Effects of zinc on creatine kinase: activity changes, conformational changes, and aggregation

The effects of zinc on creatine kinase (CK) are very distinctive compared with other bivalent metal ions. Zinc up to 0.1 mM induced increases in CK activity, accompanied by significant hydrophobic surface exposure and increase in a-helix content of CK. Zinc over 0.1 mM denatured and inactived CK. In the presence of 0.1 mM zinc, the CK activity was very close to that of the native CK, but its conformation changed greatly. The kinetic courses of CK inactivation and conformational change in the presence of 1 mM zinc were measured to determine apparent rate constants of inactivation and conformational change. Zinc over 0.05 mM induced CK aggregation at 37°C, and the aggregation was dependent on zinc concentration, CK concentration, and temperature. The inactivation and aggregation can be reversed by EDTA. An explanation for CK aggregation induced by zinc is proposed, as well as a mechanism for CK abnormality in Alzheimer's disease.To whom correspondence should be addressed.     

Distinct phases of free α-synuclein--a Monte Carlo study

The α-synuclein protein (αS), implicated in Parkinson's disease, shows conformational versatility. It aggregates into β-sheet-rich fibrils, occurs in helical membrane-bound forms, is disordered as a free monomer, and has recently been suggested to have a folded helical tetramer as its main physiological form. Here, we use implicit solvent all-atom Monte Carlo methods to explore the conformational ensemble sampled by the free αS monomer. We analyze secondary structure propensities, size, and topological properties and compare with existing experimental data. Our study suggests that free αS has two distinct phases. One phase has the expected disordered character. The other phase also shows large conformational variability. However, in this phase, the β-strand content is substantial, and the backbone fold shows statistical similarities with that in αS fibrils. Presence of this phase is consistent with data from low-temperature experiments. Conversion of disordered αS to this fibril-like form requires the crossing of a rather large apparent free-energy barrier.     

How evolutionary pressure against protein aggregation shaped chaperone specificity

As protein aggregation is potentially lethal, control of protein conformation by molecular chaperones is essential for cellular organisms. This is especially important during protein expression and translocation, since proteins are then unfolded and therefore most susceptible to form non-native interactions. Using TANGO, a statistical mechanics algorithm to predict protein aggregation, we here analyse the aggregation propensities of 28 complete proteomes. Our results show that between 10% and 20% of the residues in these proteomes are within aggregating protein segments and that this represents a lower limit for the aggregation tendency of globular proteins. Further, we show that not only evolution strongly pressurizes aggregation downwards by minimizing the amount of strongly aggregating sequences but also by selectively capping strongly aggregating hydrophobic protein sequences with arginine, lysine and proline. These residues are strongly favoured at these positions as they function as gatekeepers that are most efficient at opposing aggregation. Finally, we demonstrate that the substrate specificity of different unrelated chaperone families is geared by these gatekeepers. Chaperones face the difficulty of having to combine substrate affinity for a broad range of hydrophobic sequences and selectivity for those hydrophobic sequences that aggregate most strongly. We show that chaperones achieve these requirements by preferentially binding hydrophobic sequences that are capped by positively charged gatekeeper residues. In other words, targeting evolutionarily selected gatekeepers allows chaperones to prioritize substrate recognition according to aggregation propensity.     

神经变性构象病及其分子基础

构象病的概念被广泛用于命名与蛋白质的构象异常相关的疾病。随着生命科学的进步,人们对神经变性疾病发病的分子机制有了较好的认识,发现几乎所有的此类疾病,诸如阿尔采末病（AD）、帕金森病（PD）、亨廷顿病（HD）以及朊蛋白病（PrD）等都具有一个共同的特征,即病变细胞中蓄积有大量错误折叠并易于聚合的蛋白质,这符合构象病的特点,所以又派生了神经变性构象病的新概念。近年来,人们在神经变性构象病的蛋白质错误折叠和聚合以及其细胞毒性方面的认识越来越走向深入,这将对寻找有效的治疗方法起到极大的推动作用。     

Protein misfolding and aggregation research: Some thoughts on improving quality and utility

