Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute-phase protein that circulates bound to high density lipoprotein (HDL) and can influence HDL function as part of a poorly understood defense re-sponse to tissue trauma or infection. We have previously demonstrated that under mildly acidic pH the glycosaminoglycans, heparan sulfate (HS) and heparin can interact with HDL-SAA and cause SAA to dissociate from HDL. This remodeling improves HDL functionality but also predisposes SAA to form AA-amyloid fibrils. In this study we explore some potential pathophysiological conditions in vitro that could influence this HS/HDL-SAA remodeling process and the fate of SAA in vivo. SAA’s binding affinity for heparin was found to be enhanced by acidic pH and low concentrations of urea. The heparin dependent remodeling of HDL-SAA was promoted by the partial denaturation of HDL-SAA. Moreover, HDL-SAA remodeling was observed to follow a strict SAA:heparin stoichiometry and could be partially inhibited with a short heparin oligosaccharide of 8-sugar units. Evidence is also presented that once dissociated from HDL, SAA requires additional time to organize into Triton x-100 resistant amyloid-like structures. Circular dichroism spectroscopic analysis and in silico modeling of SAA’s ionizable residues highlights the importance of the histidine-36 within a highly conserved, pH-sensitive HS-binding site (HSBS-pH). A peptide containing the HSBS-pH sequence was demonstrated to have AA-amyloid seeding activity in a cell culture system. The recent determination of the 3D structure for human SAA1.1 has allowed the opportunity to re-assess and validate the HS/heparin binding sequences that had previously been identified biochemically with short synthetic peptides. We postulate that the dissociation of SAA from HDL takes place during the retro-endocytosis of HDL-SAA and is an important aspect of SAA function not previously appreciated.
Heparan Sulfate Dissociates Serum Amyloid A (SAA) from Acute-phase High-density Lipoprotein, Promoting SAA Aggregation
