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Macroglobulin And Haptoglobin Suppress Amyloid Formation By Interacting With Prefibrillar Protein Species, Justin J. Yerbury, Janet R. Kumita, Sarah Meehan, Christopher M. Dobson, Mark R. Wilson May 2013

Macroglobulin And Haptoglobin Suppress Amyloid Formation By Interacting With Prefibrillar Protein Species, Justin J. Yerbury, Janet R. Kumita, Sarah Meehan, Christopher M. Dobson, Mark R. Wilson

Mark R Wilson

α2-Macroglobulin (α2M) and haptoglobin (Hp) are both abundant secreted glycoproteins that are best known for their protease trapping and hemoglobin binding activities, respectively. Like the small heat shock proteins, both these glycoproteins have in common the ability to protect a range of proteins from stress-induced amorphous aggregation and have been described as extracellular chaperones. Using an array of biophysical techniques, this study establishes that in vitro at substoichiometric levels and under physiological conditions α2M and Hp both inhibit the formation of amyloid fibrils from a range of proteins. We also provide evidence that both α2M and Hp interact with prefibrillar …


Potential Roles Of Abundant Extracellular Chaperones In The Control Of Amyloid Formation And Toxicity, Mark R. Wilson, Justin J. Yerbury, Stephen Poon May 2013

Potential Roles Of Abundant Extracellular Chaperones In The Control Of Amyloid Formation And Toxicity, Mark R. Wilson, Justin J. Yerbury, Stephen Poon

Mark R Wilson

The in vivo formation of fibrillar proteinaceous deposits called amyloid is associated with more than 40 serious human diseases, collectively referred to as protein deposition diseases. In many cases the amyloid deposits are extracellular and are found associated with newly identified abundant extracellular chaperones (ECs). Evidence is presented suggesting an important regulatory role for ECs in amyloid formation and disposal in the body. A model is presented which proposes that, under normal conditions, ECs stabilize extracellular misfolded proteins by binding to them, and then guide them to specific cell receptors for uptake and subsequent degradation. Thus ECs and their receptors …


The Two-Faced Nature Of Small Heat Shock Proteins: Amyloid Assembly And The Inhibition Of Fibril Formation. Relevance To Disease States, Heath W. Ecroyd, S Meehan, John A. Carver Dec 2012

The Two-Faced Nature Of Small Heat Shock Proteins: Amyloid Assembly And The Inhibition Of Fibril Formation. Relevance To Disease States, Heath W. Ecroyd, S Meehan, John A. Carver

Heath Ecroyd

The ability of small heat-shock proteins (sHsps) such as alphaB-crystallin to inhibit the amorphous (disordered) aggregation of varied target proteins in a chaperone-like manner has been well described. The mechanistic details of this action are not understood. Amyloid fibril formation is an alternative off-folding pathway that leads to highly ordered beta-sheet-containing aggregates. Amyloid fibril formation is associated with a broad range of protein conformational diseases such as Alzhiemer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's and sHsp expression is elevated in the protein deposits that are characteristic of these disease states. The ability of sHsps to prevent fibril formation has been less well characterised. …


Binding Of The Molecular Chaperone Alphab-Crystallin To Abeta Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Fibril Elongation, Sarah L. Shammas, Christopher A. Waudby, Shuyu Wang, Alexander K. Buell, Tuomas P. Knowles, Heath W. Ecroyd, Mark E. Welland, John A. Carver, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan Dec 2012

Binding Of The Molecular Chaperone Alphab-Crystallin To Abeta Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Fibril Elongation, Sarah L. Shammas, Christopher A. Waudby, Shuyu Wang, Alexander K. Buell, Tuomas P. Knowles, Heath W. Ecroyd, Mark E. Welland, John A. Carver, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan

Heath Ecroyd

The molecular chaperone αB-crystallin is a small heat-shock protein that is upregulated in response to a multitude of stress stimuli, and is found colocalized with Aβ amyloid fibrils in the extracellular plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. We investigated whether this archetypical small heat-shock protein has the ability to interact with Aβ fibrils in vitro. We find that αB-crystallin binds to wild-type Aβ42 fibrils with micromolar affinity, and also binds to fibrils formed from the E22G Arctic mutation of Aβ42. Immunoelectron microscopy confirms that binding occurs along the entire length and ends of the fibrils. Investigations into the effect …


