Electrochemistry of Alzheimer Disease Amyloid Beta Peptides

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (33) ◽  
pp. 4066-4083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Chiorcea-Paquim ◽  
Teodor Adrian Enache ◽  
Ana Maria Oliveira-Brett

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a widespread form of dementia that is estimated to affect 44.4 million people worldwide. AD pathology is closely related to the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides in fibrils and plagues, the small oligomeric intermediate species formed during the Aβ peptides aggregation presenting the highest neurotoxicity. This review discusses the recent advances on the Aβ peptides electrochemical characterization. The Aβ peptides oxidation at a glassy carbon electrode occurs in one or two steps, depending on the amino acid sequence, length and content. The first electron transfer reaction corresponds to the tyrosine Tyr10 amino acid residue oxidation, and the second to all three histidine (His6, His13 and His14) and one methionine (Met35) amino acid residues. The Aβ peptides aggregation and amyloid fibril formation are electrochemically detected via the electroactive amino acids oxidation peak currents decrease that occurs in a time dependent manner. The Aβ peptides redox behaviour is correlated with changes in the adsorption morphology from initially random coiled structures, corresponding to the Aβ peptide monomers in random coil or in α-helix conformations, to aggregates, protofibrils and two types of fibrils, corresponding to the Aβ peptides in a β-sheet configuration, observed by atomic force microscopy. Electrochemical studies of Aβ peptides aggregation, mediated by the interaction with metal ions, particularly zinc, copper and iron, and different methodologies concerning the detection of Aβ peptide biomarkers of AD in biological fluids, using electrochemical biosensors, are also discussed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilia Y. Kucheryavykh ◽  
Jescelica Ortiz-Rivera ◽  
Yuriy V. Kucheryavykh ◽  
Astrid Zayas-Santiago ◽  
Amanda Diaz-Garcia ◽  
...  

Immunostaining with specific antibodies has shown that innate amyloid beta (Aβ) is accumulated naturally in glioma tumors and nearby blood vessels in a mouse model of glioma. In immunofluorescence images, Aβ peptide coincides with glioma cells, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) have shown that Aβ peptide is enriched in the membrane protein fraction of tumor cells. ELISAs have also confirmed that the Aβ(1–40) peptide is enriched in glioma tumor areas relative to healthy brain areas. Thioflavin staining revealed that at least some amyloid is present in glioma tumors in aggregated forms. We may suggest that the presence of aggregated amyloid in glioma tumors together with the presence of Aβ immunofluorescence coinciding with glioma cells and the nearby vasculature imply that the source of Aβ peptides in glioma can be systemic Aβ from blood vessels, but this question remains unresolved and needs additional studies.


RSC Advances ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (14) ◽  
pp. 10488-10496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chidambar B. Jalkute ◽  
Sagar H. Barage ◽  
Kailas D. Sonawane

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the presence of extracellular deposition of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides.


eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M Bolduc ◽  
Daniel R Montagna ◽  
Matthew C Seghers ◽  
Michael S Wolfe ◽  
Dennis J Selkoe

γ-secretase is responsible for the proteolysis of amyloid precursor protein (APP) into short, aggregation-prone amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides, which are centrally implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Despite considerable interest in developing γ-secretase targeting therapeutics for the treatment of AD, the precise mechanism by which γ-secretase produces Aβ has remained elusive. Herein, we demonstrate that γ-secretase catalysis is driven by the stabilization of an enzyme-substrate scission complex via three distinct amino-acid-binding pockets in the enzyme’s active site, providing the mechanism by which γ-secretase preferentially cleaves APP in three amino acid increments. Substrate occupancy of these three pockets occurs after initial substrate binding but precedes catalysis, suggesting a conformational change in substrate may be required for cleavage. We uncover and exploit substrate cleavage preferences dictated by these three pockets to investigate the mechanism by which familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations within APP increase the production of pathogenic Aβ species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2341
Author(s):  
Joo-Hee Lee ◽  
Na-Hyun Ahn ◽  
Su-Bin Choi ◽  
Youngeun Kwon ◽  
Seung-Hoon Yang

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by severe brain damage and dementia. There are currently few therapeutics to treat this disease, and they can only temporarily alleviate some of the symptoms. The pathogenesis of AD is mainly preceded by accumulation of abnormal amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregates, which are toxic to neurons. Therefore, modulation of the formation of these abnormal aggregates is strongly suggested as the most effective approach to treat AD. In particular, numerous studies on natural products associated with AD, aiming to downregulate Aβ peptides and suppress the formation of abnormal Aβ aggregates, thus reducing neural cell death, are being conducted. Generation of Aβ peptides can be prevented by targeting the secretases involved in Aβ-peptide formation (secretase-dependent). Additionally, blocking the intra- and intermolecular interactions of Aβ peptides can induce conformational changes in abnormal Aβ aggregates, whereby the toxicity can be ameliorated (structure-dependent). In this review, AD-associated natural products which can reduce the accumulation of Aβ peptides via secretase- or structure-dependent pathways, and the current clinical trial states of these products are discussed.


1997 ◽  
Vol 326 (2) ◽  
pp. 567-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideaki ITOH ◽  
Yohtalou TASHIMA

A 30 kDa protein was purified from pig liver cytosol by using ATP-Sepharose and Green A column chromatography. The partial amino acid sequences of the protein (95 amino acid residues) had no similarity with any proteins recorded in data banks. The protein was able to form a stable complex with unfolded dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). The spontaneous refolding of chemically denatured DHFR was arrested by the 30 kDa protein. This inhibition presumably results from the formation of a stable complex between the 30 kDa protein and DHFR. Bound DHFR could be released from the protein with ATP. The protein also showed protease resistance in an ATP-dependent manner. Incubation of the 30 kDa protein with 5 mM ATP resulted in its resistance to V8 protease or to trypsin treated with 1-chloro-4-phenyl-3-L-toluene-p-sulphonamidobutan-2-one. Divalent cations enhanced the ATP-protection effect. CD analysis of the 30 kDa protein showed that ATP induced an increase in the β-pleated sheet content and a decrease in the α-helix content of the 30 kDa protein. These results suggest that the 30 kDa protein, a novel cytosolic protein, might have an affinity for ATP, a chaperonin activity, and and an ATP-protection effect against some proteases in vivo.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohyeon Seo ◽  
Jinju Lee ◽  
Jungsue Choi ◽  
G. Hwan Park ◽  
Yeseul Hong ◽  
...  

