scholarly journals Live Cell FRET Imaging Reveals Amyloid β-Peptide Oligomerization in Hippocampal Neurons

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4530
Author(s):  
Yang Gao ◽  
Stefan Wennmalm ◽  
Bengt Winblad ◽  
Sophia Schedin-Weiss ◽  
Lars O. Tjernberg

Amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) oligomerization is believed to contribute to the neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer disease (AD). Despite decades of research, many details of Aβ oligomerization in neurons still need to be revealed. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a simple but effective way to study molecular interactions. Here, we used a confocal microscope with a sensitive Airyscan detector for FRET detection. By live cell FRET imaging, we detected Aβ42 oligomerization in primary neurons. The neurons were incubated with fluorescently labeled Aβ42 in the cell culture medium for 24 h. Aβ42 were internalized and oligomerized in the lysosomes/late endosomes in a concentration-dependent manner. Both the cellular uptake and intracellular oligomerization of Aβ42 were significantly higher than for Aβ40. These findings provide a better understanding of Aβ42 oligomerization in neurons.

Author(s):  
Yang Gao ◽  
Stefan Wennmalm ◽  
Bengt Winblad ◽  
Sophia Schedin-Weiss ◽  
Lars Tjernberg

Amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) oligomerization is believed to contribute to the neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer disease (AD). Despite decades of research, many details of Aβ oligomerization in neurons still need to be revealed. Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a simple but effective way to study molecular interactions. Here we use a confocal microscope with a sensitive Airyscan detector for FRET detection. By live cell FRET imaging, we detect Aβ42 oligomerization in primary neurons. The neurons were incubated with fluorescently labelled Aβ42 in the cell culture medium for 24 hours. Aβ42 were internalized and oligomerized into the lysosomes/late endosomes in a concentration-dependent manner. Both the cellular uptake and intracellular oligomerization of Aβ42 were significantly higher than for Aβ40. These findings provide a better understanding of Aβ42 oligomerization in neurons.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (4) ◽  
pp. C873-C880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randa Bahadi ◽  
Peter V. Farrelly ◽  
Bronwyn L. Kenna ◽  
Cyril C. Curtain ◽  
Colin L. Masters ◽  
...  

We found that the amyloid β peptide Aβ(1-42) is capable of interacting with membrane and forming heterogeneous ion channels in the absence of any added Cu2+ or biological redox agents that have been reported to mediate Aβ(1-42) toxicity. The Aβ(1-42)-formed cation channel was inhibited by Cu2+ in cis solution ([Cu2+] cis) in a voltage- and concentration-dependent manner between 0 and 250 μM. The [Cu2+] cis-induced channel inhibition is fully reversible at low concentrations between 50 and 100 μM [Cu2+] cis and partially reversible at 250 μM [Cu2+] cis. The inhibitory effects of [Cu2+] cis between 50 and 250 μM on the channel could not be reversed with addition of Cu2+-chelating agent clioquinol (CQ) at concentrations between 64 and 384 μM applied to the cis chamber. The effects of 200-250 μM [Cu2+] cis on the burst and intraburst kinetic parameters were not fully reversible with either wash or 128 μM [CQ] cis. The kinetic analysis of the data indicate that Cu2+-induced inhibition was mediated via both desensitization and an open channel block mechanism and that Cu2+ binds to the histidine residues located at the mouth of the channel. It is proposed that the Cu2+-binding site of the Aβ(1-42)-formed channels is modulated with Cu2+ in a similar way to those of channels formed with the prion protein fragment PrP(106-126), suggesting a possible common mechanism for Cu2+ modulation of Aβ and PrP channel proteins linked to neurodegenerative diseases.


Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 773-773
Author(s):  
Marvin T Nieman

Abstract Abstract 773 Thrombin activates platelets by binding and cleaving protease activated receptors 1 and 4 (PAR1 and PAR4). PAR1 and PAR4 communicate with each other to lower the concentration of thrombin required for PAR4 activation (Nieman Biochemistry, 2008). In addition, PAR1 and PAR4 form homo and heterodimers. However, where these receptors interact has not been defined and it is not known if dimerization influences receptor activation, downstream signaling, or both. Since PAR4 activation is important on human and mouse platelets, we sought to characterize the interaction site between PAR4 homodimers. Using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET), we mapped the PAR4 homodimer interface. The PAR4 homodimers show a specific interaction as indicated by a hyperbolic BRET signal in response to increasing PAR4-GFP expression with a fixed concentration of PAR4-Rluc. The threshold maximum BRET signal was disrupted in a concentration-dependent manner by unlabeled PAR4. In contrast, the unrelated G-protein coupled receptor, rhodopsin, was unable to disrupt the BRET signal indicating that the disruption of the PAR4 homodimer is a specific interaction. We have mapped the region required for PAR4 homodimer formation using chimeras between rhodopsin and PAR4. PAR4 does not interact with rhodopsin in BRET assays. Using a library of rho-PAR4 chimeras that have the junction at the beginning of transmembrane (TM) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, we determined where dimer formation is restored. When the junction is placed at the beginning of TM4 or TM5, the chimera does not interact with PAR4-WT. In contrast, when the junction is moved to the end of TM2, the BRET signal is restored. These results indicate that the region on PAR4 required for homodimer formation encompasses a 63 amino acid region that includes the first extracellular loop, TM3 and the second intracellular loop. These studies establish techniques that may be used to define the interactions between other GPCRs found on the platelet surface. These receptor-receptor interactions may be another level of regulation of agonist activity and platelet function in vivo and may provide novel targets for anti-platelet therapies. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 1338-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Nicholas Cochran ◽  
Pauleatha V. Diggs ◽  
N. Miranda Nebane ◽  
Lynn Rasmussen ◽  
E. Lucile White ◽  
...  

