Two mechanisms underlie the inhibitory/acceleratory action of chemical compounds on tau aggregation including the regulation of cellular kinases and phosphatases activity and direct binding to tau protein. Vitamin B12 is one of the tau polymerization inhibitors, and its deficiency is linked to inactivation of protein phosphatase 2A and subsequently hyperphosphorylation and aggregation of tau protein. Regarding the structure and function of vitamin B12 and tau protein, we assumed that vitamin B12 is also able to directly bind to tau protein. Hence, we investigated the interaction of vitamin B12 with tau protein in vitro using fluorometry and circular dichrosim. Interaction studies was followed by investigation into the effect of vitamin B12 on tau aggregation using ThT fluorescence, circular dichroism, transmission electron microscopy, and SDS-PAGE. The results indicated that vitamin B12 interacts with tau protein and prevents fibrillization of tau protein. Blocking the cysteine residues of tau confirmed the cysteine-mediated binding of vitamin B12 to tau and showed that binding to cysteine is essential for inhibitory effect of vitamin B12 on tau aggregation. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that vitamin B12 inhibits tau aggregation and that tau oligomers formed in the presence of vitamin B12 are mostly SDS-soluble. We propose that direct binding of vitamin B12 is another mechanism underlying the inhibitory role of vitamin B12 on tau aggregation and neurodegeneration.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Vitamin B12; methylcobalamin; tau aggregation; tau protein.