Once misfolded and aggregated proteins were as interesting as yesterday's trash, just a bothersome byproduct of productive activities. Today, they attract sustained interest from both basic researchers and practicing engineers. In the burgeoning biopharmaceutical industry, protein misfolding and aggregation pose significant challenges to the economic manufacture of safe and effective protein products. In the clinic, protein aggregates are believed to be pathological agents in a number of serious neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Over the past few years, the quantity of research into biotechnological aspects of protein misfolding and aggregation has skyrocketed. However, the quality of the published work is quite variable. In this brief opinion piece, we describe what we believe are some key features of high‐quality publications in protein aggregation. We focus on experimental studies that may also have a kinetic modeling component. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 29:1109–1115, 2013     

Protein misfolding, aggregation, and degradation in disease

Pathologies associated with protein misfolding have been observed in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic diseases like phenylketonuria, and diseases affecting structural proteins like collagen or keratin. Misfolding of mutant proteins in these and many other diseases may result in premature degradation, formation of toxic aggregates, or incorporation of toxic conformations into structures. We review common traits of these diverse diseases under the unifying view of protein misfolding. The molecular pathogenesis is discussed in the context of protein quality control systems consisting of molecular chaperones and intracellular proteases that assist the folding and supervise the maintenance of the folded structure. Furthermore, genetic and environmental factors that may modify the severity of these diseases are underscored. The present article represents a partly revised and updated version of chapter 1 published earlier in volume 232 of the series Methods in Molecular Biology (Walker, J. M., ed., Humana Press, Totowa, NJ), Protein Misfolding and Disease: Principles and Protocols (Bross, P. & Gregersen, N., eds.), pp. 3–16 (2003).     

Blocking creatine kinase refolding by trace amounts of copper ions

Creatine kinase (CK) is a key enzyme to maintain the energy homeostasis in vertebrate excitable tissues. Due to its importance in cellular energetics, the activity and level of CK are crucial to cellular and body functions. CK is sensitive to oxidative stresses and is thought to be one of the main targets of oxidative modification in neurodegenerative diseases. In this research, we investigated the effect of copper, an essential trace element for all organisms and an inducer of the reactive oxygen species, on CK refolding. It was found that trace amounts of Cu(2+) (3mol eq of Cu(2+)) could efficiently block the refolding of CK. The Cu(2+)-trapped CK could not be reactivated by the addition of EDTA, but could be reactivated by DTT. Spectroscopic experiments suggested that copper ions blocked CK refolding by specifically binding with the monomeric refolding intermediate, which further retarded CK refolding and promoted the formation of off-pathway aggregates. The results herein suggested that Cu(2+)-induced CK dysfunction might be caused not only by the post-translational oxidation, but also by the direct binding of copper ions with the newly-synthesized polypeptides.     

Destabilization of a non-pathological variant of ataxin-3 results in fibrillogenesis via a partially folded intermediate: a model for misfolding in polyglutamine disease

Ataxin-3 is a member of the polyglutamine family of proteins, which are associated with at least nine different neurodegenerative diseases. In the disease state, expansion of the polyglutamine tract leads to dysfunction and death of neurons, as well as formation of proteinaceous aggregates known as nuclear inclusions. Intriguingly, both expanded and non-expanded forms of ataxin-3 are observed within these nuclear inclusions. Ataxin-3 is the smallest of the polyglutamine disease proteins and in its expanded form causes the neurodegenerative disorder Machado-Joseph disease. Using a non-pathological variant containing 28 residues in its polyglutamine tract, we have probed the folding and misfolding pathways of ataxin-3. We describe here the first equilibrium folding pathway delineated for any polyglutamine protein and show that ataxin-3 folds reversibly via a single intermediate species. We have also explored further the misfolding potential of the protein and found that partial destabilization of ataxin-3 by chemical denaturation leads to the formation of fibrillar aggregates by the non-pathological variant. These results provide an insight into the possible mechanisms by which polyglutamine expansion may affect the stability and conformation of the protein. The implications of this are considered in the wider context of the development and pathogenesis of polyglutamine diseases.     

