Dataset Information

The conformational ensembles of ?-synuclein and tau: combining single-molecule FRET and simulations.

ABSTRACT: Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are increasingly recognized for their important roles in a range of biological contexts, both in normal physiological function and in a variety of devastating human diseases. However, their structural characterization by traditional biophysical methods, for the purposes of understanding their function and dysfunction, has proved challenging. Here, we investigate the model IDPs ?-Synuclein (?S) and tau, that are involved in major neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, using excluded volume Monte Carlo simulations constrained by pairwise distance distributions from single-molecule fluorescence measurements. Using this, to our knowledge, novel approach we find that a relatively small number of intermolecular distance constraints are sufficient to accurately determine the dimensions and polymer conformational statistics of ?S and tau in solution. Moreover, this method can detect local changes in ?S and tau conformations that correlate with enhanced aggregation. Constrained Monte Carlo simulations produce ensembles that are in excellent agreement both with experimental measurements on ?S and tau and with all-atom, explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations of ?S, with much lower configurational sampling requirements and computational expense.

SUBMITTER: Nath A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3491709 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The conformational ensembles of α-synuclein and tau: combining single-molecule FRET and simulations.

Nath Abhinav A Sammalkorpi Maria M DeWitt David C DC Trexler Adam J AJ Elbaum-Garfinkle Shana S O'Hern Corey S CS Rhoades Elizabeth E

Biophysical journal 20121101 9

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are increasingly recognized for their important roles in a range of biological contexts, both in normal physiological function and in a variety of devastating human diseases. However, their structural characterization by traditional biophysical methods, for the purposes of understanding their function and dysfunction, has proved challenging. Here, we investigate the model IDPs α-Synuclein (αS) and tau, that are involved in major neurodegenerative conditio ...[more]

PMID: 23199922

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Project description:Human alpha-Synuclein (alphaSyn) is a natively unfolded protein whose aggregation into amyloid fibrils is involved in the pathology of Parkinson disease. A full comprehension of the structure and dynamics of early intermediates leading to the aggregated states is an unsolved problem of essential importance to researchers attempting to decipher the molecular mechanisms of alphaSyn aggregation and formation of fibrils. Traditional bulk techniques used so far to solve this problem point to a direct correlation between alphaSyn's unique conformational properties and its propensity to aggregate, but these techniques can only provide ensemble-averaged information for monomers and oligomers alike. They therefore cannot characterize the full complexity of the conformational equilibria that trigger the aggregation process. We applied atomic force microscopy-based single-molecule mechanical unfolding methodology to study the conformational equilibrium of human wild-type and mutant alphaSyn. The conformational heterogeneity of monomeric alphaSyn was characterized at the single-molecule level. Three main classes of conformations, including disordered and "beta-like" structures, were directly observed and quantified without any interference from oligomeric soluble forms. The relative abundance of the "beta-like" structures significantly increased in different conditions promoting the aggregation of alphaSyn: the presence of Cu2+, the pathogenic A30P mutation, and high ionic strength. This methodology can explore the full conformational space of a protein at the single-molecule level, detecting even poorly populated conformers and measuring their distribution in a variety of biologically important conditions. To the best of our knowledge, we present for the first time evidence of a conformational equilibrium that controls the population of a specific class of monomeric alphaSyn conformers, positively correlated with conditions known to promote the formation of aggregates. A new tool is thus made available to test directly the influence of mutations and pharmacological strategies on the conformational equilibrium of monomeric alphaSyn.

Dataset Information

The conformational ensembles of ?-synuclein and tau: combining single-molecule FRET and simulations.

Publications

The conformational ensembles of α-synuclein and tau: combining single-molecule FRET and simulations.

Similar Datasets

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