Co-Aggregation of S100A9 with DOPA and Cyclen-Based Compounds Manifested in Amyloid Fibril Thickening without Altering Rates of Self-Assembly published in MDPI International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Our research paper titled Co-Aggregation of S100A9 with DOPA and Cyclen-Based Compounds Manifested in Amyloid Fibril Thickening without Altering Rates of Self-Assembly, authored by Lili Arabuli, Igor A. Iashchishyn, Nina V. Romanova, Greta Musteikyte, Vytautas Smirnovas, Himanshu Chaudhary, Željko M. Svedružić, and Ludmilla A. Morozova-Roche has been published in Volume 22 Issue 16 of MDPI International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Abstract

The amyloid cascade is central for the neurodegeneration disease pathology, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and remains the focus of much current research. S100A9 protein drives the amyloid-neuroinflammatory cascade in these diseases. DOPA and cyclen-based compounds were used as amyloid modifiers and inhibitors previously, and DOPA is also used as a precursor of dopamine in Parkinson’s treatment. Here, by using fluorescence titration experiments we showed that five selected ligands: DOPA-D-H-DOPA, DOPA-H-H-DOPA, DOPA-D-H, DOPA-cyclen, and H-E-cyclen, bind to S100A9 with apparent Kd in the sub-micromolar range. Ligand docking and molecular dynamic simulation showed that all compounds bind to S100A9 in more than one binding site and with different ligand mobility and H-bonds involved in each site, which all together is consistent with the apparent binding determined in fluorescence experiments. By using amyloid kinetic analysis, monitored by thioflavin-T fluorescence, and AFM imaging, we found that S100A9 co-aggregation with these compounds does not hinder amyloid formation but leads to morphological changes in the amyloid fibrils, manifested in fibril thickening. Thicker fibrils were not observed upon fibrillation of S100A9 alone and may influence the amyloid tissue propagation and modulate S100A9 amyloid assembly as part of the amyloid-neuroinflammatory cascade in neurodegenerative diseases.

Read the full paper in MDPI International Journal of Molecular Sciences Volume 22 Issue 16.