Osmoprotectant Coated Thermostable Gold Nanoparticles Efficiently Restrict Temperature-Induced Amyloid Aggregation of Insulin

J Phys Chem Lett. 2021 Feb 25;12(7):1803-1813. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c03492. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

Abstract

Naturally occurring osmoprotectants are known to prevent aggregation of proteins under various stress factors including extreme pH and elevated temperature conditions. Here, we synthesized gold nanoparticles coated with selected osmolytes (proline, hydroxyproline, and glycine) and examined their effect on temperature-induced amyloid-formation of insulin hormone. These uniform, thermostable, and hemocompatible gold nanoparticles were capable of inhibiting both spontaneous and seed-induced amyloid aggregation of insulin. Both quenching and docking experiments suggest a direct interaction between the osmoprotectant-coated nanoparticles and aggregation-prone hydrophobic stretches of insulin. Circular-dichroism results confirmed the retention of insulin's native structure in the presence of these nanoparticles. Unlike the indirect solvent-mediated effect of free osmolytes, the inhibition effect of osmolyte-coated gold nanoparticles was observed to be mediated through their direct interaction with insulin. The results signify the protection of the exposed aggregation-prone domains of insulin from temperature-induced self-assembly through osmoprotectant-coated nanoparticles, and such effect may inspire the development of osmolyte-based antiamyloid nanoformulations.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amyloid / chemistry*
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Hydroxyproline / chemistry
  • Insulin / chemistry*
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Proline / chemistry
  • Protein Aggregation, Pathological / prevention & control*
  • Protein Conformation
  • Surface Properties
  • Temperature
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Amyloid
  • Insulin
  • Gold
  • Proline
  • Hydroxyproline