The novel Parkinson's disease linked mutation G51D attenuates in vitro aggregation and membrane binding of α-synuclein, and enhances its secretion and nuclear localization in cells

A novel mutation in the α-Synuclein (α-Syn) gene "G51D” was recently identified in two familial cases exhibiting features of Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). In this study, we explored the impact of this novel mutation on the aggregation, cellular and biophysical properties of α-Syn, in an attempt to unravel how this mutant contributes to PD/MSA. Our results show that the G51D mutation significantly attenuates α-Syn aggregation in vitro. Moreover, it disrupts local helix formation in the presence of SDS, decreases binding to lipid vesicles C-terminal to the site of mutation and severely inhibits helical folding in the presence of acidic vesicles. When expressed in yeast, α-SynG51D behaves similarly to α-SynA30P, as both exhibit impaired membrane association, form few inclusions and are non-toxic. In contrast, enhanced secreted and nuclear levels of the G51D mutant were observed in mammalian cells, as well as in primary neurons, where α-SynG51D was enriched in the nuclear compartment, was hyper-phosphorylated at S129 and exacerbated α-Syn-induced mitochondrial fragmentation. Finally, post-mortem human brain tissues of α-SynG51D cases were examined, and revealed only partial colocalization with nuclear membrane markers, probably due to post-mortem tissue delay and fixation. These findings suggest that the PD-linked mutations may cause neurodegeneration via different mechanisms, some of which may be independent of α-Syn aggregatio

Resolving molecule-specific information in dynamic lipid membrane processes with multi-resonant infrared metasurfaces

A multitude of biological processes are enabled by complex interactions between lipid membranes and proteins. To understand such dynamic processes, it is crucial to differentiate the constituent biomolecular species and track their individual time evolution without invasive labels. Here, we present a label-free mid-infrared biosensor capable of distinguishing multiple analytes in heterogeneous biological samples with high sensitivity. Our technology leverages a multi-resonant metasurface to simultaneously enhance the different vibrational fingerprints of multiple biomolecules. By providing up to 1000-fold near-field intensity enhancement over both amide and methylene bands, our sensor resolves the interactions of lipid membranes with different polypeptides in real time. Significantly, we demonstrate that our label-free chemically specific sensor can analyze peptide-induced neurotransmitter cargo release from synaptic vesicle mimics. Our sensor opens up exciting possibilities for gaining new insights into biological processes such as signaling or transport in basic research as well as provides a valuable toolkit for bioanalytical and pharmaceutical applications

The novel Parkinson's disease linked mutation G51D attenuates in vitro aggregation and membrane binding of alpha-synuclein, and enhances its secretion and nuclear localization in cells

A novel mutation in the alpha-Synuclein (alpha-Syn) gene "G51D" was recently identified in two familial cases exhibiting features of Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). In this study, we explored the impact of this novel mutation on the aggregation, cellular and biophysical properties of alpha-Syn, in an attempt to unravel how this mutant contributes to PD/MSA. Our results show that the G51D mutation significantly attenuates alpha-Syn aggregation in vitro. Moreover, it disrupts local helix formation in the presence of SDS, decreases binding to lipid vesicles C-terminal to the site of mutation and severely inhibits helical folding in the presence of acidic vesicles. When expressed in yeast, alpha-Syn(G51D) behaves similarly to alpha-Syn(A30P), as both exhibit impaired membrane association, form few inclusions and are non-toxic. In contrast, enhanced secreted and nuclear levels of the G51D mutant were observed in mammalian cells, as well as in primary neurons, where alpha-Syn(G51D) was enriched in the nuclear compartment, was hyper-phosphorylated at S129 and exacerbated alpha-Syn-induced mitochondrial fragmentation. Finally, post-mortem human brain tissues of alpha-Syn(G51D) cases were examined, and revealed only partial colocalization with nuclear membrane markers, probably due to post-mortem tissue delay and fixation. These findings suggest that the PD-linked mutations may cause neurodegeneration via different mechanisms, some of which may be independent of alpha-Syn aggregation

