5AEF

Electron cryo-microscopy of an Abeta(1-42)amyloid fibril

Experimental Data Snapshot

  • Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
  • Resolution: 5 Å
  • Aggregation State: FILAMENT 
  • Reconstruction Method: HELICAL 

wwPDB Validation 3D Report Full Report


This is version 1.3 of the entry. See complete history. 

Literature

Peptide Dimer Structure in an Abeta(1-42) Fibril Visualized with Cryo-Em

Schmidt, M., Rohou, A., Lasker, K., Yadav, J.K., Schiene-Fischer, C., Fandrich, M., Grigorie, N.

(2015) Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA 112: 11858

  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1503455112

  • PubMed Abstract: 

    • Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder in humans and the main cause of dementia in aging societies. The disease is characterized by the aberrant formation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide oligomers and fibrils. These structures may d ...

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder in humans and the main cause of dementia in aging societies. The disease is characterized by the aberrant formation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide oligomers and fibrils. These structures may damage the brain and give rise to cerebral amyloid angiopathy, neuronal dysfunction, and cellular toxicity. Although the connection between AD and Aβ fibrillation is extensively documented, much is still unknown about the formation of these Aβ aggregates and their structures at the molecular level. Here, we combined electron cryomicroscopy, 3D reconstruction, and integrative structural modeling methods to determine the molecular architecture of a fibril formed by Aβ(1-42), a particularly pathogenic variant of Aβ peptide. Our model reveals that the individual layers of the Aβ fibril are formed by peptide dimers with face-to-face packing. The two peptides forming the dimer possess identical tilde-shaped conformations and interact with each other by packing of their hydrophobic C-terminal β-strands. The peptide C termini are located close to the main fibril axis, where they produce a hydrophobic core and are surrounded by the structurally more flexible and charged segments of the peptide N termini. The observed molecular architecture is compatible with the general chemical properties of Aβ peptide and provides a structural basis for various biological observations that illuminate the molecular underpinnings of AD. Moreover, the structure provides direct evidence for a steric zipper within a fibril formed by full-length Aβ peptide.

    Organizational Affiliation: 

    Institute for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany; Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454-9110;




Macromolecules

Find similar proteins by: Sequence  |  Structure

Entity ID: 1
MoleculeChainsSequence LengthOrganismDetails
AMYLOID BETA A4 PROTEIN
A, B
28Homo sapiensMutation(s): 0 
Gene Names: APP (A4, AD1)
Find proteins for P05067 (Homo sapiens)
Go to Gene View: APP
Go to UniProtKB:  P05067
Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

  • Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
  • Resolution: 5 Å
  • Aggregation State: FILAMENT 
  • Reconstruction Method: HELICAL 

Structure Validation

View Full Validation Report or Ramachandran Plots


View more in-depth experimental data

Entry History 

Deposition Data

Revision History 

  • Version 1.0: 2015-10-14
    Type: Initial release
  • Version 1.1: 2015-10-21
    Type: Database references
  • Version 1.2: 2017-08-30
    Type: Advisory
  • Version 1.3: 2018-10-03
    Type: Data collection