scholarly journals Cross-Seeding of Misfolded Proteins: Implications for Etiology and Pathogenesis of Protein Misfolding Diseases

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e1003537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Morales ◽  
Ines Moreno-Gonzalez ◽  
Claudio Soto
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (26) ◽  
pp. 2380-2390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Sahab Uddin ◽  
Abdullah Al Mamun ◽  
Md. Ataur Rahman ◽  
Tapan Behl ◽  
Asma Perveen ◽  
...  

Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by the extracellular accumulations of amyloid beta (Aβ) as senile plaques and intracellular aggregations of tau in the form of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in specific brain regions. In this review, we focus on the interaction of Aβ and tau with cytosolic proteins and several cell organelles as well as associated neurotoxicity in AD. Summary: Misfolded proteins present in cells accompanied by correctly folded, intermediately folded, as well as unfolded species. Misfolded proteins can be degraded or refolded properly with the aid of chaperone proteins, which are playing a pivotal role in protein folding, trafficking as well as intermediate stabilization in healthy cells. The continuous aggregation of misfolded proteins in the absence of their proper clearance could result in amyloid disease including AD. The neuropathological changes of AD brain include the atypical cellular accumulation of misfolded proteins as well as the loss of neurons and synapses in the cerebral cortex and certain subcortical regions. The mechanism of neurodegeneration in AD that leads to severe neuronal cell death and memory dysfunctions is not completely understood until now. Conclusion: Examining the impact, as well as the consequences of protein misfolding, could help to uncover the molecular etiologies behind the complicated AD pathogenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Simone Ruggeri ◽  
Johnny Habchi ◽  
Sean Chia ◽  
Robert I. Horne ◽  
Michele Vendruscolo ◽  
...  

AbstractSignificant efforts have been devoted in the last twenty years to developing compounds that can interfere with the aggregation pathways of proteins related to misfolding disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. However, no disease-modifying drug has become available for clinical use to date for these conditions. One of the main reasons for this failure is the incomplete knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying the process by which small molecules interact with protein aggregates and interfere with their aggregation pathways. Here, we leverage the single molecule morphological and chemical sensitivity of infrared nanospectroscopy to provide the first direct measurement of the structure and interaction between single Aβ42 oligomeric and fibrillar species and an aggregation inhibitor, bexarotene, which is able to prevent Aβ42 aggregation in vitro and reverses its neurotoxicity in cell and animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. Our results demonstrate that the carboxyl group of this compound interacts with Aβ42 aggregates through a single hydrogen bond. These results establish infrared nanospectroscopy as a powerful tool in structure-based drug discovery for protein misfolding diseases.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (41) ◽  
pp. 10245-10250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Chia ◽  
Johnny Habchi ◽  
Thomas C. T. Michaels ◽  
Samuel I. A. Cohen ◽  
Sara Linse ◽  
...  

To develop effective therapeutic strategies for protein misfolding diseases, a promising route is to identify compounds that inhibit the formation of protein oligomers. To achieve this goal, we report a structure−activity relationship (SAR) approach based on chemical kinetics to estimate quantitatively how small molecules modify the reactive flux toward oligomers. We use this estimate to derive chemical rules in the case of the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ), which we then exploit to optimize starting compounds to curtail Aβ oligomer formation. We demonstrate this approach by converting an inactive rhodanine compound into an effective inhibitor of Aβ oligomer formation by generating chemical derivatives in a systematic manner. These results provide an initial demonstration of the potential of drug discovery strategies based on targeting directly the production of protein oligomers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1860 (9) ◽  
pp. 1876-1888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biao Cheng ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Liang Ma ◽  
Zhuoyi Wang ◽  
Robert B. Petersen ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
pp. 438-445
Author(s):  
Nobuyuki Okamura ◽  
Shozo Furumoto ◽  
Manabu Tashiro ◽  
Katsutoshi Furukawa ◽  
Hiroyuki Arai ◽  
...  

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and many other neurodegenerative disorders belong to the family of protein misfolding diseases. These diseases are characterized by the deposition of insoluble protein aggregates containing an enriched ß-sheet structure. To evaluate PET amyloid-imaging tracer [11C]BF-227 as an agent for in vivo detection of various kinds of misfolded protein, a [11C]BF-227 PET study was performed in patients with various protein misfolding diseases, including AD, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS). BF-227 binds to ß-amyloid fibrils with high affinity. Most of the AD patients showed prominent retention of [11C]BF-227 in the neocortex. In addition, neocortical retention of BF-227 was observed in the subjects with mild cognitive impairment who converted to AD during follow-up. DLB patients had elevated [11C]BF-227 uptake in the neocortex. However, FTD and sCJD patients showed no cortical retention of [11C]BF-227. Patients with multiple system atrophy had elevated BF-227 binding in the putamen. Finally, GSS patients had elevated BF-227 uptake in the cerebellum and other brain regions. This chapter confirms that BF-227 can selectively bind to a-synuclein and prion protein deposits using postmortem brain samples. Based on these findings, [11C]BF-227 is not necessarily specific for ß-amyloid in AD patients. However, this tracer could be used to detect various types of protein aggregates in the brain.


2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 725-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charisma Enam ◽  
Yifat Geffen ◽  
Tommer Ravid ◽  
Richard G. Gardner

Nuclear proteins participate in diverse cellular processes, many of which are essential for cell survival and viability. To maintain optimal nuclear physiology, the cell employs the ubiquitin-proteasome system to eliminate damaged and misfolded proteins in the nucleus that could otherwise harm the cell. In this review, we highlight the current knowledge about the major ubiquitin-protein ligases involved in protein quality control degradation (PQCD) in the nucleus and how they orchestrate their functions to eliminate misfolded proteins in different nuclear subcompartments. Many human disorders are causally linked to protein misfolding in the nucleus, hence we discuss major concepts that still need to be clarified to better understand the basis of the nuclear misfolded proteins’ toxic effects. Additionally, we touch upon potential strategies for manipulating nuclear PQCD pathways to ameliorate diseases associated with protein misfolding and aggregation in the nucleus.


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