Truncated Β-Amyloid Peptide Channels Provide an Alternative Mechanism for Alzheimer’S Disease and Down Syndrome
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Truncated β-amyloid peptide channels provide an alternative mechanism for Alzheimer’s Disease and Down syndrome Hyunbum Janga,1, Fernando Teran Arceb,1,2, Srinivasan Ramachandranb,1,2, Ricardo Caponeb,2, Rushana Azimovac, Bruce L. Kaganc, Ruth Nussinova,d,3, and Ratnesh Lalb,2,3 aCenter for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702; bCenter for Nanomedicine and Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637; cSemel Neuropsychiatric Institute, The David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles and Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Health System, Los Angeles, CA 90024; and dDepartment of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, The Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel Edited* by Francisco Bezanilla, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, and approved February 16, 2010 (received for review December 10, 2009) Full-length amyloid beta peptides (Aβ1–40/42) form neuritic amyloid nonamyloidogenic nature, these peptides are assumed to be plaques in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and are implicated in nonpathogenic and these pathways are even being targeted for AD pathology. However, recent transgenic animal models cast doubt AD therapeutics. Significantly, p3 peptides are present in AD on their direct role in AD pathology. Nonamyloidogenic truncated amyloid plaques (17–20), are the main constituent of cerebellar amyloid-beta fragments (Aβ11–42 and Aβ17–42) are also found in amy- preamyloid lesions in Down syndrome (21) and induce neuronal loid plaques of AD and in the preamyloid lesions of Down syndrome, toxicity (22–24). However, their biophysical properties, mecha- a model system for early-onset AD study. Very little is known about nism of toxicity, and pathological significance in AD and Down the structure and activity of these smaller peptides, although they syndrome remain unclear. Similarly, very little is known about could be the primary AD and Down syndrome pathological agents. Aβ11–40/42 (16). Using complementary techniques of molecular dynamics simula- In this study, we have used molecular dynamics (MD) simu- tions, atomic force microscopy, channel conductance measurements, lations, AFM, channel-conductance measurements, cell calcium PHYSIOLOGY calcium imaging, neuritic degeneration, and cell death assays, we imaging, neurite degeneration, and cell death assays to examine show that nonamyloidogenic Aβ9–42 and Aβ17–42 peptides form ion the biophysical properties and cellular effects of these truncated channels with loosely attached subunits and elicit single-channel smaller Aβ peptides. In the present study, we restricted our conductances. The subunits appear mobile, suggesting insertion investigations to Aβ17–42 (hereafter referred as p3) and Aβ9–42 of small oligomers, followed by dynamic channel assembly and dis- (hereafter referred as N9 to indicate that they are N-terminally sociation. These channels allow calcium uptake in amyloid precursor truncated at position 9) (SI Materials and Methods). Although fi protein-de cient cells. The channel mediated calcium uptake induces Aβ11–42 is the physiological unit, its experiment-based coordinates neurite degeneration in human cortical neurons. Channel conduc- are not available. ssNMR coordinates are available for Aβ9–42 tance, calcium uptake, and neurite degeneration are selectively only. This fragment contains two more residues and is expected to inhibited by zinc, a blocker of amyloid ion channel activity. Thus, have a similar structure to that of Aβ11–42. Our results strongly truncated Aβ fragments could account for undefined roles played suggest that nonamyloidogenic peptides N9 and p3 form ion by full length Aβs and provide a unique mechanism of AD and Down channels and induce neuronal toxicity in dose-dependent fashion syndrome pathologies. The toxicity of nonamyloidogenic peptides by altering cell calcium homeostasis and could provide additional via an ion channel mechanism necessitates a reevaluation of the cur- mechanisms of AD and Down syndrome pathologies. rent therapeutic approaches targeting the nonamyloidogenic path- way as avenue for AD treatment. Results Modeling N9 and p3 Channels in the Bilayer. Early MD simulations of atomic force microscopy | molecular dynamics | cell calcium imaging | amyloidogenic peptides (5, 25) consisting of U-shaped β-strand- neurite degeneration and cell death assays | single-channel conductance turn-β-strand peptides in the bilayer predicted ion-permeable channels formed by loosely attached mobile subunits with mor- myloid-beta peptides (Aβ1–40/42) produced by β- and γ-sec- phologies and dimensions similar to the AFM-images of amyloid retase processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the channels (7, 8). U-shaped motifs, first predicted by modeling