综述与专论：蛋白质错误折叠相关疾病的多肽药物研究进展

蛋白质和多肽发生错误折叠形成不可溶的淀粉样纤维的过程,与阿尔茨海默病、帕金森病等多种神经退行性疾病密切相关。这些疾病可导致认知能力下降以及运动缺陷等症状。虽然已有多种相关治疗方案处于临床试验中,但目前仍无明确有效的方法可治愈或长期减缓疾病的进展。探寻和研究抑制淀粉样聚集、识别并促进毒性聚集物清除的抑制剂分子是药物研发的重要策略之一。在不同类型的抑制剂中,多肽类抑制剂因具有高特异性、低毒性、多样性,以及修饰后的抗水解稳定性和血脑屏障通透性,有望成为候选药物分子。本文总结了针对阿尔茨海默病相关的Aβ和Tau蛋白以及帕金森病相关的α-synuclein蛋白淀粉样纤维化的多肽抑制剂研究进展。基于淀粉样纤维化核心序列及纤维核心结构进行合理设计,或通过随机筛选,均可获得多肽抑制剂。这些天然和非天然的多肽分子大多具有抑制淀粉样纤维化、解聚成熟纤维和降低细胞毒性的作用,其中一些多肽在退行性疾病动物模型实验中,显示出降低脑损伤和缓解认知及运动障碍的效果。这些研究揭示了多肽作为蛋白质错误折叠和聚集相关疾病药物的特点,为研发一类新的有效药物奠定了基础。     

Hsp70在神经退行性疾病中的作用机制研究进展

热休克蛋白Hsp70 (heat shock protein 70, Hsp70)是一类广泛存在的分子伴侣。阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer’s disease)、帕金森病(Parkinson’s disease)等神经退行性疾病共同的病理特征是错误折叠的蛋白质(包括Tau、α-突触核蛋白、TDP-43、朊蛋白和多聚谷氨酰胺蛋白)形成有毒性的寡聚体或淀粉样纤维。大量的研究表明,Hsp70可以调控这些蛋白质的代谢进程,包括将错误折叠的蛋白质重折叠、抑制蛋白质聚集以及降解错误折叠的蛋白质。Hsp70在发挥功能时需要相对应的辅助分子伴侣的帮助。该文详细论述了Hsp70抑制Tau蛋白病、α-突触核蛋白病、TDP-43蛋白病、传染性海绵状脑病以及多聚谷氨酰胺疾病的作用机制,重点阐述了Hsp70对神经退行性疾病中错误折叠蛋白质聚集和毒性的抑制作用,并讨论和展望了Hsp70在神经退行性疾病的治疗中存在的挑战和机遇。     

淀粉样β蛋白质构象转换及其抑制的分子动力学模拟

阿尔茨海默病(AD)是多发于老年人的神经退行性疾病。淀粉样β蛋白质(Aβ)的错误折叠和聚集与AD的发生与发展密切相关。以Aβ的错误折叠和聚集为靶标进行AD防治药物研究已成为近年来AD研究领域的热点之一。从初始的α-螺旋结构或无规卷曲构象转换形成富含β-折叠结构是Aβ聚集的关键步骤。本文中,笔者综述利用分子动力学(MD)模拟研究Aβ构象转换的分子机制,介绍MD模拟在小分子和多肽抑制剂抑制Aβ构象转换中的应用。     

与人类疾病相关的淀粉样短肽

有些天然蛋白质可通过错误折叠形成淀粉样纤维,并进一步沉积导致淀粉样病变,被认为是许多重大人类疾病的病理基础。因此,阐明天然蛋白质错误折叠、聚集形成淀粉样纤维的分子机制,是预防、诊断和治疗相关疾病的关键。研究者们从天然蛋白质中鉴定出许多能够形成淀粉样纤维的关键短肽片段,即淀粉样短肽,对它们形成淀粉样纤维的能力及其在完整蛋白质聚集过程中的决定性作用进行深入研究。本文对近年来人类疾病相关淀粉样短肽的研究展开综述。首先,介绍鉴定淀粉样短肽的标准及其相应的研究方法和技术手段;并回顾近年来与一些重大人类疾病相关的淀粉样短肽,尤其是与神经退行性疾病相关淀粉样短肽的进展情况,对淀粉样短肽中出现频率较高的氨基酸残基及其可能的自组装原理进行总结分析;最后,展望这些淀粉样短肽作为靶点在相关疾病诊断和治疗方面的意义,并初步探讨它们作为新型生物材料在生物医学工程领域的应用前景。本文一方面为阐明天然蛋白质形成淀粉样沉淀的分子机制提供参考,另一方面也为相关疾病的治疗提供思路,同时也为新型生物材料的开发提出潜在的可能性。     

