Backbone Cyclization of the C-terminal Part of Substance P. Part 1: The Important Role of the Sulphur in Position 11

Novel backbone-to-side chain and backbone-to-backbone cyclic analogues of substance P (SP) were prepared by solid-phase synthesis and screened for biological activity. An analogue containing a thioether- lactam ring between positions 9 and 11 showed an EC₅₀ value of 20nM toward the neurokinin 1 (NK-1) and was inactive toward the NK-2 and NK-3 receptors. On the other hand, in a multiple backbone cyclic peptide library of similar analogues, in which the sulphur was excluded from the ring, very low activity was detected. The activity was re-evaluated and was found to be even lower (EC₅₀=0.11 mM ) than the previously published data. These results indicate that the thioether moiety has a crucial role in receptor activation. The results also show tolerance of the NK-1 receptor, but not NK-2 or NK-3, to cyclization of the C-terminal portion of the SP_6–11 hexapeptide.     

Role of electrostatic interactions in amyloid beta-protein (A beta) oligomer formation: a discrete molecular dynamics study

Pathological folding and oligomer formation of the amyloid beta-protein (A beta) are widely perceived as central to Alzheimer's disease. Experimental approaches to study A beta self-assembly provide limited information because most relevant aggregates are quasi-stable and inhomogeneous. We apply a discrete molecular dynamics approach combined with a four-bead protein model to study oligomer formation of A beta. We address the differences between the two most common A beta alloforms, A beta 40 and A beta 42, which oligomerize differently in vitro. Our previous study showed that, despite simplifications, our discrete molecular dynamics approach accounts for the experimentally observed differences between A beta 40 and A beta 42 and yields structural predictions amenable to in vitro testing. Here we study how the presence of electrostatic interactions (EIs) between pairs of charged amino acids affects A beta 40 and A beta 42 oligomer formation. Our results indicate that EIs promote formation of larger oligomers in both A beta 40 and A beta 42. Both A beta 40 and A beta 42 display a peak at trimers/tetramers, but A beta 42 displays additional peaks at nonamers and tetradecamers. EIs thus shift the oligomer size distributions to larger oligomers. Nonetheless, the A beta 40 size distribution remains unimodal, whereas the A beta 42 distribution is trimodal, as observed experimentally. We show that structural differences between A beta 40 and A beta 42 that already appear in the monomer folding, are not affected by EIs. A beta 42 folded structure is characterized by a turn in the C-terminus that is not present in A beta 40. We show that the same C-terminal region is also responsible for the strongest intermolecular contacts in A beta 42 pentamers and larger oligomers. Our results suggest that this C-terminal region plays a key role in the formation of A beta 42 oligomers and the relative importance of this region increases in the presence of EIs. These results suggest that inhibitors targeting the C-terminal region of A beta 42 oligomers may be able to prevent oligomer formation or structurally modify the assemblies to reduce their toxicity.     

Elucidation of primary structure elements controlling early amyloid beta-protein oligomerization

Assembly of monomeric amyloid beta-protein (A beta) into oligomeric structures is an important pathogenetic feature of Alzheimer's disease. The oligomer size distributions of aggregate-free, low molecular weight A beta 40 and A beta 42 can be assessed quantitatively using the technique of photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins. This approach revealed that low molecular weight A beta 40 is a mixture of monomer, dimer, trimer, and tetramer, in rapid equilibrium, whereas low molecular weight A beta 42 preferentially exists as pentamer/hexamer units (paranuclei), which self-associate to form larger oligomers. Here, photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins was used to evaluate systematically the oligomerization of 34 physiologically relevant A beta alloforms, including those containing familial Alzheimer's disease-linked amino acid substitutions, naturally occurring N-terminal truncations, and modifications altering the charge, the hydrophobicity, or the conformation of the peptide. The most important structural feature controlling early oligomerization was the length of the C terminus. Specifically, the side-chain of residue 41 in A beta 42 was important both for effective formation of paranuclei and for self-association of paranuclei into larger oligomers. The side-chain of residue 42, and the C-terminal carboxyl group, affected paranucleus self-association. A beta 40 oligomerization was particularly sensitive to substitutions of Glu22 or Asp23 and to truncation of the N terminus, but not to substitutions of Phe19 or Ala21. A beta 42 oligomerization, in contrast, was largely unaffected by substitutions at positions 22 or 23 or by N-terminal truncations, but was affected significantly by substitutions of Phe19 or Ala21. These results reveal how specific regions and residues control A beta oligomerization and show that these controlling elements differ between A beta 40 and A beta 42.     

