Search results for "P3 peptide"

Effects of sulindac sulfide on the membrane architecture and the activity of gamma-secretase.

2007

gamma-Secretase is a membrane-embedded multi-protein complex that catalyzes the final cut of the Alzheimer's disease-related amyloid precursor protein (APP) to amyloid-beta peptides of variable length (37-43 amino acids) via an unusual intramembrane cleavage. Recent findings propose that some commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have the ability to modulate specifically gamma-secretase activity without inhibiting the enzyme as a whole. These drugs may shift the processing of APP from the longer amyloid-beta 42 peptide towards shorter, less fibrillogenic and less toxic amyloid-beta species. We hypothesize that gamma-secretase activity, as an enzyme that is strictly as…

Alpha-secretase activation--an approach to Alzheimer's disease therapy.

2006

The nonamyloidogenic pathway of processing the amyloid precursor protein (APP) involves the cleavage within the amyloid-beta peptide sequence, and thus precludes amyloid-beta formation. The identification of a member of the disintegrin and metalloproteinase family, ADAM10, as an alpha-secretase that prevents plaque formation and hippocampal deficits in vivo gave us the possibility to examine the alpha-secretase as a potential target for the therapy of Alzheimer's disease. Within the priority program Cellular Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Disease, we investigated several approaches to stimulate the alpha-secretase pathway. Two protein convertases were found to be responsible for the removal of t…

The Non-Amyloidogenic Pathway: Structure and Function of α-Secretases

2006

The amyloid cascade hypothesis is the most accepted explanation for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). APP is the precursor of the amyloid β peptide (Aβ), the principal proteinaceous component of amyloid plaques in brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients. Proteolytic cleavage of APP by the α-secretase within the Aβ sequence precludes formation of amyloidogenic peptides and leads to a release of soluble APPsα which has neuroprotective properties. In several studies, a decreased amount of APPsα in the cerebrospinal fluid of AD patients has been observed. Three members of the ADAM family (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase) ADAM-10, ADAM-17 (TACE) and ADAM-9 have been proposed as α-…

P3‐271: Presenilin‐1 (PS1) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) mutations present in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease in their response to γ‐secret…

2009

Thioflavin T Promotes Aβ(1−40) Amyloid Fibrils Formation

2015

Fibrillogenesis of the small peptide Aβ(1-40) is considered to be the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Some evidence indicates small oligomers, rather than mature fibrils, as the key cytotoxic agents. The fluorescent dye Thioflavin T (ThT) is often used to detect amyloid deposits in both in vivo and in vitro experiments, and it is used to study kinetic measurements, under the fundamental hypothesis that this probe does not influence the aggregation processes. We report experimental data showing that ThT may promote the Aβ(1-40) peptide amyloid aggregation changing solvent-peptide interactions and stabilizing more ordered β-like conformation. This finding has a two-fold importance: It is a f…

Photo-inhibition of Ab fibrillation mediated by a newly designed fluorinated oxadiazole

2015

Uncontrolled aggregation of amyloid beta peptide (A?) is the main cause of Alzheimer's Disease. Therapeutic approaches of intervention in amyloid diseases include the use of small molecules able to stabilize the soluble A? conformation, or to redirect the amyloidogenic pathway towards non-toxic and non-fibrillar states. Fluorometric measurements revealed that the 3-(4'-trifluoromethylphenyl)-5-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole, when irradiated, is able to interact with monomeric A? peptide readdressing the aggregation pathway toward the formation of amorphous aggregates as evidenced by means of CD, AFM, and SAXS measurements. We hypothesize that this compound, under radiation, forms a rea…

Polymorphism of Amyloid Fibrils and their Complexes with Catalase

2014

Catalase binding to amyloid fibrils has been shown for the Alzheimer’s amyloid-β (Aβ), type 2 diabetes-associated islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease-associated prion protein (PrP). Catalase targets a specific domain with a GAII-like sequence and there are a number of other amyloid fibril-forming proteins that contain related sequences, such as the Parkinson’s associated α-synuclein protein and the Huntington disease protein Huntingtin. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, interactions show specific binding of catalase to some, but not all, fibrillar forms of Aβ, IAPP and PrP fragments, allowing determination of the fibrillar forms that contain a…

α-secretase mediated conversion of the amyloid precursor protein derived membrane stub C99 to C83 limits Aβ generation

2009

The Swedish mutation within the amyloid precursor protein (APP) causes early-onset Alzheimer's disease due to increased cleavage of APP by BACE1. While beta-secretase shedding of Swedish APP (APPswe) largely results from an activity localized in the late secretory pathway, cleavage of wild-type APP occurs mainly in endocytic compartments. However, we show that liberation of Abeta from APPswe is still dependent on functional internalization from the cell surface. Inspite the unchanged overall beta-secretase cleaved soluble APP released from APP(swe) secretion, mutations of the APPswe internalization motif strongly reduced C99 levels and substantially decreased Abeta secretion. We point out t…