Supersaturation-limited and Unlimited Phase Transitions Compete to Produce the Pathway Complexity in Amyloid Fibrillation

Although amyloid fibrils and amorphous aggregates are two types of aggregates formed by denatured proteins, their relationship currently remains unclear. We used β₂-microglobulin (β2m), a protein responsible for dialysis-related amyloidosis, to clarify the mechanism by which proteins form either amyloid fibrils or amorphous aggregates. When ultrasonication was used to accelerate the spontaneous fibrillation of β2m at pH 2.0, the effects observed depended on ultrasonic power; although stronger ultrasonic power effectively accelerated fibrillation, excessively strong ultrasonic power decreased the amount of fibrils formed, as monitored by thioflavin T fluorescence. An analysis of the products formed indicated that excessively strong ultrasonic power generated fibrillar aggregates that retained β-structures but without high efficiency as seeds. On the other hand, when the spontaneous fibrillation of β2m was induced at higher concentrations of NaCl at pH 2.0 with stirring, amorphous aggregates became more dominant than amyloid fibrils. These apparent complexities in fibrillation were explained comprehensively by a competitive mechanism in which supersaturation-limited reactions competed with supersaturation-unlimited reactions. We link the kinetics of protein aggregation and a conformational phase diagram, in which supersaturation played important roles.     

Inactivation and conformational changes of fatty acid synthase from chicken liver during unfolding by sodium dodecyl sulfate

Fatty acid synthase is an important enzyme participating in energy metabolism in vivo. The inactivation and conformational changes of the multifunctional fatty acid synthase from chicken liver in SDS solutions have been studied. The results show that the denaturation of this multifunctional enzyme by SDS occurred in three stages. At low concentrations of SDS (less than 0.15 mM) the enzyme was completely inactivated with regard to the overall reaction. For each component of the enzyme, the loss of activity occurred at higher concentrations of SDS. Significant conformational changes (as indicated by the changes of the intrinsic fluorescence emission and the ultraviolet difference spectra) occurred at higher concentrations of SDS. Increasing the SDS concentration caused only slight changes of the CD spectra, indicating that SDS had no significant effect on the secondary structure of the enzyme. The results suggest that the active sites of the multifunctional fatty acid synthase display more conformational flexibility than the enzyme molecule as a whole.     

The Antioxidant Vitamin E Modulates Amyloid β-Peptide-Induced Creatine Kinase Activity Inhibition and Increased Protein Oxidation: Implications for the Free Radical Hypothesis of Alzheimer's Disease

Amyloid -peptide (A), the main constituent of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain, is hypothesized to be a key factor in the neurodegeneration seen in AD. Recently it has been shown by us and others that the neurotoxicity of A occurs in conjunction with free radical oxidative stress associated with the peptide. A(1–40) and several other fragments of the A sequence are associated with free radicals in solution that are detectable using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. These free radicals were shown to attack brain cell membranes, initiate lipid peroxidation, increase Ca²⁺ influx and damage membrane and cytosolic proteins. In AD brain obtained under rapid autopsy protocol, the activity of the oxidatively-sensitive enzyme creatine kinase was shown to be significantly reduced. We reasoned that A-associated free radical-induced modification of creatine kinase activity and other markers of cellular damage might be modulated by free radical scavengers. Accordingly, this study demonstrates that vitamin E can modulate A(25–35)-induced oxidative damage to creatine kinase and cellular proteins in cultured embryonic hippocampal neurons. These results, consistent with the hypothesis of free radical-mediated A toxicity in AD, are discussed with deference to potential free radical scavengers as therapeutic agents for slowing the progression of AD.     

全长朊粒蛋白淀粉样纤维引发细胞毒性的机制研究

目的 朊病毒病(prion disease)是一类由朊粒蛋白(PrP)发生错误折叠、聚集形成致病性的PrP^Sc导致的具有高致死率的神经退行性疾病。本文在细胞和动物水平开展了PrP纤维诱导内源PrP聚集和毒性机制的研究。方法 通过超速离心结合蛋白质免疫印迹实验检测PrP聚集;通过氧化压力实验,使用Annexin V-FITC/PI双染检测细胞凋亡;运用细胞超薄切片技术检测细胞线粒体形态;在动物水平,分离新生小鼠的前额叶,进行横断切片培养,在脑片上接种PrP纤维。结果 PrP纤维种子可以诱导内源PrP聚集,PrP纤维可以诱导细胞内氧化压力升高和细胞凋亡,PrP纤维可以引起线粒体损伤,PrP纤维可以诱导小鼠前额叶内源PrP聚集。结论 本文在细胞和动物水平证实体外组装的PrP淀粉样纤维具有细胞毒性和潜在的感染性。