Structural characterization by NMR of a double phosphorylated chimeric peptide vaccine for treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Molecules. 2013 Apr 26;18(5):4929-41. doi: 10.3390/molecules18054929.

Abstract

Rational design of peptide vaccines becomes important for the treatment of some diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders. In this study, as part of a larger effort to explore correlations of structure and activity, we attempt to characterize the doubly phosphorylated chimeric peptide vaccine targeting a hyperphosphorylated epitope of the Tau protein. The 28-mer linear chimeric peptide consists of the double phosphorylated B cell epitope Tau₂₂₉₋₂₃₇[pThr231/pSer235] and the immunomodulatory T cell epitope Ag85B₂₄₁₋₂₅₅ originating from the well-known antigen Ag85B of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis, linked by a four amino acid sequence -GPSL-. NMR chemical shift analysis of our construct demonstrated that the synthesized peptide is essentially unfolded with a tendency to form a β-turn due to the linker. In conclusion, the -GPSL- unit presumably connects the two parts of the vaccine without transferring any structural information from one part to the other. Therefore, the double phosphorylated epitope of the Tau peptide is flexible and accessible.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acyltransferases / chemical synthesis
  • Acyltransferases / chemistry*
  • Acyltransferases / immunology
  • Alzheimer Disease / immunology
  • Alzheimer Disease / therapy
  • Antigens, Bacterial / chemistry*
  • Antigens, Bacterial / immunology
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemical synthesis
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / immunology
  • Humans
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / chemistry
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Peptides / immunology
  • Phosphorylation
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Vaccines / chemical synthesis
  • Vaccines / chemistry*
  • Vaccines / immunology
  • tau Proteins / chemical synthesis
  • tau Proteins / chemistry*
  • tau Proteins / immunology

Substances

  • Antigens, Bacterial
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • MAPT protein, human
  • Peptides
  • Vaccines
  • tau Proteins
  • Acyltransferases
  • antigen 85B, Mycobacterium tuberculosis