Molecular Basis for Preventing α-Synuclein Aggregation by a Molecular Tweezer

Recent work on α-synuclein has shown that aggregation is controlled kinetically by the rate of reconfiguration of the unstructured chain, such that the faster the reconfiguration, the slower the aggregation. In this work we investigate this relationship by examining α-synuclein in the presence of a small molecular tweezer, CLR01, which binds selectively to Lys side chains. We find strong binding to multiple Lys within the chain as measured by fluorescence and mass-spectrometry and a linear increase in the reconfiguration rate with concentration of the inhibitor. Top-down mass-spectrometric analysis shows that the main binding of CLR01 to α-synuclein occurs at the N-terminal Lys-10/Lys-12. Photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins (PICUP) analysis shows that under the conditions used for the fluorescence analysis, α-synuclein is predominantly monomeric. The results can be successfully modeled using a kinetic scheme in which two aggregation-prone monomers can form an encounter complex that leads to further oligomerization but can also dissociate back to monomers if the reconfiguration rate is sufficiently high. Taken together, the data provide important insights into the preferred binding site of CLR01 on α-synuclein and the mechanism by which the molecular tweezer prevents self-assembly into neurotoxic aggregates by α-synuclein and presumably other amyloidogenic proteins.     

Community-wide consequences of variation in photoprotective physiology among prairie plants

Photosynthetica - Photoprotective pigments, like those involved in the xanthophyll cycle, help plants avoid oxidative damage caused by excess radiation. This study aims to characterize a spectrum...     

Amyloid beta-protein oligomerization: prenucleation interactions revealed by photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins.

Assembly of the amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) into neurotoxic oligomers and fibrils is a seminal event in Alzheimer's disease. Understanding the earliest phases of Abeta assembly, including prenucleation and nucleation, is essential for the development of rational therapeutic strategies. We have applied a powerful new method, photoinduced cross-linking of unmodified proteins (PICUP), to the study of Abeta oligomerization. Significant advantages of this method include an extremely short reaction time, enabling the identification and quantification of short lived metastable assemblies, and the fact that no pre facto structural modification of the native peptide is required. Using PICUP, the distribution of Abeta oligomers existing prior to assembly was defined. A rapid equilibrium was observed involving monomer, dimer, trimer, and tetramer. A similar distribution was seen in studies of an unrelated amyloidogenic peptide, whereas nonamyloidogenic peptides yielded distributions indicative of a lack of monomer preassociation. These results suggest that simple nucleation-dependent polymerization models are insufficient to describe the dynamic equilibria associated with prenucleation phases of Abeta assembly.     

Stable and dynamic microtubules coordinately determine and maintain Drosophila bristle shape

Within interphase cells, microtubules (MTs) are organized in a cell-specific manner to support cell shape and function. Here, we report that coordination between stable and dynamic MTs determines and maintains the highly elongated bristle cell shape. By following MT-decorating hooks and by tracking EB1 we identified two MT populations within bristles: a stable MT population polarized with their minus ends distal to the cell body, and a dynamic MT population that exhibits mixed polarity. Manipulating MT dynamics by Klp10A downregulation demonstrates that MTs can initiate new shaft extensions and thus possess the ability to determine growth direction. Actin filament bundling subsequently supports the newly formed shaft extensions. Analysis of ik2 mutant bristles, established by elongation defects in the Drosophila ikkε homolog, led to the observation that stable and dynamic MT orientation and polarized organization are important for proper bristle elongation. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time that coordination between stable and dynamic MT sets that are axially organized yet differently polarized drives cell elongation.     

Asymmetric Microtubule Function Is an Essential Requirement for Polarized Organization of the Drosophila Bristle