The Extracellular Chaperone Clusterin Sequesters Oligomeric Forms Of The Amyloid-Beta 1-40 Peptide, Priyanka Narayan, Angel Orte, Richard W. Clarke, Benedetta Bolognesi, Sharon Hook, Kristina A. Ganzinger, Sarah Meehan, Mark R. Wilson, Christopher M. Dobson, David Klenerman Jan 2012

The Extracellular Chaperone Clusterin Sequesters Oligomeric Forms Of The Amyloid-Beta 1-40 Peptide, Priyanka Narayan, Angel Orte, Richard W. Clarke, Benedetta Bolognesi, Sharon Hook, Kristina A. Ganzinger, Sarah Meehan, Mark R. Wilson, Christopher M. Dobson, David Klenerman

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

In recent genome-wide association studies, the extracellular chaperone protein, clusterin, has been identified as a newly-discovered risk factor in Alzheimer's disease. We have examined the interactions between human clusterin and the Alzheimer's disease-associated amyloid-β 1-40 peptide (Aβ 1-40), which is prone to aggregate into an ensemble of oligomeric intermediates implicated in both the proliferation of amyloid fibrils and in neuronal toxicity. Using highly sensitive single-molecule fluorescence methods, we have found that Aβ 1-40 forms a heterogeneous distribution of small oligomers (from dimers to 50-mers), all of which interact with clusterin to form long-lived, stable complexes. Consequently, clusterin is able …


The Extracellular Chaperone Clusterin Sequesters Oligomeric Forms Of The Amyloid-Beta 1-40 Peptide, Priyanka Narayan, Angel Orte, Richard Clarke, Benedetta Bolognesi, Sharon Hook, Kristina Ganzinger, Sarah Meehan, Mark Wilson, Christopher Dobson, David Klenerman Dec 2011

The Extracellular Chaperone Clusterin Sequesters Oligomeric Forms Of The Amyloid-Beta 1-40 Peptide, Priyanka Narayan, Angel Orte, Richard Clarke, Benedetta Bolognesi, Sharon Hook, Kristina Ganzinger, Sarah Meehan, Mark Wilson, Christopher Dobson, David Klenerman

Mark R Wilson

In recent genome-wide association studies, the extracellular chaperone protein, clusterin, has been identified as a newly-discovered risk factor in Alzheimer's disease. We have examined the interactions between human clusterin and the Alzheimer's disease-associated amyloid-β 1-40 peptide (Aβ 1-40), which is prone to aggregate into an ensemble of oligomeric intermediates implicated in both the proliferation of amyloid fibrils and in neuronal toxicity. Using highly sensitive single-molecule fluorescence methods, we have found that Aβ 1-40 forms a heterogeneous distribution of small oligomers (from dimers to 50-mers), all of which interact with clusterin to form long-lived, stable complexes. Consequently, clusterin is able to …


Amyloid-Β Oligomers Are Sequestered By Both Intracellular And Extracellular Chaperones, P Narayan, Sarah Meehan, John Carver, Mark Wilson, C M Dobson, D Klenerman Dec 2011

Amyloid-Β Oligomers Are Sequestered By Both Intracellular And Extracellular Chaperones, P Narayan, Sarah Meehan, John Carver, Mark Wilson, C M Dobson, D Klenerman

Mark R Wilson

The aberrant aggregation of the amyloid-β peptide into β-sheet rich, fibrillar structures proceeds via a heterogeneous ensemble of oligomeric intermediates that have been associated with neurotoxicity in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Of particular interest in this context are the mechanisms by which molecular chaperones, part of the primary biological defenses against protein misfolding, influence Aβ aggregation. We have used single-molecule fluorescence techniques to compare the interactions between distinct aggregation states (monomers, oligomers, and amyloid fibrils) of the AD-associated amyloid-β(1–40) peptide, and two molecular chaperones, both of which are upregulated in the brains of patients with AD and have been found colocalized …


