Kinetic Mechanism of Thioflavin T Binding onto the Amyloid Fibril of Hen Egg White Lysozyme

Langmuir. 2017 Jun 6;33(22):5398-5405. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00221. Epub 2017 May 26.

Abstract

Thioflavin T (ThT) is widely used as a fluorescent probe for amyloid fibril detection. Yet the exact kinetic mechanism of ThT binding onto amyloid fibril remains elusive. Previously reported kinetic studies using ThT-fluorescence-detected kinetic design suggested two completely different ThT-binding mechanisms. In one study, a multistep sequential binding mechanism onto a single ThT-binding site was suggested. In another study, a one-step parallel binding mechanism onto multiple ThT-binding sites was suggested. The discrepancy is likely due to the incapability of ThT-fluorescence-detected kinetic design to differentiate the two above-mentioned mechanisms. Considering the weakness of the ThT-fluorescence-detected approach, we investigated the ThT-binding mechanism onto the amyloid fibril of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) using a new approach, ThT-absorbance-detected kinetic design. Our new results suggest that ThT binds to HEWL fibril through the one-step parallel binding mechanism. We hope our work can offer some new insights into the interactions between dye molecules and amyloid fibrils.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid
  • Animals
  • Benzothiazoles / chemistry*
  • Chickens
  • Egg White
  • Kinetics
  • Muramidase
  • Protein Binding
  • Thiazoles

Substances

  • Amyloid
  • Benzothiazoles
  • Thiazoles
  • thioflavin T
  • Muramidase