淀粉样β蛋白的微生物表达及其在抑制剂筛选中的应用

淀粉样β蛋白质(Amyloid-βprotein, Aβ)的错误折叠和聚集形成多种形式的毒性各异的聚集体是阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer′s disease, AD)发生和发展的主要原因之一。研究Aβ的错误折叠和聚集机制及开发高效的抑制剂对AD的治疗至关重要。上述研究均需要大量的高纯度Aβ,而基于基因工程技术的重组蛋白质生产是获得Aβ及其突变体的常用工具。基于近年来Aβ微生物表达相关领域取得的进展,结合作者的相关研究,介绍了Aβ的微生物表达和纯化以及体内聚集抑制剂筛选系统的构建及使用,并讨论其优点和局限性,为淀粉样蛋白沉积疾病的分子机理和抑制剂开发的相关研究提供理论依据和技术支撑。     

多酚化合物对蛋白质构象疾病的抑制作用研究进展

多酚化合物是广泛存在于中草药或植物性食物中的生物活性分子。大量研究表明多酚化合物对蛋白质构象疾病具有防治作用，如可通过疏水作用抑制蛋白质或多肽形成淀粉样纤维或解聚淀粉样纤维，或者通过其抗氧化性降低淀粉样纤维对细胞的氧化损伤。本文综述了近年来中草药或食物来源的天然多酚化合物体外抑制蛋白质或多肽错误折叠和淀粉样纤维形成，以及在动物疾病模型体内的抑制效果及作用机理的研究进展，以期为该类化合物预防和减轻蛋白质构象疾病的应用提供基础参考。     

血管生成素在淀粉样沉积症中发挥作用吗？

淀粉样沉积症是致命性的疾病,可以是神经退行性的,也可以是系统性的.该疾病以错误折叠蛋白质的堆积、缠绕成纤维为特征,最终导致受累组织、器官的渐进性坏死.目前,没有有效的治疗手段可以阻止该类疾病的进程.错误折叠蛋白质的累积诱导内质网应激,被认为是退行性疾病的标志.血管生成素不仅可以调节细胞生长和增殖,也在应激条件下细胞存活中发挥作用.最近,发现血管生成素介导的应激反应可以减轻蛋白聚积造成的损伤,提示该蛋白可能在退行性疾病中具有新功能.本综述概述了血管生成素在淀粉样沉积症中的研究进展,特别是描述了血管生成素失调与该类疾病的起始和进展间的关系.我们认为,深入了解血管生成素失调的分子基础有助于发展与蛋白质错误折叠和聚积相关的退行性疾病的治疗方法.     

血管生成素在淀粉样沉积症中发挥作用吗?（英文）

淀粉样沉积症是致命性的疾病,可以是神经退行性的,也可以是系统性的.该疾病以错误折叠蛋白质的堆积、缠绕成纤维为特征,最终导致受累组织、器官的渐进性坏死.目前,没有有效的治疗手段可以阻止该类疾病的进程.错误折叠蛋白质的累积诱导内质网应激,被认为是退行性疾病的标志.血管生成素不仅可以调节细胞生长和增殖,也在应激条件下细胞存活中发挥作用.最近,发现血管生成素介导的应激反应可以减轻蛋白聚积造成的损伤,提示该蛋白可能在退行性疾病中具有新功能.本综述概述了血管生成素在淀粉样沉积症中的研究进展,特别是描述了血管生成素失调与该类疾病的起始和进展间的关系.我们认为,深入了解血管生成素失调的分子基础有助于发展与蛋白质错误折叠和聚积相关的退行性疾病的治疗方法.     