The novel Parkinson's disease linked mutation G51D attenuates in vitro aggregation and membrane binding of alpha-synuclein, and enhances its secretion and nuclear localization in cells

A novel mutation in the alpha-Synuclein (alpha-Syn) gene "G51D" was recently identified in two familial cases exhibiting features of Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). In this study, we explored the impact of this novel mutation on the aggregation, cellular and biophysical properties of alpha-Syn, in an attempt to unravel how this mutant contributes to PD/MSA. Our results show that the G51D mutation significantly attenuates alpha-Syn aggregation in vitro. Moreover, it disrupts local helix formation in the presence of SDS, decreases binding to lipid vesicles C-terminal to the site of mutation and severely inhibits helical folding in the presence of acidic vesicles. When expressed in yeast, alpha-Syn(G51D) behaves similarly to alpha-Syn(A30P), as both exhibit impaired membrane association, form few inclusions and are non-toxic. In contrast, enhanced secreted and nuclear levels of the G51D mutant were observed in mammalian cells, as well as in primary neurons, where alpha-Syn(G51D) was enriched in the nuclear compartment, was hyper-phosphorylated at S129 and exacerbated alpha-Syn-induced mitochondrial fragmentation. Finally, post-mortem human brain tissues of alpha-Syn(G51D) cases were examined, and revealed only partial colocalization with nuclear membrane markers, probably due to post-mortem tissue delay and fixation. These findings suggest that the PD-linked mutations may cause neurodegeneration via different mechanisms, some of which may be independent of alpha-Syn aggregation

Sequence and structural determinants of Tau aggregation and seeding capacity: Implications for Neurofibrillary Tangle formation and Tau toxicity in Alzheimer's disease

Despite decades of research in Alzheimerâs disease (AD), no treatment has been found to efficiently prevent or cure its progression. The microtubule binding protein Tau plays central roles in the pathogenesis of AD and is found, in the form of paired helical filaments (PHFs), as the main component of the neurofibrillary tangles, a major pathological hallmark of AD. Therefore, a better understanding of the molecular and structural determinants of Tau normal and pathological functions is crucial to elucidate the role of Tau in AD. The work presented in this thesis represents our efforts to contribute to addressing this knowledge gap by investigating the sequence, molecular and structural determinants of Tau aggregation, membrane binding, and toxicity and by exploring the interplay between these different properties. In Chapter 1, we assess the effect of manipulating the aggregation conditions on the fibril polymorphism of 4R Tau, the K18 fragment and the four individual repeat peptides within the microtubule binding domain, namely R1, R2, R3 and R4. The fibrilar structures formed by Tau, K18, R2 and R3 are diverse, polymorphic and depend upon the aggregation conditions. This work paves the way to a better understanding of molecular basis underlying Tau fibrils formation and demonstrates the importance of interplay between the different sequence motifs in Tau. In Chapter 2, we describe the discovery of a Tau-derived peptide that forms fibrils with a unique capacity to seed the aggregation of full-length Tau and templates its aggregation into highly ordered twisted fibrils that resemble native PHFs. This has tremendous potential applications in the understanding the biophysical properties of the PHFs, but also provide a powerful platform for designing Tau-specific imaging probes or the screening for small molecule modulators of fibrillization and clearance. In Chapter 3, we investigate the sequence determinants and structural consequences of the interactions of Tau with membranes, and describe for the first time the formation of stable protein/lipid complexes. Using NMR, we determined that the core of these complexes is comprised of short motifs localized in R2 and R3. We designed novel mutants that disrupt Tau interactions with lipids, thus providing powerful tools for investigating the role of membrane interactions in regulating the functions of Tau. Our findings point toward a novel form of Tau complexes that might be part of a membrane-dependent mechanism that regulates Tau oligomerization and toxicity. In Chapter 4, we explore the effect of tyrosine phosphorylation in regulating Tau properties. We report that phosphorylation at Y310, which is located within R3, results in the greatest inhibition of Tau fibril formation. We also identified two novel Tau kinases, Fes and Btk that phosphorylate Tau at positions Y310 and Y394, and developed antibodies specific for pY310 and pY394, thereby providing novel targets and tools that could lead to the discovery of novel mechanisms and pathways involved in regulating Tau functions. In addition to providing several tools to allow further understanding of Tau functions and implications in AD, our work underscores the importance of investigating the individual domains of Tau, especially R2 and R3, as structural determinant of Tau self-assembly and binding to membranes and demonstrates the critical involvement of phosphorylation of the Y310 residue in Tau biophysical and cellular properties