Carboxymethylated-K-Casein: A Convenient Tool For The Identification Of Polyphenolic Inhibitors Of Amyloid Fibril Formation, John A. Carver, Peter J. Duggan, Heath Ecroyd, Yanqin Liu, Adam G. Meyer, C E. Tranberg Dec 2011

Carboxymethylated-K-Casein: A Convenient Tool For The Identification Of Polyphenolic Inhibitors Of Amyloid Fibril Formation, John A. Carver, Peter J. Duggan, Heath Ecroyd, Yanqin Liu, Adam G. Meyer, C E. Tranberg

Heath Ecroyd

Reduced and carboxymethylated-κ-casein (RCM-κ-CN) is a milk-derived amyloidogenic protein that readily undergoes nucleation-dependent aggregation and amyloid fibril formation via a similar pathway to disease-specific amyloidogenic peptides like amyloid beta (Aβ), which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, a series of flavonoids, many known to be inhibitors of Aβ fibril formation, were screened for their ability to inhibit RCM-κ-CN fibrilisation, and the results were compared with literature data on Aβ inhibition. Flavonoids that had a high degree of hydroxylation and molecular planarity gave good inhibition of RCM-κ-CN fibril formation. IC50 values were between 10- and 200-fold higher with RCM-κ-CN …


The Dissociated Form Of Kappa-Casein Is The Precursor To Its Amyloid Fibril Formation, Heath Ecroyd, David Thorn, Yanqin Liu, John Carver Dec 2011

The Dissociated Form Of Kappa-Casein Is The Precursor To Its Amyloid Fibril Formation, Heath Ecroyd, David Thorn, Yanqin Liu, John Carver

Heath Ecroyd

Bovine milk kappa-casein forms a self-associating oligomeric micelle-like species, in equilibrium with dissociated forms. In its native form, intra- and inter-molecular disulfide bonds lead to the formation of multimeric species ranging from monomers to decamers. When incubated under conditions of physiological pH and temperature, both reduced and non-reduced kappa-casein form highly structured beta-sheet amyloid fibrils. We investigated whether the precursor to kappa-casein fibril formation is a dissociated state of the protein or its oligomeric micelle-like form. We show that reduced kappa-casein is capable of forming fibrils well below its critical micelle concentration, i.e. at concentrations where only dissociated forms of …


The Two Faced Nature Of Milk Casein Proteins: Amyloid Fibril Formation And Chaperone-Like Activity, David Thorn, Heath Ecroyd, John Carver Dec 2011

The Two Faced Nature Of Milk Casein Proteins: Amyloid Fibril Formation And Chaperone-Like Activity, David Thorn, Heath Ecroyd, John Carver

Heath Ecroyd

Molecular chaperones are a diverse group of proteins that stabilise partially folded target proteins to prevent their misfolding, aggregation and potential precipitation under conditions of cellular stress, e.g. elevated temperature. Protein aggregation, particularly the formation of highly ordered protein aggregates termed amyloid fibrils, is of considerable research interest because of its intimate association with a wide range of debilitating diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases and type II diabetes. In this review, we discuss the ability of the milk casein proteins to act in a chaperone-like manner. This property is of biological importance since at least two of the …


The Thioflavin T Fluorescence Assay For Amyloid Fibril Detection Can Be Biased By The Presence Of Exogenous Compounds, Sean A. Hudson, Heath Ecroyd, Tak W. Kee, John A. Carver Dec 2011

The Thioflavin T Fluorescence Assay For Amyloid Fibril Detection Can Be Biased By The Presence Of Exogenous Compounds, Sean A. Hudson, Heath Ecroyd, Tak W. Kee, John A. Carver

Heath Ecroyd

Thioflavin T (ThT) dye fluorescence is used regularly to quantify the formation and inhibition of amyloid fibrils in the presence of anti-amyloidogenic compounds such as polyphenols. However, in this study, it was shown, using three polyphenolics (curcumin, quercetin and resveratrol), that ThT fluorescence should be used with caution in the presence of such exogenous compounds. The strong absorptive and fluorescent properties of quercetin and curcumin were found to significantly bias the ThT fluorescence readings in both in situ real-time ThT assays and single time-point dilution ThT-type assays. The presence of curcumin at concentrations as low as 0.01 and 1 uM …