多肽淀粉样沉积形成机制研究进展

淀粉样肽(amyloid peptide)是一类在一定条件下易于形成沉积的多肽或者蛋白质。这类多肽或者蛋白在一定的组织部位沉积引起的细胞毒性和细胞凋亡被认为是一些疾病的主要原因。尽管这类多肽在一级结构上没有明显的同源性,但它们形成的沉积具有共同的结构特征,即这些多肽形成了具有β片层结构的纤维状聚集体。淀粉样沉积的形成机制尚不清楚。研究认为,在沉积过程中,多肽分子首先形成寡聚体,然后转变为规则的β折叠结构,进而组装形成淀粉样纤维。很多因素有助于这一转变,如多肽序列、氨基酸残基间的相互作用,介质的疏水性、温度、pH以及金属离子的浓度等。对多肽淀粉样沉积形成机制的深入研究将为探索相关疾病病因和开发治疗药物提供极有价值的依据。     

热休克蛋白在阿尔茨海默病中的研究

热休克蛋白（heat shock protein,HSP）是一种重要的分子伴侣,它们参与辅助蛋白质合成、折叠、转运以及定位等过程,并且在协调蛋白质水解、阻止蛋白质错误折叠和聚积方面发挥重要作用。阿尔茨海默病（Alzheimer＇s disease,AD）是最常见的神经退行性疾病,以神经细胞内过度磷酸化的tau蛋白异常聚积形成神经原纤维缠结以及细胞外β淀粉样蛋白（β-amyloid,Aβ）异常折叠形成淀粉样斑为主要病理特征。研究表明HSP不但对tau蛋白的聚积／降解发挥重要作用,并且可抑制Aβ相关的毒性作用。这些研究结果提示了分子伴侣有可能成为AD治疗的新靶点,现对该方面的研究进展进行综述。     

Strong inhibition of peptide amyloid formation by a fatty acid

The aggregation of peptides into amyloid fibrils is associated with several diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Because hydrophobic interactions often play an important role in amyloid formation, the presence of various hydrophobic or amphiphilic molecules, such as lipids, may influence the aggregation process. We have studied the effect of a fatty acid, linoleic acid, on the fibrillation process of the amyloid-forming model peptide NACore (GAVVTGVTAVA). NACore is a peptide fragment spanning residue 68–78 of the protein α-synuclein involved in Parkinson’s disease. Based primarily on circular dichroism measurements, we found that even a very small amount of linoleic acid can substantially inhibit the fibrillation of NACore. This inhibitory effect manifests itself through a prolongation of the lag phase of the peptide fibrillation. The effect is greatest when the fatty acid is present from the beginning of the process together with the monomeric peptide. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of nonfibrillar clusters among NACore fibrils formed in the presence of linoleic acid. We argue that the observed inhibitory effect on fibrillation is due to co-association of peptide oligomers and fatty acid aggregates at the early stage of the process. An important aspect of this mechanism is that it is nonmonomeric peptide structures that associate with the fatty acid aggregates. Similar mechanisms of action could be relevant in amyloid formation occurring in vivo, where the aggregation takes place in a lipid-rich environment.     

Potential applications of stress solutes from extremophiles in protein folding diseases and healthcare

Protein misfolding, aggregation and deposition in the brain, in the form of amyloid, are implicated in the etiology of several neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and prion diseases. Drugs available on the market reduce the symptoms, but they are not a cure. Therefore, it is urgent to identify promising targets and develop effective drugs. Preservation of protein native conformation and/or inhibition of protein aggregation seem pertinent targets for drug development. Several studies have shown that organic solutes, produced by extremophilic microorganisms in response to osmotic and/or heat stress, prevent denaturation and aggregation of model proteins. Among these stress solutes, mannosylglycerate, mannosylglyceramide, di-myo-inositol phosphate, diglycerol phosphate and ectoine are effective in preventing amyloid formation by Alzheimer’s Aβ peptide and/or α-synuclein in vitro. Moreover, mannosylglycerate is a potent inhibitor of Aβ and α-synuclein aggregation in living cells, and mannosylglyceramide and ectoine inhibit aggregation and reduce prion peptide-induced toxicity in human cells. This review focuses on the efficacy of stress solutes from hyper/thermophiles and ectoines to prevent amyloid formation in vitro and in vivo and their potential application in drug development against protein misfolding diseases. Current and envisaged applications of these extremolytes in neurodegenerative diseases and healthcare will also be addressed.     

