer complexes were investigated in the (VQIVYK + LYQLEN) and (VQIVYK + NNQQNY) mixing solutions. The results showed that tyrosine (Y) residues were critical in the formation of hetero peptide-dimers and -trimers during the early oligomerization process. We used collision-induced dissociation (CID) along with electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) to obtain the structural information of the hetero-dimers and -trimers. We chose three amyloidogenic peptides-VQIVYK, NNQQNY, and LYQLEN-from tau protein, yeast prion-like protein Sup35, and insulin chain A, respectively. Hetero-dimer, -trimer, -tetramer, and -pentamer complexes were observed in the mass spectra. The tandem mass spectrum of the hetero-dimer and hetero-trimer showed two different fragmentation patterns (covalent and non-covalent bond dissociation). Y-Y interaction structures were also proposed for the hetero-dimer and -trimer complexes.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.21-23
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• 2022

High-pressure (HP) NMR is a powerful method to elucidate various structural features of amyloidogenic proteins. Following the previous mini-review recapitulating the HP-NMR application for amyloid-β peptides of the last issue [J. H. Kim, J. Kor. Mag. Reson. Soc. 26, 17 (2022)], the recent advancements in the HP NMR application for α-synuclein (α-Syn) are briefly summarized and discussed here. Although α-Syn is a well-known intrinsically disordered protein (IDP), several studies have shown that it can also exhibit heterogeneous yet partially folded conformations, which may correlate with its amyloid-forming propensity. HP NMR has been a valuable tool for investigating the dynamic and transient structural features of α-Syn and has provided unique insights to appreciate its aggregation-prone characters.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.157-163
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• 2008

Formation of ${\beta}$-amyloid $(A{\beta})$ fibrils has been identified as one of the major characteristics of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Inhibition of $A{\beta}$ fibril formation in the CNS would be attractive therapeutic targets for the treatment of AD. Several small compounds that inhibit amyloid formation or amyloid neurotoxicity in vitro have been known. Citrate has surfactant function effect because of its molecular structure having high anionic charge density, in addition to the well-known antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Therefore, we hypothesized that citrate might have the inhibitory effect against $A{\beta}$ fibril formation in vitro and have the protective effect against $A{\beta}$-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells. We examined the effect of citrate against the formation of $A{\beta}$ fibrils by measuring the intensity of fluorescence in thioflavin-T (Th-T) assay of between $A{\beta}_{25-35}$ groups treated with citrate and the control with $A{\beta}_{25-35}$ alone. The neuroprotective effect of citrate against $A{\beta}$-induced toxicity in PC12 cells was investigated using the WST-1 assay. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed that citrate inhibited dose-dependently the formation of $A{\beta}$ fibrils from ${\beta}$-amyloid peptides. The inhibition percentages of $A{\beta}$ fibril formation by citrate (1, 2.5, and 5 mM) were 31%, 60%, and 68% at 7 days, respectively in thioflavin-T (Th-T) assay. WST-1 assay revealed that the toxic effect of $A{\beta}_{25-35}$ was reduced, in a dose-dependent manner to citrate. The percentages of neuroprotection by citrate (1, 2.5, and 5 mM) against $A{\beta}-induced$ toxicity were 19%, 31 %, and 34%, respectively. We report that citrate inhibits the formation of $A{\beta}$ fibrils in vitro and has neuroprotective effect against $A{\beta}$-induced toxicity in PC12 cells. Neuroprotective effects of citrate against $A{\beta}$ might be, to some extent, attributable to its inhibition of $A{\beta}$ fibril formation. Although the mechanism of anti-amyloidogenic activity is not clear, the possible mechanism is that citrate might have two effects, salting-in and surfactant effects. These results suggest that citrate could be of potential therapeutic value in Alzheimer's disease.