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Molecular structural basis for polymorphism in Alzheimer's beta-amyloid fibrils.

ABSTRACT: We describe a full structural model for amyloid fibrils formed by the 40-residue beta-amyloid peptide associated with Alzheimer's disease (Abeta(1-40)), based on numerous constraints from solid state NMR and electron microscopy. This model applies specifically to fibrils with a periodically twisted morphology, with twist period equal to 120 +/- 20 nm (defined as the distance between apparent minima in fibril width in negatively stained transmission electron microscope images). The structure has threefold symmetry about the fibril growth axis, implied by mass-per-length data and the observation of a single set of (13)C NMR signals. Comparison with a previously reported model for Abeta(1-40) fibrils with a qualitatively different, striated ribbon morphology reveals the molecular basis for polymorphism. At the molecular level, the 2 Abeta(1-40) fibril morphologies differ in overall symmetry (twofold vs. threefold), the conformation of non-beta-strand segments, and certain quaternary contacts. Both morphologies contain in-register parallel beta-sheets, constructed from nearly the same beta-strand segments. Because twisted and striated ribbon morphologies are also observed for amyloid fibrils formed by other polypeptides, such as the amylin peptide associated with type 2 diabetes, these structural variations may have general implications.

SUBMITTER: Paravastu AK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2587602 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Molecular structural basis for polymorphism in Alzheimer's beta-amyloid fibrils.

Paravastu Anant K AK Leapman Richard D RD Yau Wai-Ming WM Tycko Robert R

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20081117 47

We describe a full structural model for amyloid fibrils formed by the 40-residue beta-amyloid peptide associated with Alzheimer's disease (Abeta(1-40)), based on numerous constraints from solid state NMR and electron microscopy. This model applies specifically to fibrils with a periodically twisted morphology, with twist period equal to 120 +/- 20 nm (defined as the distance between apparent minima in fibril width in negatively stained transmission electron microscope images). The structure has ...[more]

PMID: 19015532

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Project description:Detailed structural studies of amyloid fibrils can elucidate the way in which their constituent polypeptides are folded and self-assemble, and exert their neurotoxic effects in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have previously reported that when aqueous solutions of the N-terminal hydrophilic peptides of AD beta-amyloid (A beta) are gradually dried in a 2-Tesla magnetic field, they form highly oriented fibrils that are well suited to x-ray fiber diffraction. The longer, more physiologically relevant sequences such as A beta(1-40) have not been amenable to such analysis, owing to their strong propensity to polymerize and aggregate before orientation is achieved. In seeking an efficient and inexpensive method for rapid screening of conditions that could lead to improved orientation of fibrils assembled from the longer peptides, we report here that the birefringence of a small drop of peptide solution can supply information related to the cooperative packing of amyloid fibers and their capacity for magnetic orientation. The samples were examined by electron microscopy (negative and positive staining) and x-ray diffraction. Negative staining showed a mixture of straight and twisted fibers. The average width of both types was approximately 70 A, and the helical pitch of the latter was approximately 460 A. Cross sections of plastic-embedded samples showed a approximately 60-A-wide tubular structure. X-ray diffraction from these samples indicated a cross-beta fiber pattern, characterized by a strong meridional reflection at 4.74 A and a broad equatorial reflection at 8.9 A. Modeling studies suggested that tilted arrays of beta-strands constitute tubular, 30-A-diameter protofilaments, and that three to five of these protofilaments constitute the A beta fiber. This type of structure--a multimeric array of protofilaments organized as a tubular fibril--resembles that formed by the shorter A beta fragments (e.g., A beta(6-25), A beta(11-25), A beta(1-28)), suggesting a common structural motif in AD amyloid fibril organization.

Dataset Information

Molecular structural basis for polymorphism in Alzheimer's beta-amyloid fibrils.

Publications

Molecular structural basis for polymorphism in Alzheimer's beta-amyloid fibrils.

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