Crystallin Proteins And Amyloid Fibrils, Heath Ecroyd, John A. Carver Dec 2011

Crystallin Proteins And Amyloid Fibrils, Heath Ecroyd, John A. Carver

Heath Ecroyd

Improper protein folding (misfolding) can lead to the formation of disordered (amorphous) or ordered (amyloid fibril) aggregates. The major lens protein, alpha-crystallin, is a member of the small heat-shock protein (sHsp) family of intracellular molecular chaperone proteins that prevent protein aggregation. Whilst the chaperone activity of sHsps against amorphously aggregating proteins has been well studied, its action against fibril-forming proteins has received less attention despite the presence of sHsps in deposits found in fibril-associated diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's). In this review, the literature on the interaction of alpha B-crystallin and other sHsps with fibril-forming proteins is summarized. In particular, …


Amyloid Fibril Formation By Bovine Milk Alpha(S2)-Casein Occurs Under Physiological Conditions Yet Is Prevented By Its Natural Counterpart, Alpha(S1)-Casein, David Thorn, Heath Ecroyd, M Sunde, Stephen Poon, John Carver Dec 2011

Amyloid Fibril Formation By Bovine Milk Alpha(S2)-Casein Occurs Under Physiological Conditions Yet Is Prevented By Its Natural Counterpart, Alpha(S1)-Casein, David Thorn, Heath Ecroyd, M Sunde, Stephen Poon, John Carver

Heath Ecroyd

The calcified proteinaceous deposits, or corpora amylacea, of bovine mammary tissue often comprise a network of amyloid fibrils, the origins of which have not been fully elucidated. Here, we demonstrate by transmission electron microscopy, dye binding assays, and X-ray fiber diffraction that bovine milk alpha(s2)-casein, a protein synthesized and secreted by mammary epithelial cells, readily forms fibrils in vitro. As a component of whole alpha(s)-casein, alpha(s2)-casein was separated from alpha(s1)-casein under nonreducing conditions via cation-exchange chromatography. Upon incubation at neutral pH and 37 degrees C, the spherical particles typical of alpha(s2)-casein rapidly converted to twisted, ribbon-like fibrils similar to 12 …


Alphab-Crystallin Inhibits The Cell Toxicity Associated With Amyloid Fibril Formation By Kappa-Casein And The Amyloid-Beta Peptide, Francis C. Dehle, Heath Ecroyd, Ian F. Musgrave, John A. Carver Dec 2011

Alphab-Crystallin Inhibits The Cell Toxicity Associated With Amyloid Fibril Formation By Kappa-Casein And The Amyloid-Beta Peptide, Francis C. Dehle, Heath Ecroyd, Ian F. Musgrave, John A. Carver

Heath Ecroyd

Amyloid fibril formation is associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and prion diseases. Inhibition of amyloid fibril formation by molecular chaperone proteins, such as the small heat-shock protein αB-crystallin, may play a protective role in preventing the toxicity associated with this form of protein misfolding. Reduced and carboxymethylated κ-casein (RCMκ-CN), a protein derived from milk, readily and reproducibly forms fibrils at physiological temperature and pH. We investigated the toxicity of fibril formation by RCMκ-CN using neuronal model PC12 cells and determined whether the inhibition of fibril formation altered its cell toxicity. To resolve ambiguities in the literature, we also …


The Interaction Of Alphab-Crystallin With Mature Alpha-Synuclein Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Their Elongation, Christopher A. Waudby, Tuomas P. J Knowles, Glyn L. Devlin, Jeremy N. Skepper, Heath Ecroyd, John A. Carver, Mark E. Welland, John Christodoulou, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan Dec 2011

The Interaction Of Alphab-Crystallin With Mature Alpha-Synuclein Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Their Elongation, Christopher A. Waudby, Tuomas P. J Knowles, Glyn L. Devlin, Jeremy N. Skepper, Heath Ecroyd, John A. Carver, Mark E. Welland, John Christodoulou, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan

Heath Ecroyd

alphaB-Crystallin is a small heat-shock protein (sHsp) that is colocalized with alpha-synuclein (alphaSyn) in Lewy bodies—the pathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease—and is an inhibitor of alphaSyn amyloid fibril formation in an ATP-independent manner in vitro. We have investigated the mechanism underlying the inhibitory action of sHsps, and here we establish, by means of a variety of biophysical techniques including immunogold labeling and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, that alphaB-crystallin interacts with alphaSyn, binding along the length of mature amyloid fibrils. By measurement of seeded fibril elongation kinetics, both in solution and on a surface using a quartz crystal microbalance, this binding …


Wild Type And Tangier Disease Abca1 Mutants Modulate Cellular Amyloid-Beta Production Independent Of Cholesterol Efflux Activity, Kim S. Woojin, Andrew F. Hill, Michael L. Fitzgerald, Mason W. Freeman, Genevieve Evin, Brett Garner Jan 2011

Wild Type And Tangier Disease Abca1 Mutants Modulate Cellular Amyloid-Beta Production Independent Of Cholesterol Efflux Activity, Kim S. Woojin, Andrew F. Hill, Michael L. Fitzgerald, Mason W. Freeman, Genevieve Evin, Brett Garner

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Cerebral amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition is a critical feature of Alzheimer’s disease. Aβ is derived from the amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) via two sequential cleavages that are mediated by β-secretase and the γ-secretase complex. Such amyloidogenic AβPP processing occurs in lipid raft microdomains of cell membranes and it is thought that modulating the distribution of lipids in rafts may regulate AβPP processing and Aβ production. Certain ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters regulate lipid transport across cell membranes and, as recent studies reveal, within membrane microdomains. ABCA1 also regulates Aβ metabolism in the brain although its direct impact on AβPP remains an open …


Binding Of The Molecular Chaperone Alphab-Crystallin To Abeta Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Fibril Elongation, Sarah L. Shammas, Christopher A. Waudby, Shuyu Wang, Alexander K. Buell, Tuomas P. Knowles, Heath W. Ecroyd, Mark E. Welland, John A. Carver, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan Jan 2011

Binding Of The Molecular Chaperone Alphab-Crystallin To Abeta Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Fibril Elongation, Sarah L. Shammas, Christopher A. Waudby, Shuyu Wang, Alexander K. Buell, Tuomas P. Knowles, Heath W. Ecroyd, Mark E. Welland, John A. Carver, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The molecular chaperone αB-crystallin is a small heat-shock protein that is upregulated in response to a multitude of stress stimuli, and is found colocalized with Aβ amyloid fibrils in the extracellular plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. We investigated whether this archetypical small heat-shock protein has the ability to interact with Aβ fibrils in vitro. We find that αB-crystallin binds to wild-type Aβ42 fibrils with micromolar affinity, and also binds to fibrils formed from the E22G Arctic mutation of Aβ42. Immunoelectron microscopy confirms that binding occurs along the entire length …


The Two-Faced Nature Of Small Heat Shock Proteins: Amyloid Assembly And The Inhibition Of Fibril Formation. Relevance To Disease States, Heath W. Ecroyd, S Meehan, John A. Carver Jan 2010

The Two-Faced Nature Of Small Heat Shock Proteins: Amyloid Assembly And The Inhibition Of Fibril Formation. Relevance To Disease States, Heath W. Ecroyd, S Meehan, John A. Carver

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The ability of small heat-shock proteins (sHsps) such as alphaB-crystallin to inhibit the amorphous (disordered) aggregation of varied target proteins in a chaperone-like manner has been well described. The mechanistic details of this action are not understood. Amyloid fibril formation is an alternative off-folding pathway that leads to highly ordered beta-sheet-containing aggregates. Amyloid fibril formation is associated with a broad range of protein conformational diseases such as Alzhiemer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's and sHsp expression is elevated in the protein deposits that are characteristic of these disease states. The ability of sHsps to prevent fibril formation has been less well characterised. …


The Interaction Of Alphab-Crystallin With Mature Alpha-Synuclein Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Their Elongation, Christopher A. Waudby, Tuomas P. J Knowles, Glyn L. Devlin, Jeremy N. Skepper, Heath Ecroyd, John A. Carver, Mark E. Welland, John Christodoulou, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan Jan 2010