Small molecule inhibitors of aggregation indicate that amyloid beta oligomerization and fibrillization pathways are independent and distinct

Alzheimer disease is characterized by the abnormal aggregation of amyloid beta peptide into extracellular fibrillar deposits known as amyloid plaques. Soluble oligomers have been observed at early time points preceding fibril formation, and these oligomers have been implicated as the primary pathological species rather than the mature fibrils. A significant issue that remains to be resolved is whether amyloid oligomers are an obligate intermediate on the pathway to fibril formation or represent an alternate assembly pathway that may or may not lead to fiber formation. To determine whether amyloid beta oligomers are obligate intermediates in the fibrillization pathway, we characterized the mechanism of action of amyloid beta aggregation inhibitors in terms of oligomer and fibril formation. Based on their effects, the small molecules segregated into three distinct classes: compounds that inhibit oligomerization but not fibrillization, compounds that inhibit fibrillization but not oligomerization, and compounds that inhibit both. Several compounds selectively inhibited oligomerization at substoichiometric concentrations relative to amyloid beta monomer, with some active in the low nanomolar range. These results indicate that oligomers are not an obligate intermediate in the fibril formation pathway. In addition, these data suggest that small molecule inhibitors are useful for clarifying the mechanisms underlying protein aggregation and may represent potential therapeutic agents that target fundamental disease mechanisms.     

Gallic acid is the major component of grape seed extract that inhibits amyloid fibril formation

Many protein misfolding diseases, for example, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, are characterised by the accumulation of protein aggregates in an amyloid fibrillar form. Natural products which inhibit fibril formation are a promising avenue to explore as therapeutics for the treatment of these diseases. In this study we have shown, using in vitro thioflavin T assays and transmission electron microscopy, that grape seed extract inhibits fibril formation of kappa-casein (κ-CN), a milk protein which forms amyloid fibrils spontaneously under physiological conditions. Among the components of grape seed extract, gallic acid was the most active component at inhibiting κ-CN fibril formation, by stabilizing κ-CN to prevent its aggregation. Concomitantly, gallic acid significantly reduced the toxicity of κ-CN to pheochromocytoma12 cells. Furthermore, gallic acid effectively inhibited fibril formation by the amyloid-beta peptide, the putative causative agent in Alzheimer’s disease. It is concluded that the gallate moiety has the fibril-inhibitory activity.     

Toward the discovery of effective polycyclic inhibitors of alpha-synuclein amyloid assembly

The fibrillation of amyloidogenic proteins is a critical step in the etiology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. There is major interest in the therapeutic intervention on such aberrant aggregation phenomena, and the utilization of polyaromatic scaffolds has lately received considerable attention. In this regard, the molecular and structural basis of the anti-amyloidogenicity of polyaromatic compounds, required to evolve this molecular scaffold toward therapeutic drugs, is not known in detail. We present here biophysical and biochemical studies that have enabled us to characterize the interaction of metal-substituted, tetrasulfonated phthalocyanines (PcTS) with α-synuclein (AS), the major protein component of amyloid-like deposits in Parkinson disease. The inhibitory activity of the assayed compounds on AS amyloid fibril formation decreases in the order PcTS[Ni(II)] ~ PcTS > PcTS[Zn(II)] > PcTS[Al(III)] ≈ 0. Using NMR and electronic absorption spectroscopies we demonstrated conclusively that the differences in binding capacity and anti-amyloid activity of phthalocyanines on AS are attributed to their relative ability to self-stack through π-π interactions, modulated by the nature of the metal ion bound at the molecule. Low order stacked aggregates of phthalocyanines were identified as the active amyloid inhibitory species, whose effects are mediated by residue specific interactions. Such sequence-specific anti-amyloid behavior of self-stacked phthalocyanines contrasts strongly with promiscuous amyloid inhibitors with self-association capabilities that act via nonspecific sequestration of AS molecules. The new findings reported here constitute an important contribution for future drug discovery efforts targeting amyloid formation.     

Naturally occurring polyphenolic inhibitors of amyloid beta aggregation

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease and is one of the main causes of death in developed countries. Consumption of foods rich in polyphenolics is strongly correlated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Our study has investigated the biological activity of previously untested polyphenolic compounds in preventing amyloid β aggregation. The anti-aggregatory potential of these compounds was assessed using the Thioflavin-T assay, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and size exclusion chromatography. Two structurally related compounds, luteolin and transilitin were identified as potent inhibitors of Aβ fibril formation. Computational docking studies with an X-ray derived oligomeric structure offer a rationale for the inhibitory activity observed and may facilitate development of improved inhibitors of Aβ aggregation and toxicity.     

