Download MendeleyStructural studies of the tethered N-terminus of the Alzheimer's disease amyloid-beta peptide.
Nisbet, R.M., Nuttall, S.D., Robert, R., Caine, J.M., Dolezal, O., Hattarki, M., Pearce, L.A., Davydova, N., Masters, C.L., Varghese, J.N., Streltsov, V.A.(2013) Proteins 81: 1748-1758
- PubMed: 23609990
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/prot.24312
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
4F37 - PubMed Abstract:
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia in humans and is related to the accumulation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and its interaction with metals (Cu, Fe, and Zn) in the brain. Crystallographic structural information about Aβ peptide deposits and the details of the metal-binding site is limited owing to the heterogeneous nature of aggregation states formed by the peptide. Here, we present a crystal structure of Aβ residues 1-16 fused to the N-terminus of the Escherichia coli immunity protein Im7, and stabilized with the fragment antigen binding fragment of the anti-Aβ N-terminal antibody WO2. The structure demonstrates that Aβ residues 10-16, which are not in complex with the antibody, adopt a mixture of local polyproline II-helix and turn type conformations, enhancing cooperativity between the two adjacent histidine residues His13 and His14. Furthermore, this relatively rigid region of Aβ (residues, 10-16) appear as an almost independent unit available for trapping metal ions and provides a rationale for the His13-metal-His14 coordination in the Aβ1-16 fragment implicated in Aβ metal binding. This novel structure, therefore, has the potential to provide a foundation for investigating the effect of metal ion binding to Aβ and illustrates a potential target for the development of future Alzheimer's disease therapeutics aimed at stabilizing the N-terminal monomer structure, in particular residues His13 and His14, and preventing Aβ metal-binding-induced neurotoxicity.
Organizational Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering & Preventative Health Flagship, CSIRO, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia.