The Interaction Of Alphab-Crystallin With Mature Alpha-Synuclein Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Their Elongation, Christopher A. Waudby, Tuomas P. J Knowles, Glyn L. Devlin, Jeremy N. Skepper, Heath Ecroyd, John A. Carver, Mark E. Welland, John Christodoulou, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

alphaB-Crystallin is a small heat-shock protein (sHsp) that is colocalized with alpha-synuclein (alphaSyn) in Lewy bodies—the pathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease—and is an inhibitor of alphaSyn amyloid fibril formation in an ATP-independent manner in vitro. We have investigated the mechanism underlying the inhibitory action of sHsps, and here we establish, by means of a variety of biophysical techniques including immunogold labeling and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, that alphaB-crystallin interacts with alphaSyn, binding along the length of mature amyloid fibrils. By measurement of seeded fibril elongation kinetics, both in solution and on a surface using a quartz crystal microbalance, this binding …


Carboxymethylated-K-Casein: A Convenient Tool For The Identification Of Polyphenolic Inhibitors Of Amyloid Fibril Formation, John A. Carver, Peter J. Duggan, Heath Ecroyd, Yanqin Liu, Adam G. Meyer, C E. Tranberg Jan 2010

Carboxymethylated-K-Casein: A Convenient Tool For The Identification Of Polyphenolic Inhibitors Of Amyloid Fibril Formation, John A. Carver, Peter J. Duggan, Heath Ecroyd, Yanqin Liu, Adam G. Meyer, C E. Tranberg

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Reduced and carboxymethylated-κ-casein (RCM-κ-CN) is a milk-derived amyloidogenic protein that readily undergoes nucleation-dependent aggregation and amyloid fibril formation via a similar pathway to disease-specific amyloidogenic peptides like amyloid beta (Aβ), which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, a series of flavonoids, many known to be inhibitors of Aβ fibril formation, were screened for their ability to inhibit RCM-κ-CN fibrilisation, and the results were compared with literature data on Aβ inhibition. Flavonoids that had a high degree of hydroxylation and molecular planarity gave good inhibition of RCM-κ-CN fibril formation. IC50 values were between 10- and 200-fold higher with RCM-κ-CN …


Alphab-Crystallin Inhibits The Cell Toxicity Associated With Amyloid Fibril Formation By Kappa-Casein And The Amyloid-Beta Peptide, Francis C. Dehle, Heath Ecroyd, Ian F. Musgrave, John A. Carver Jan 2010

Alphab-Crystallin Inhibits The Cell Toxicity Associated With Amyloid Fibril Formation By Kappa-Casein And The Amyloid-Beta Peptide, Francis C. Dehle, Heath Ecroyd, Ian F. Musgrave, John A. Carver

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Amyloid fibril formation is associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and prion diseases. Inhibition of amyloid fibril formation by molecular chaperone proteins, such as the small heat-shock protein αB-crystallin, may play a protective role in preventing the toxicity associated with this form of protein misfolding. Reduced and carboxymethylated κ-casein (RCMκ-CN), a protein derived from milk, readily and reproducibly forms fibrils at physiological temperature and pH. We investigated the toxicity of fibril formation by RCMκ-CN using neuronal model PC12 cells and determined whether the inhibition of fibril formation altered its cell toxicity. To resolve ambiguities in the literature, we also …


Protein Chemistry Of Amyloid Fibrils And Chaperones: Implications For Amyloid Formation And Disease, Justin J. Yerbury, Janet R. Kumita Jan 2010

Protein Chemistry Of Amyloid Fibrils And Chaperones: Implications For Amyloid Formation And Disease, Justin J. Yerbury, Janet R. Kumita

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Understanding the mechanisms by which amyloid fibrils are formed, both in vivo and in vitro, is vital for developing methods to treat and prevent debilitating deposition diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type II diabetes and systemic amyloidoses. In recent years, computer modelling and biophysical studies have broadened our understanding of the biochemical mechanisms underpinning protein aggregation. As a result, it is now believed that the ability to form fibrils is an intrinsic property of polypeptide chains and not isolated to disease-related proteins or peptides. Molecular chaperones are a diverse group of functionally related proteins well known for their …


