Download MendeleyCryo-electron Microscopy Imaging of Alzheimer's Amyloid-beta 42 Oligomer Displayed on a Functionally and Structurally Relevant Scaffold.
Wu, J., Blum, T.B., Farrell, D.P., DiMaio, F., Abrahams, J.P., Luo, J.(2021) Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 60: 18680-18687
- PubMed: 34042235
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202104497
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
7O1Q - PubMed Abstract:
Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) oligomers are pathogenic species of amyloid aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. Like certain protein toxins, Aβ oligomers permeabilize cellular membranes, presumably through a pore formation mechanism. Owing to their structural and stoichiometric heterogeneity, the structure of these pores remains to be characterized. We studied a functional Aβ42-pore equivalent, created by fusing Aβ42 to the oligomerizing, soluble domain of the α-hemolysin (αHL) toxin. Our data reveal Aβ42-αHL oligomers to share major structural, functional, and biological properties with wild-type Aβ42-pores. Single-particle cryo-EM analysis of Aβ42-αHL oligomers (with an overall 3.3 Å resolution) reveals the Aβ42-pore region to be intrinsically flexible. The Aβ42-αHL oligomers will allow many of the features of the wild-type amyloid oligomers to be studied that cannot be otherwise, and may be a highly specific antigen for the development of immuno-base diagnostics and therapies.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232, Villigen, Switzerland.