D-amino acid-based peptide inhibitors as early or preventative therapy in Alzheimer disease

Beta amyloid (Aβ) accumulation is recognized as a hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology and the aggregation of Aβ peptide is hypothesized to drive pathogenesis. As such, Aβ is a logical target for therapeutic intervention and there have been many studies looking at diverse classes of drugs that target Aβ. Of concern is the recent failure of several clinical trials, highlighting the need for earlier, possibly preventative intervention, and raising the question of what form of Aβ is the best target. The Aβ oligomers are considered to be the toxic species, but many therapies, such as antibody therapies, target monomers, removing them as substrates for aggregation. Peptide inhibitors, in contrast, are able to interfere with the aggregation process itself. Designing peptide inhibitors requires some knowledge of Aβ structure; while there is structural information about the amyloid core of Aβ fibrils, the transient nature of oligomers makes them difficult to characterize. Fortunately, some interaction sites have been identified between monomers and oligomers of Aβ and these, plus known aggregation-prone sequences in Aβ, can serve as a basis for inhibitor design. In this mini-review we focus on D-amino acid based peptide inhibitors and discuss how their non-toxic and stable nature can be beneficial, while they specifically target aggregation-prone sequences within the Aβ peptide. Many peptide inhibitors have been designed using the LVFFA domain within Aβ to disrupt the self-assembly of Aβ peptide. While this may be sufficient to stop aggregation in vitro, other aggregation sites at the C-terminus may promote aggregation independently and the flexible N terminus may be a good target to induce clearance of aggregates. Ultimately, it may be a combination of targets that provides the best therapeutic strategy.     

Aromatic small molecules remodel toxic soluble oligomers of amyloid beta through three independent pathways

In protein conformational disorders ranging from Alzheimer to Parkinson disease, proteins of unrelated sequence misfold into a similar array of aggregated conformers ranging from small oligomers to large amyloid fibrils. Substantial evidence suggests that small, prefibrillar oligomers are the most toxic species, yet to what extent they can be selectively targeted and remodeled into non-toxic conformers using small molecules is poorly understood. We have evaluated the conformational specificity and remodeling pathways of a diverse panel of aromatic small molecules against mature soluble oligomers of the Aβ42 peptide associated with Alzheimer disease. We find that small molecule antagonists can be grouped into three classes, which we herein define as Class I, II, and III molecules, based on the distinct pathways they utilize to remodel soluble oligomers into multiple conformers with reduced toxicity. Class I molecules remodel soluble oligomers into large, off-pathway aggregates that are non-toxic. Moreover, Class IA molecules also remodel amyloid fibrils into the same off-pathway structures, whereas Class IB molecules fail to remodel fibrils but accelerate aggregation of freshly disaggregated Aβ. In contrast, a Class II molecule converts soluble Aβ oligomers into fibrils, but is inactive against disaggregated and fibrillar Aβ. Class III molecules disassemble soluble oligomers (as well as fibrils) into low molecular weight species that are non-toxic. Strikingly, Aβ non-toxic oligomers (which are morphologically indistinguishable from toxic soluble oligomers) are significantly more resistant to being remodeled than Aβ soluble oligomers or amyloid fibrils. Our findings reveal that relatively subtle differences in small molecule structure encipher surprisingly large differences in the pathways they employ to remodel Aβ soluble oligomers and related aggregated conformers.     

Early mechanisms of amyloid fibril nucleation in model and disease-related proteins

Protein amyloid aggregation is a hallmark in neuropathologies and other diseases of tremendous impact such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases. During the last decade, it has become increasingly evident that neuronal death is mainly induced by proteinaceous oligomers rather than the mature amyloid fibrils. Therefore, the earliest molecular events occurring during the amyloid aggregation cascade represent a growing interest of study.Important breakthroughs have been achieved using experimental data from different proteins, used as models, as well as systems related to diseases. Here, we summarize the structural properties of amyloid oligomeric and fibrillar aggregates and review the recent advances on how biophysical techniques can be combined with quantitative kinetic analysis and theoretical models to study the detailed mechanism of oligomer formation and nucleation of fibrils.These insights into the mechanism of early oligomerization and amyloid nucleation are of relevant interest in drug discovery and in the design of preventive strategies against neurodegenerative diseases.     

Peptides for disrupting and degrading amyloids

Amyloid proteins can aggregate into insoluble fibrils and form amyloid deposits in the human brain, which is the hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases. Promising strategies toward pathological amyloid proteins and deposition include investigating inhibitors that can disrupt amyloid aggregation or induce misfolding protein degradation. In this review, recent progress of peptide-based inhibitors, including amyloid sequence–derived inhibitors, designed peptides, and peptide mimics, is highlighted. Based on the increased understanding of peptide design and precise amyloid structures, these peptides exhibit advanced inhibitory activities against fibrous aggregation as well as enhanced druggability.