Modulation Of Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing By Synthetic Ceramide Analogues, Hongyun Li, Woojin Scott Kim, Gilles Guillemin, Andrew F. Hill, Genevieve Evin, Brett Garner Jan 2010

Modulation Of Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing By Synthetic Ceramide Analogues, Hongyun Li, Woojin Scott Kim, Gilles Guillemin, Andrew F. Hill, Genevieve Evin, Brett Garner

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Previous studies suggest that membrane lipids may regulate proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) to generate amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta). In the present study, we have assessed the capacity for a series of structurally related synthetic ceramide analogues to modulate APP processing in vitro. The compounds tested are established glucosylceramide synthase (GS) inhibitors based on the D-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP) structure. PDMP and related compounds PPMP and EtDO-P4 inhibited Abeta secretion from Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing human APP (CHO-APP) with approximate IC50 values of 15, 5, and 1 mu M, respectively. A trend for reduced secretion of the APP alpha-secretase …


The Dissociated Form Of Kappa-Casein Is The Precursor To Its Amyloid Fibril Formation, Heath Ecroyd, David Thorn, Yanqin Liu, John Carver Jan 2010

The Dissociated Form Of Kappa-Casein Is The Precursor To Its Amyloid Fibril Formation, Heath Ecroyd, David Thorn, Yanqin Liu, John Carver

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Bovine milk kappa-casein forms a self-associating oligomeric micelle-like species, in equilibrium with dissociated forms. In its native form, intra- and inter-molecular disulfide bonds lead to the formation of multimeric species ranging from monomers to decamers. When incubated under conditions of physiological pH and temperature, both reduced and non-reduced kappa-casein form highly structured beta-sheet amyloid fibrils. We investigated whether the precursor to kappa-casein fibril formation is a dissociated state of the protein or its oligomeric micelle-like form. We show that reduced kappa-casein is capable of forming fibrils well below its critical micelle concentration, i.e. at concentrations where only dissociated forms of …


Ans Binding Reveals Common Features Of Cytotoxic Amyloid Species, Benedetta Bolognesi, Janet Kumita, Teresa Barros, Elin Esbjorner, Leila Luheshi, Damian Crowther, Mark Wilson, Christopher Dobson, Giorgio Favrin, Justin Yerbury Dec 2009

Ans Binding Reveals Common Features Of Cytotoxic Amyloid Species, Benedetta Bolognesi, Janet Kumita, Teresa Barros, Elin Esbjorner, Leila Luheshi, Damian Crowther, Mark Wilson, Christopher Dobson, Giorgio Favrin, Justin Yerbury

Mark R Wilson

Oligomeric assemblies formed from a variety of disease-associated peptides and proteins have been strongly associated with toxicity in many neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease. The precise nature of the toxic agents, however, remains still to be established. We show that prefibrillar aggregates of E22G (arctic) variant of the A beta(1-42) peptide bind strongly to 1-anilinonaphthalene 8-sulfonate and that changes in this property correlate significantly with changes in its cytotoxicity. Moreover, we show that this phenomenon is common to other amyloid systems, such as wild-type A beta(1-42), the 159T variant of human lysozyme and an SH3 domain. These findings are …


Crystallin Proteins And Amyloid Fibrils, Heath Ecroyd, John A. Carver Jan 2009

Crystallin Proteins And Amyloid Fibrils, Heath Ecroyd, John A. Carver

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Improper protein folding (misfolding) can lead to the formation of disordered (amorphous) or ordered (amyloid fibril) aggregates. The major lens protein, alpha-crystallin, is a member of the small heat-shock protein (sHsp) family of intracellular molecular chaperone proteins that prevent protein aggregation. Whilst the chaperone activity of sHsps against amorphously aggregating proteins has been well studied, its action against fibril-forming proteins has received less attention despite the presence of sHsps in deposits found in fibril-associated diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's). In this review, the literature on the interaction of alpha B-crystallin and other sHsps with fibril-forming proteins is summarized. In particular, …


