Quantitative analysis of the time course of A? oligomerization and subsequent growth steps using tetramethylrhodamine-labeled A?.
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ABSTRACT: Although amyloid ? (A?) is a critical player in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, there is currently little Information on the rate and extent of formation of oligomers that lead to the presence of A? fibrils observed in amyloid plaques. Here we describe a unique method to monitor the full time course of A? aggregation. In this method, A? is labeled with tetramethylrhodamine at a lysine residue on the N-terminal end. During aggregation, the fluorescence is quenched in a time-dependent manner in three distinct phases: an early oligomerization phase, an intermediate phase, and a growth phase. The oligomerization phase can be characterized as a monomer-dimer-trimer process for which we have determined the rate and equilibrium constants. The rate constants differ markedly between A?(1-42) and A?(1-40), with A?(1-42) showing a greater oligomerization propensity. The intermediate phase reflects slow clustering and reorganization of the oligomers, whereas the growth phase ultimately results in the formation of fibrillar material. The data are consistent with a conformational change being an important rate-limiting step in the overall aggregation process. The rates of all phases are highly sensitive to temperature and pH, with the pH-dependent data indicating important roles for lysine and histidine residues. From the temperature-dependent data, activation energies of oligomerization and fibrillization are estimated to be 5.5 and 12.1 kCal/mol, respectively. The methodologies presented here are simple and can be applied to other amyloidogenic peptides or proteins.
SUBMITTER: Garai K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3587211 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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