A method for preparing phfs-like tau aggregates

The invention relates to a method for preparing PHFs-like Tau aggregates and to a method for identifying compounds that are inhibitors of Tau protein aggregation, blockers of Tau seeding and propagation, and imaging agents that specifically bind PHF

Elucidating the Role of Site-Specific Nitration of alpha-Synuclein in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson's Disease via Protein Semisynthesis and Mutagenesis

Parkinsons disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the presence of intraneuronal inclusions consisting of aggregated and post-translationally modified a-synuclein (a-syn). Despite advances in the chemical synthesis of a-syn and other proteins, the generation of site-specifically nitrated synthetic proteins has not been reported. Consequently, it has not been possible to determine the roles of nitration at specific residues in regulating the physiological and pathogenic properties of a-syn. Here we report, for the first time, the site-specific incorporation of 3-nitrotyrosine at different regions of a-syn using native chemical ligation combined with a novel desulfurization strategy. This strategy enabled us to investigate the role of nitration at single or multiple tyrosine residues in regulating a-syn structure, membrane binding, oligomerization, and fibrils formation. We demonstrate that different site-specifically nitrated a-syn species exhibit distinct structural and aggregation properties and exhibit reduced affinity to negatively charged vesicle membranes. We provide evidence that intermolecular interactions between the N- and C-terminal regions of a-syn play critical roles in mediating nitration-induced a-syn oligomerization. For example, when Y39 is not available for nitration (Y39F and Y39/125F), the extent of cross-linking is limited mostly to dimer formation, whereas mutants in which Y39 along with one or multiple C-terminal tyrosines (Y125F, Y133F, Y136F and Y133/136F) can still undergo nitration readily to form higher-order oligomers. Our semisynthetic strategy for generating site-specifically nitrated proteins opens up new possibilities for investigating the role of nitration in regulating protein structure and function in health and disease

Elucidating the Role of Site-Specific Nitration of α‑Synuclein in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease via Protein Semisynthesis and Mutagenesis

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the <i>substantia nigra</i> and the presence of intraneuronal inclusions consisting of aggregated and post-translationally modified α-synuclein (α-syn). Despite advances in the chemical synthesis of α-syn and other proteins, the generation of site-specifically nitrated synthetic proteins has not been reported. Consequently, it has not been possible to determine the roles of nitration at specific residues in regulating the physiological and pathogenic properties of α-syn. Here we report, for the first time, the site-specific incorporation of 3-nitrotyrosine at different regions of α-syn using native chemical ligation combined with a novel desulfurization strategy. This strategy enabled us to investigate the role of nitration at single or multiple tyrosine residues in regulating α-syn structure, membrane binding, oligomerization, and fibrils formation. We demonstrate that different site-specifically nitrated α-syn species exhibit distinct structural and aggregation properties and exhibit reduced affinity to negatively charged vesicle membranes. We provide evidence that intermolecular interactions between the N- and C-terminal regions of α-syn play critical roles in mediating nitration-induced α-syn oligomerization. For example, when Y39 is not available for nitration (Y39F and Y39/125F), the extent of cross-linking is limited mostly to dimer formation, whereas mutants in which Y39 along with one or multiple C-terminal tyrosines (Y125F, Y133F, Y136F and Y133/136F) can still undergo nitration readily to form higher-order oligomers. Our semisynthetic strategy for generating site-specifically nitrated proteins opens up new possibilities for investigating the role of nitration in regulating protein structure and function in health and disease