The Thioflavin T Fluorescence Assay For Amyloid Fibril Detection Can Be Biased By The Presence Of Exogenous Compounds, Sean A. Hudson, Heath Ecroyd, Tak W. Kee, John A. Carver Jan 2009

The Thioflavin T Fluorescence Assay For Amyloid Fibril Detection Can Be Biased By The Presence Of Exogenous Compounds, Sean A. Hudson, Heath Ecroyd, Tak W. Kee, John A. Carver

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Thioflavin T (ThT) dye fluorescence is used regularly to quantify the formation and inhibition of amyloid fibrils in the presence of anti-amyloidogenic compounds such as polyphenols. However, in this study, it was shown, using three polyphenolics (curcumin, quercetin and resveratrol), that ThT fluorescence should be used with caution in the presence of such exogenous compounds. The strong absorptive and fluorescent properties of quercetin and curcumin were found to significantly bias the ThT fluorescence readings in both in situ real-time ThT assays and single time-point dilution ThT-type assays. The presence of curcumin at concentrations as low as 0.01 and 1 uM …


Macroglobulin And Haptoglobin Suppress Amyloid Formation By Interacting With Prefibrillar Protein Species, Justin J. Yerbury, Janet R. Kumita, Sarah Meehan, Christopher M. Dobson, Mark R. Wilson Jan 2009

Macroglobulin And Haptoglobin Suppress Amyloid Formation By Interacting With Prefibrillar Protein Species, Justin J. Yerbury, Janet R. Kumita, Sarah Meehan, Christopher M. Dobson, Mark R. Wilson

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

α2-Macroglobulin (α2M) and haptoglobin (Hp) are both abundant secreted glycoproteins that are best known for their protease trapping and hemoglobin binding activities, respectively. Like the small heat shock proteins, both these glycoproteins have in common the ability to protect a range of proteins from stress-induced amorphous aggregation and have been described as extracellular chaperones. Using an array of biophysical techniques, this study establishes that in vitro at substoichiometric levels and under physiological conditions α2M and Hp both inhibit the formation of amyloid fibrils from a range of proteins. We also provide evidence that both …


Potential Roles Of Abundant Extracellular Chaperones In The Control Of Amyloid Formation And Toxicity, Mark R. Wilson, Justin J. Yerbury, Stephen Poon Jan 2007

Potential Roles Of Abundant Extracellular Chaperones In The Control Of Amyloid Formation And Toxicity, Mark R. Wilson, Justin J. Yerbury, Stephen Poon

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The in vivo formation of fibrillar proteinaceous deposits called amyloid is associated with more than 40 serious human diseases, collectively referred to as protein deposition diseases. In many cases the amyloid deposits are extracellular and are found associated with newly identified abundant extracellular chaperones (ECs). Evidence is presented suggesting an important regulatory role for ECs in amyloid formation and disposal in the body. A model is presented which proposes that, under normal conditions, ECs stabilize extracellular misfolded proteins by binding to them, and then guide them to specific cell receptors for uptake and subsequent degradation. Thus ECs and their receptors …


The Extracellular Chaperone Clusterin Influences Amyloid Formation And Toxicity By Interacting With Pre-Fibrillar Structures, Justin Yerbury, Stephen Poon, Sarah Meehan, Brianna Thompson, Janet Kumita, Christopher Dobson, Mark Wilson Dec 2006

The Extracellular Chaperone Clusterin Influences Amyloid Formation And Toxicity By Interacting With Pre-Fibrillar Structures, Justin Yerbury, Stephen Poon, Sarah Meehan, Brianna Thompson, Janet Kumita, Christopher Dobson, Mark Wilson

Mark R Wilson

Clusterin is an extracellular chaperone present in all disease-associated extracellular amyloid deposits, however, its roles in amyloid formation and protein deposition in vivo are poorly understood. The current study initially aimed to characterise the effects of clusterin on amyloid formation in vitro by a panel of eight protein substrates. Two of the substrates (Alzheimer's beta peptide and a PI3-SH3 domain) were then used in further experiments to examine the effects of clusterin on amyloid cytotoxicity and to probe the mechanism of clusterin action. We show that clusterin exerts potent effects on amyloid formation, the nature and extent of which vary …