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, and with Americans’ increasing longevity, it is becoming an epidemic. There are currently no effective treatments for this disorder. Abnormalities of Tau track more closely with cognitive decline than the most studied therapeutic target in AD, amyloid-β, but the optimal strategy for targeting Tau has not yet been identified. On the basis of considerable preclinical data from AD models, we hypothesize that interactions between Tau and the Src-family tyrosine kinase, Fyn, are pathogenic in AD. Genetically reducing either Tau or Fyn is protective in AD mouse models, and a dominant negative fragment of Tau that alters Fyn localization is also protective. Here, we describe a new AlphaScreen assay and a live-cell bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assay using a novel BRET pair for quantifying the Tau–Fyn interaction. We used these assays to map the binding site on Tau for Fyn to the fifth and sixth PXXP motifs to show that AD-associated phosphorylation at microtubule affinity regulating kinase sites increases the affinity of the Tau–Fyn interaction and to identify Tau–Fyn interaction inhibitors by high-throughput screening. This screen has identified a variety of chemically tractable hits, suggesting that the Tau–Fyn interaction may represent a good drug target for AD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. jcs249193
Author(s):  
Simon Bennet Sonnenberg ◽  
Jonah Rauer ◽  
Christoph Göhr ◽  
Nataliya Gorinski ◽  
Sophie Kristin Schade ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMorphological remodeling of dendritic spines is critically involved in memory formation and depends on adhesion molecules. Serotonin receptors are also implicated in this remodeling, though the underlying mechanisms remain enigmatic. Here, we uncovered a signaling pathway involving the adhesion molecule L1CAM (L1) and serotonin receptor 5-HT4 (5-HT4R, encoded by HTR4). Using Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging, we demonstrated a physical interaction between 5-HT4R and L1, and found that 5-HT4R–L1 heterodimerization facilitates mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in a Gs-dependent manner. We also found that 5-HT4R–L1-mediated signaling is involved in G13-dependent modulation of cofilin-1 activity. In hippocampal neurons in vitro, the 5-HT4R–L1 pathway triggers maturation of dendritic spines. Thus, the 5-HT4R–L1 signaling module represents a previously unknown molecular pathway regulating synaptic remodeling.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Yang Yu ◽  
Yang Gao ◽  
Bengt Winblad ◽  
Lars Tjernberg ◽  
Sophia Schedin Weiss

Background: Processing of the amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) is neurophysiologically important due to the resulting fragments that regulate synapse biology, as well as potentially harmful due to generation of the 42 amino acid long amyloid β-peptide (Aβ 42), which is a key player in Alzheimer’s disease. Objective: Our aim was to clarify the subcellular locations of the amyloidogenic AβPP processing in primary neurons, including the intracellular pools of the immediate substrate, AβPP C-terminal fragment (APP-CTF) and the product (Aβ 42). To overcome the difficulties of resolving these compartments due to their small size, we used super-resolution microscopy. Methods: Mouse primary hippocampal neurons were immunolabelled and imaged by stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, including three-dimensional, three-channel imaging and image analyses. Results: The first (β-secretase) and second (γ-secretase) cleavages of AβPP were localized to functionally and distally distinct compartments. The β-secretase cleavage was observed in early endosomes, where we were able to show that the liberated N- and C-terminal fragments were sorted into distinct vesicles budding from the early endosomes in soma. Lack of colocalization of Aβ 42 and APP-CTF in soma suggested that γ-secretase cleavage occurs in neurites. Indeed, APP-CTF was, in line with Aβ 42 in our previous study, enriched in the presynapse but absent from the postsynapse. In contrast, full-length AβPP was not detected in either the pre- or the postsynaptic side of the synapse. Furthermore, we observed that endogenously produced and endocytosed Aβ 42 were localized in different compartments. Conclusion: These findings provide critical super-resolved insight into amyloidogenic AβPP processing in primary neurons.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1596
Author(s):  
Elsa Ronzier ◽  
Claire Corratgé-Faillie ◽  
Frédéric Sanchez ◽  
Christian Brière ◽  
Tou Cheu Xiong

Post-translational regulations of Shaker-like voltage-gated K+ channels were reported to be essential for rapid responses to environmental stresses in plants. In particular, it has been shown that calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) regulate Shaker channels in plants. Here, the focus was on KAT2, a Shaker channel cloned in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, where is it expressed namely in the vascular tissues of leaves. After co-expression of KAT2 with AtCPK6 in Xenopuslaevis oocytes, voltage-clamp recordings demonstrated that AtCPK6 stimulates the activity of KAT2 in a calcium-dependent manner. A physical interaction between these two proteins has also been shown by Förster resonance energy transfer by fluorescence lifetime imaging (FRET-FLIM). Peptide array assays support that AtCPK6 phosphorylates KAT2 at several positions, also in a calcium-dependent manner. Finally, K+ fluorescence imaging in planta suggests that K+ distribution is impaired in kat2 knock-out mutant leaves. We propose that the AtCPK6/KAT2 couple plays a role in the homeostasis of K+ distribution in leaves.


Neuroreport ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1553-1558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helle S. Mogensen ◽  
Diane M. Beatty ◽  
Stephen J. Morris ◽  
Ole Steen Jorgensen

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