AbstractAssembled amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides have been considered pathological assemblies involved in human brain diseases, and the electron transfer or electron transport characteristics of Aβ are important for the formation of structured assemblies. Here, we report the electrical characteristics of surface-assembled Aβ peptides similar to those observed in Alzheimer’s patients. These characteristics correlate to their electron transfer characteristics. Electrical current–voltage plots of Aβ vertical junction devices show the Aβ sequence dependence of the current densities at both Aβ monomers (mono-Aβs) and Aβ oligomers (oli-Aβs), while Aβ sequence dependence is not clearly observed in the electrical characteristics of Aβ planar field effect transistors (FETs). In particular, surface oligomerization of Aβ peptides drastically decreases the activity of electron transfer, which presents a change in the electron transport pathway in the Aβ vertical junctions. Electron transport at oli-Aβ junctions is symmetric (tunneling/tunneling) due to the weak and voltage-independent coupling of the less redox-reactive oli-Aβ to the contacts, while that at mono-Aβ junctions is asymmetric (hopping/tunneling) due to redox levels of mono-Aβ voltage-dependently coupled with contact electrodes. Consequently, through vertical junctions, the sequence- and conformation-dependent electrical characteristics of Aβs can reveal their electron transfer activities.


Amino Acids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grażyna Gałęzowska ◽  
Joanna Ratajczyk ◽  
Lidia Wolska

AbstractThe quantitation and qualification of amino acids are most commonly used in clinical and epidemiological studies, and provide an excellent way of monitoring compounds in human fluids which have not been monitored previously, to prevent some diseases. Because of this, it is not surprising that scientific interest in evaluating these compounds has resurfaced in recent years and has precipitated the development of a multitude of new analytical techniques. This review considers recent developments in HPLC analytics on the basis of publications from the last few years. It helps to update and systematize knowledge in this area. Particular attention is paid to the progress of analytical methods, pointing out the advantages and drawbacks of the various techniques used for the preparation, separation and determination of amino acids. Depending on the type of sample, the preparation conditions for HPLC analysis change. For this reason, the review has focused on three types of samples, namely urine, blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Despite time-consuming sample preparation before HPLC analysis, an additional derivatization technique should be used, depending on the detection technique used. There are proposals for columns that are specially modified for amino acid separation without derivatization, but the limit of detection of the substance is less beneficial. In view of the fact that amino acid analyses have been performed for years and new solutions may generate increased costs, it may turn out that older proposals are much more advantageous.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1323
Author(s):  
Irini Doytchinova ◽  
Mariyana Atanasova ◽  
Evdokiya Salamanova ◽  
Stefan Ivanov ◽  
Ivan Dimitrov

The amyloid plaques are a key hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Amyloidogenesis is a complex long-lasting multiphase process starting with the formation of nuclei of amyloid peptides: a process assigned as a primary nucleation. Curcumin (CU) is a well-known inhibitor of the aggregation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides. Even more, CU is able to disintegrate preformed Aβ firbils and amyloid plaques. Here, we simulate by molecular dynamics the primary nucleation process of 12 Aβ peptides and investigate the effects of CU on the process. We found that CU molecules intercalate among the Aβ chains and bind tightly to them by hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic, π–π, and cation–π interactions. In the presence of CU, the Aβ peptides form a primary nucleus of a bigger size. The peptide chains in the nucleus become less flexible and more disordered, and the number of non-native contacts and hydrogen bonds between them decreases. For comparison, the effects of the weaker Aβ inhibitor ferulic acid (FA) on the primary nucleation are also examined. Our study is in good agreement with the observation that taken regularly, CU is able to prevent or at least delay the onset of neurodegenerative disorders.


Toxics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Jorge Humberto Limón-Pacheco ◽  
Natalie Jiménez-Barrios ◽  
Alejandro Déciga-Alcaraz ◽  
Adriana Martínez-Cuazitl ◽  
Mónica Maribel Mata-Miranda ◽  
...  

Some studies have shown that silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) can reach different regions of the brain and cause toxicity; however, the consequences of SiO2-NPs exposure on the diverse brain cell lineages is limited. We aimed to investigate the neurotoxic effects of SiO2-NP (0–100 µg/mL) on rat astrocyte-rich cultures or neuron-rich cultures using scanning electron microscopy, Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), FTIR microspectroscopy mapping (IQ mapping), and cell viability tests. SiO2-NPs were amorphous particles and aggregated in saline and culture media. Both astrocytes and neurons treated with SiO2-NPs showed alterations in cell morphology and changes in the IR spectral regions corresponding to nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. The analysis by the second derivative revealed a significant decrease in the signal of the amide I (α-helix, parallel β-strand, and random coil) at the concentration of 10 µg/mL in astrocytes but not in neurons. IQ mapping confirmed changes in nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids in astrocytes; cell death was higher in astrocytes than in neurons (10–100 µg/mL). We conclude that astrocytes were more vulnerable than neurons to SiO2-NPs toxicity. Therefore, the evaluation of human exposure to SiO2-NPs and possible neurotoxic effects must be followed up.


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