While previous studies have shown that microtubules (MTs) are essential for maintaining the highly biased axial growth of the Drosophila bristle, the mechanism for this process has remained vague. We report that the MT minus-end marker, Nod-KHC, accumulates at the bristle tip, suggesting that the MT network in the bristle is organized minus end out. Potential markers for studying the importance of properly polarized MTs to bristle axial growth are Ik2 and Spindle-F (Spn-F), since mutations in spn-F and ik2 affect bristle development. We demonstrate that Spn-F and Ik2 are localized to the bristle tip and that mutations in ik2 and spn-F affect bristle MT and actin organization. Specifically, mutation in ik2 affects polarized bristle MT function. It was previously found that the hook mutant exhibited defects in bristle polarity and that hook is involved in endocytic trafficking. We found that Hook is localized at the bristle tip and that this localization is affected in ik2 mutants, suggesting that the contribution of MTs within the bristle shaft is important for correct endocytic trafficking. Thus, our results show that MTs are organized in a polarized manner within the highly elongated bristle and that this organization is essential for biased bristle axial growth.Polarized cell growth, manifested as cellular growth biased toward one pole of a cell, is the result of dynamic developmental processes that require an extensive reorganization of the cytoplasm in response to both intracellular and extracellular signals. Essentially, all cells can polarize in response to internal and/or external cues, such as matrix components, cell-cell contacts, or chemical gradients. Eukaryotic cells generally interpret these cues by assembling a polarized actin cytoskeleton at the cortex, which in turn coordinates with microtubules to guide internal membranes. This network ultimately polarizes events that occur internally and at the cell surface (10). A critical issue in this respect concerns how the cytoskeleton responds to those cues that lead to polarized growth.During development, Drosophila epidermal cells form a variety of polarized structures. These include the epidermal hairs that decorate much of the adult cuticular surface, the shafts of the bristle sense organs, the lateral extensions of the arista, and the larval denticles. These cuticular structures are produced by cytoskeleton-mediated outgrowths of the epiderma (13, 16). Since alterations in bristle morphology are easy to detect in living flies and since small changes in the actin cytoskeleton, as induced by drugs or mutations, often result in an easily detectable phenotype, the growth of the bristle cell is used to define the role of the cytoskeleton in polarized cell growth.Bristle cells sprout during metamorphosis and elongate over the course of ∼18 h. Growth is driven by actin filament polymerization (41). The actin bundles in bristle sprouts begin as microvilli (45) and are cross-bridged into modular bundles 1 to 5 μm in length by at least two cross-linking proteins, forked and fascin (43, 45, 46). These modules are then grafted together by end-to-end joining into stiff bundles (15) which run longitudinally along the bristle shaft, attached to the plasma membrane (40), to support the cell extension as well-spaced ribs. Bundles are tapered, with the largest cross-sectional area of individual bundles found at the base, containing >500 filaments (40). In Drosophila pupae, developing bristles contain 7 to 11 (microchaeta) or 12 to 18 (macrochaeta) bundles of cross-linked actin filaments and a large population of microtubules (MTs) that run longitudinally along the bristle shaft. It was suggested that bristle MTs are highly stable, forming at the start of elongation and then moving out along the shaft as the cell elongates (44). Inhibitor studies suggest that MTs are essential for maintaining bristle axial growth, since injection of microtubule antagonists, such as vinblastine, into pupae resulted in short and fat bristles (13).It was previously demonstrated that mutations in the Drosophila ikkɛ homologue, ik2, and in the novel gene spindle-F (spn-F), which is not conserved outside insect species, affect both egg chamber polarity and bristle development (1, 37). During oogenesis, both ik2 and spn-F affect mRNA localization due to their effects on actin and MT minus-end organization. Moreover, we were able to show that Ik2 and Spn-F form a complex that regulates cytoskeleton organization during Drosophila oogenesis, with Spn-F serving as the direct regulatory target for Ik2 kinase activity (11). Further evidence for the role of ik2 in cytoskeleton-related processes comes from its interaction with the Drosophila inhibitor of apoptosis 1 (DIAP1). It was suggested that ik2 acts as a negative regulator of F-actin assembly and maintains the fidelity of polarized elongation during cell morphogenesis by modulating DIAP1 levels (22, 29). Recently it was shown that ik2 regulates the dendrite pruning involved in MT disassembly (23).Since ik2 and spn-F affect bristle polarity organization, we investigated the role of these genes in shaping bristle morphology. We report that MTs within the bristle are organized in a polarized manner, minus-end out. We also demonstrate that both the Spn-F and Ik2 proteins are localized to the bristle tip. Close examination during the bristle elongation period revealed that mutations in either gene affect cytoskeleton organization. Specifically, upon mutation of ik2, the MT minus-end marker is no longer accumulated at the bristle tip. Moreover, we found that the Hook protein is localized at the bristle tip and that such localization is affected in spn-F and ik2 mutants, suggesting that MT functionality within the bristle is essential for recruitment of components of the endocytic trafficking to the tip of the bristle. Thus, we suggest that ik2 and spn-F affect MT functions which are required for the biased axial shape of the bristle. This, in turn, affects the localization of the endocytic trafficking machinery to the bristle tip.