A new structural model of Aβ40 fibrils

J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Oct 12;133(40):16013-22. doi: 10.1021/ja2035859. Epub 2011 Sep 21.

Abstract

The amyloid fibrils of beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptides play important roles in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. Comprehensive solid-state NMR (SSNMR) structural studies on uniformly isotope-labeled Aβ assemblies have been hampered for a long time by sample heterogeneity and low spectral resolution. In this work, SSNMR studies on well-ordered fibril samples of Aβ(40) with an additional N-terminal methionine provide high-resolution spectra which lead to an accurate structural model. The fibrils studied here carry distinct structural features compared to previous reports. The inter-β-strand contacts within the U-shaped β-strand-turn-β-strand motif are shifted, the N-terminal region adopts a β-conformation, and new inter-monomer contacts occur at the protofilament interface. The revealed structural diversity in Aβ fibrils points to a complex picture of Aβ fibrillation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
  • Amyloid / chemistry*
  • Amyloid / ultrastructure
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / chemistry*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / ultrastructure
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Peptide Fragments / chemistry*
  • Peptide Fragments / ultrastructure
  • Protein Structure, Secondary

Substances

  • Amyloid
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Peptide Fragments
  • amyloid beta-protein (1-40)