of A β amyloidogenic pathway are involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) A 16–35 (26), appear as a general feature of amyloid organization, suggesting that other U-shaped amyloid organizations may also pathology. Aβ1–40/42 peptides form β-sheet-rich ordered aggre- gates and soluble oligomers. Small oligomers are emerging as the predominant toxic species (1–3); the toxicity is believed to be a result of the loss of ionic homeostasis, presumably via ion channels Author contributions: B.L.K., R.N., and R.L. designed research; H.J., F.T.A., S.R., R.C., and R. β A. performed research; H.J., F.T.A., S.R., R.C., B.L.K., R.N., and R.L. contributed new re- formed in cellular membranes (4, 5). EM images of A oligomers agents/analytic tools; H.J., F.T.A., S.R., R.C., R.A., B.L.K., R.N., and R.L. analyzed data; and show doughnut-like morphologies (6). Atomic force microscopic H.J., F.T.A., S.R., R.C., R.A., B.L.K., R.N., and R.L. wrote the paper. (AFM) images of Aβ peptides reconstituted in lipid bilayers show The authors declare no conflict of interest. heteromeric (rectangular to hexagonal) ion channel-like struc- *This Direct Submission article had a prearranged editor. ∼ tures with a 2.0-nm central pore and 8- to 12-nm outer diameters Freely available online through the PNAS open access option. (7, 8). Electrophysiological studies show heterodisperse cation- – Data deposition: The p3 coordinates were taken from the public database (ID: 2BEG). selective single-channel conductances (7 14) that are consistent 1 – H.J., F.T.A., and S.R. contributed equally to this work. with features of other amyloid ion channels (6 8). 2 On the other hand, when APP is cleaved by γ- and α-secretases, Present address: Department of Bioengineering and Department of Mechanical and ∼ Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0412. it forms the nonamyloidogenic pathway generating 2.6-kDa 3 To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: [email protected] or ruthnu@helix. fragments (Aβ17–40/42) known as the p3 peptides (15). Cleavage by nih.gov. γ and BACE between Tyr10 and Glu11 generates another non- This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/ amyloidogenic Aβ peptide (Aβ11–40/42) (16). Because of their 0914251107/DCSupplemental. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0914251107 PNAS Early Edition | 1of6 Downloaded by guest on September 23, 2021 form dynamic ion channels in the fluidic membrane (8). Because A N9 (Aβ9-42) N9 and p3 have membrane-spanning segments, we modeled their 3D structures in the bilayer using the previous successful protocol 2 1 (5, 25). Using the two available Aβ oligomer coordinate sets (27, 3 ~1.7 nm 28), we constructed annular channels based on the U-shaped β-strand-turn-β-strand motif. Previously, U-shaped motifs were also observed in the ssNMR structure of a β2-microglobulin frag- ment (29) and in the CA150 WW domain (30), and they could also 45 ~7.3 nm form ion channels similar to prion and to β2-microglobulin (31, 32). We constructed perfectly annular channels as the starting points for the atomistic simulations with 12 to 36 monomers per channel p3 (Aβ17-42) and lipid-favorable topology (5, 25) (SI Materials and Methods). B For clarity, all modeling images presented in this article are made 2 with 16 peptides. In the modeled channels, both N9 and p3 are 1 ~1.7 nm U-shaped, although with different turn conformations. The p3 channel is embedded in the bilayer. In the pore, Glu22 side chains circularly cluster forming a negatively charged ring. The N9 chan- nel protrudes from the bilayer surface, especially at the bottom 3 4 ~6.8 nm leaflet, because the turn residues locate at the same height as the phosphate atoms at the top bilayer leaflet. In addition to the Glu22 cationic binding sites, positively charged His14 and Lys16 create p3-F19P anionic binding sites. C At t > 5 ns, these channels gradually relax through association 2 1 or dissociation of the intermolecular backbone hydrogen bonds ~0.9 nm (H-bonds) between the β-strands. Consistent with earlier obser- vations (5, 25), the channel outer β-sheet, absent in the initial structure because of the larger curvature at the channel periphery, 3 is recovered at certain regions and the channel organizes into ~6.4 nm several small subunits with or without disordered monomers in 4 between (Fig. 1 A and B). Transient inner β-sheet H-bonds barely prevent subunit dissociation and the discontinuous β-sheet net- Fig. 1. Aβ channel conformations by MD simulations. The simulated channel work can determine the boundary between the channel’s ordered structures (Left) with highlighted subunits for the N9 (A), p3 (B), and p3-F19P subunits (Fig. S1 A and B). mutant (C) channels are shown in the view along the membrane normal. The N9 channels obtain four or five ordered subunits (Fig. 1A (Center and Right) Averaged pore structures calculated by the HOLE program (50) embedded in the averaged channel conformations during the simulations.