Isomerization of Asp is essential for assembly of amyloid-like fibrils of αA-crystallin-derived peptide

PLoS One. 2021 Apr 15;16(4):e0250277. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250277. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Post-translational modifications are often detected in age-related diseases associated with protein misfolding such as cataracts from aged lenses. One of the major post-translational modifications is the isomerization of aspartate residues (L-isoAsp), which could be non-enzymatically and spontaneously occurring in proteins, resulting in various effects on the structure and function of proteins including short peptides. We have reported that the structure and function of an αA66-80 peptide, corresponding to the 66-80 (66SDRDKFVIFLDVKHF80) fragment of human lens αA-crystallin, was dramatically altered by the isomerization of aspartate residue (Asp) at position 76. In the current study, we observed amyloid-like fibrils of L-isoAsp containing αA66-80 using electron microscopy. The contribution of each amino acid for the peptide structure was further evaluated by circular dichroism (CD), bis-ANS, and thioflavin T fluorescence using 14 alanine substituents of αA66-80, including L-isoAsp at position 76. CD of 14 alanine substituents demonstrated random coiled structures except for the substituents of positively charged residues. Bis-ANS fluorescence of peptide with substitution of hydrophobic residue with alanine revealed decreased hydrophobicity of the peptide. Thioflavin T fluorescence also showed that the hydrophobicity around Asp76 of the peptide is important for the formation of amyloid-like fibrils. One of the substitutes, H79A (SDRDKFVIFL(L-isoD)VKAF) demonstrated an exact β-sheet structure in CD and highly increased Thioflavin T fluorescence. This phenomenon was inhibited by the addition of protein-L-isoaspartate O-methyltransferase (PIMT), which is an enzyme that changes L-isoAsp into Asp. These interactions were observed even after the formation of amyloid-like fibrils. Thus, isomerization of Asp in peptide is key to form fibrils of αA-crystallin-derived peptide, and L-isoAsp on fibrils can be a candidate for disassembling amyloid-like fibrils of αA-crystallin-derived peptides.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aging / genetics
  • Alanine / chemistry
  • Alanine / metabolism
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Amyloid / chemistry*
  • Amyloid / genetics
  • Amyloid / metabolism
  • Aspartic Acid / chemistry
  • Aspartic Acid / metabolism*
  • Benzothiazoles / chemistry
  • Cataract / genetics
  • Cataract / metabolism
  • Cataract / pathology
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Isoaspartic Acid / chemistry
  • Isoaspartic Acid / metabolism*
  • Isomerism
  • Lens, Crystalline / metabolism
  • Lens, Crystalline / pathology
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical
  • Protein Conformation, beta-Strand
  • Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase / chemistry
  • Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase / metabolism
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational*
  • Static Electricity
  • alpha-Crystallin A Chain / genetics
  • alpha-Crystallin A Chain / metabolism*

Substances

  • Amyloid
  • Benzothiazoles
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Isoaspartic Acid
  • alpha-Crystallin A Chain
  • thioflavin T
  • Aspartic Acid
  • Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase
  • Alanine

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers (20K11646) (https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/en/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-20K11646/) to TT. This work was also supported by the Takeda Science Foundation to TT. The funders had no have roles in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.