Amyloid Hydrogen Bonding Polymorphism Evaluated by (15)N{(17)O}REAPDOR Solid-State NMR and Ultra-High Resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry.

A combined approach, using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) and solid-state NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), shows a high degree of polymorphism exhibited by Aß species in forming hydrogen-bonded networks. Two Alzheimer's Aß peptides, Ac-Aß(16-22)-NH2 and Aß(11-25), selectively labeled with (17)O and (15)N at specific amino acid residues were investigated. The total amount of peptides labeled with (17)O as measured by FTICR-MS enabled the interpretation of dephasing observed in (15)N{(17)O}REAPDOR solid-state NMR experiments. Specifically, about one-third of the Aß peptides were found to be involved in the formation of a specific >C═(17)O···H-(15)N hydrogen bond with their neighbor peptide molecules, and we hypothesize that the rest of the molecules undergo ± n off-registry shifts in their hydrogen bonding networks.

Effect of curcumin on lateral diffusion of phosphatidylcholines in saturated and unsaturated bilayers.

Curcumin, a dietary polyphenol, is a natural spice with preventive and therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Curcumin possesses a spectrum of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, and antimutagenic properties. Because of this broad spectrum of pharmacological activity, it has been suggested that, like cholesterol, curcumin exerts its effect on a rather basic biological level, such as on lipid bilayers of biomembranes. The effect of curcumin on translational mobility of lipids in biomembranes has not yet been studied. In this work, we used (1)H NMR diffusometry to explore lateral diffusion in planar-oriented bilayers of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) at curcumin concentrations of up to 40 mol % and in the temperature range of 298-333 K. The presence of curcumin at much lower concentrations (∼7 mol %) leads to a decrease in the lateral diffusion coefficient of DOPC by a factor of 1.3 at lower temperatures and by a factor of 1.14 at higher temperatures. For DMPC, the diffusion coefficient decreases by a factor of 1.5 at lower temperatures and by a factor of 1.2 at higher temperatures. Further increasing the curcumin concentration has no effect. Comparison with cholesterol showed that curcumin and cholesterol influence lateral diffusion of lipids differently. The effect of curcumin is determined by its solubility in lipid bilayers, which is as low as 10 mol % that is much less than that of cholesterols 66 mol %.

Micelle structure and molecular self-diffusion in isononylphenol ethoxylate-water systems.

The structure and dynamic properties of micellar solutions of nonionic surfactants of a series of isononylphenol ethoxylates, C9H19C6H4O(C2H4O)(n)H (where n = 6,8,9,10, and 12), were studied by NMR diffusometry, dynamic light scattering, and viscosimetry. The sizes of the micelles were determined for different surfactants and at different surfactant concentrations. The numbers of water molecules bound by a micelle and by one oxyethylene group of the surfactant were estimated.

Aggregation of amyloid Abeta((1-40)) peptide in perdeuterated 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol caused by ultrasound sonication.

Ultrasound sonication of protein and peptide solutions is routinely used in biochemical, biophysical, pharmaceutical and medical sciences to facilitate and accelerate dissolution of macromolecules in both aqueous and organic solvents. However, the impact of ultrasound waves on folding/unfolding of treated proteins, in particular, on aggregation kinetics of amyloidogenic peptides and proteins is not understood. In this work, effects of ultrasound sonication on the misfolding and aggregation behavior of the Alzheimer's Abeta((1-40))-peptide is studied by pulsed-field gradient (PFG) spin-echo diffusion NMR and UV circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Upon simple dissolution of Abeta((1-40)) in perdeuterated trifluoroethanol, CF(3)-CD(2)-OD (TFE-d(3)), the peptide is present in the solution as a stable monomer adopting alpha-helical secondary structural motifs. The self-diffusion coefficient of Abeta((1-40)) monomers in TFE-d(3) was measured as 1.35 x 10(-10) m(2) s(-1), reflecting its monomeric character. However, upon ultrasonic sonication for less than 5 min, considerable populations of Abeta molecules (ca 40%) form large aggregates as reflected in diffusion coefficients smaller than 4.0 x 10(-13) m(2) s(-1). Sonication for longer times (up to 40 min in total) effectively reduces the fraction of these aggregates in (1)H PFG NMR spectra to ca 25%. Additionally, absorption below 230 nm increased significantly upon sonication treatment, an observation, which also clearly confirms the ongoing aggregation process of Abeta((1-40)) in TFE-d(3). Surprisingly, upon ultrasound sonication only small changes in the peptide secondary structure were detected by CD: the peptide molecules mainly adopt alpha-helical motifs in both monomers and aggregates formed upon sonication.