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The binding of thioflavin T and its neutral analog BTA-1 to protofibrils of the Alzheimer's disease Abeta(16-22) peptide probed by molecular dynamics simulations.

ABSTRACT: Thioflavin T (ThT) is a fluorescent dye commonly used to stain amyloid plaques, but the binding sites of this dye onto fibrils are poorly characterized. We present molecular dynamics simulations of the binding of ThT and its neutral analog BTA-1 [2-(4'-methylaminophenyl)benzothiazole] to model protofibrils of the Alzheimer's disease Abeta(16-22) (amyloid beta) peptide. Our simulations reveal two binding modes located at the grooves of the beta-sheet surfaces and at the ends of the beta-sheet. These simulations provide new insight into recent experimental work and allow us to characterize the high-capacity, micromolar-affinity site seen in experiment as binding to the beta-sheet surface grooves and the low-capacity, nanomolar-affinity site seen as binding to the beta-sheet extremities of the fibril. The structure-activity relationship upon mutating charged ThT to neutral BTA-1 in terms of increased lipophilicity and binding affinity was studied, with calculated solvation free energies and binding energies found to be in qualitative agreement with the experimental measurements.

SUBMITTER: Wu C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2712570 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The binding of thioflavin T and its neutral analog BTA-1 to protofibrils of the Alzheimer's disease Abeta(16-22) peptide probed by molecular dynamics simulations.

Wu Chun C Wang Zhixiang Z Lei Hongxing H Duan Yong Y Bowers Michael T MT Shea Joan-Emma JE

Journal of molecular biology 20081007 3

Thioflavin T (ThT) is a fluorescent dye commonly used to stain amyloid plaques, but the binding sites of this dye onto fibrils are poorly characterized. We present molecular dynamics simulations of the binding of ThT and its neutral analog BTA-1 [2-(4'-methylaminophenyl)benzothiazole] to model protofibrils of the Alzheimer's disease Abeta(16-22) (amyloid beta) peptide. Our simulations reveal two binding modes located at the grooves of the beta-sheet surfaces and at the ends of the beta-sheet. Th ...[more]

PMID: 18851978

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Project description:Exchange dynamics between molecules free in solution and bound to the surface of a large supramolecular structure, a polymer, a membrane or solid support are important in many phenomena in biology and materials science. Here we present a novel and generally applicable solution NMR technique, known as dark-state exchange saturation transfer (DEST), to probe such exchange phenomena with atomic resolution. This is illustrated by the exchange reaction between amyloid-? (A?) monomers and polydisperse, NMR-invisible ('dark') protofibrils, a process of significant interest because the accumulation of toxic, aggregated forms of A?, from small oligomers to very large assemblies, has been implicated in the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. The (15)N-DEST experiment imprints with single-residue-resolution dynamic information on the protofibril-bound species in the form of (15)N transverse relaxation rates ((15)N-R(2)) and exchange kinetics between monomers and protofibrils onto the easily observed two-dimensional (1)H-(15)N correlation spectrum of the monomer. The exchanging species on the protofibril surface comprise an ensemble of sparsely populated states where each residue is either tethered to (through other residues) or in direct contact with the surface. The first eight residues exist predominantly in a mobile tethered state, whereas the largely hydrophobic central region and part of the carboxy (C)-terminal hydrophobic region are in direct contact with the protofibril surface for a significant proportion of the time. The C-terminal residues of both A?40 and A?42 display lower affinity for the protofibril surface, indicating that they are likely to be surface exposed rather than buried as in structures of A? fibrils, and might therefore comprise the critical nucleus for fibril formation. The values, however, are significantly larger for the C-terminal residues of A?42 than A?40, which might explain the former's higher propensity for rapid aggregation and fibril formation.

Dataset Information

The binding of thioflavin T and its neutral analog BTA-1 to protofibrils of the Alzheimer's disease Abeta(16-22) peptide probed by molecular dynamics simulations.

Publications

The binding of thioflavin T and its neutral analog BTA-1 to protofibrils of the Alzheimer's disease Abeta(16-22) peptide probed by molecular dynamics simulations.

Similar Datasets

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