Molecular Design for Dual Modulation Effect of Amyloid Protein Aggregation

J Am Chem Soc. 2015 Jul 1;137(25):8062-8. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5b01651. Epub 2015 Jun 17.

Abstract

Modulation of protein self-assembly has been a powerful strategy for controlling and understanding amyloid protein aggregation. Most modulators of amyloid aggregation only involve simple inhibition or acceleration. Here we report a new multivalent molecular motif, the polyethylenimine-perphenazine (PEI-P) conjugate which has a dual "acceleration-inhibition" modulation effect on amyloid β (Aβ) aggregation. Dose dependent results from Thioflavin T fluorescence assays, circular dichroism, and atomic force microscopy show that PEI-P conjugates accelerate formation of Aβ prefibrillar intermediates and then inhibit Aβ fibrillation. Furthermore, compared to perphenazine alone, PEI-P conjugates exhibit an enhanced inhibitory effect due to multivalency. Cell viability assays indicate that the PEI-P conjugates reduce the cytotoxicity of Aβ aggregates in a dose-dependent manner. This new modulation strategy may shed light on controlling amyloid aggregation, which offers a general concept for designing new modulators.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amyloid / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Amyloid / chemistry
  • Amyloid / metabolism
  • Amyloid / ultrastructure
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / chemistry
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / ultrastructure
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Drug Design
  • Humans
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Perphenazine / chemistry
  • Perphenazine / pharmacology*
  • Polyethyleneimine / chemistry
  • Polyethyleneimine / pharmacology*
  • Protein Aggregates / drug effects*
  • Protein Aggregation, Pathological / drug therapy
  • Protein Aggregation, Pathological / metabolism

Substances

  • Amyloid
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Protein Aggregates
  • Polyethyleneimine
  • Perphenazine