Modulation of Abeta42 fibrillogenesis by glycosaminoglycan structure

The role of amyloid β (Aβ) peptide in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease is linked to the presence of soluble Aβ species. Sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) promote Aβ fibrillogenesis and reduce the toxicity of the peptide in neuronal cell cultures, but a satisfactory rationale to explain these effects at the molecular level has not been provided yet. We have used circular dichroism, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy, protease digestion, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the association of the 42-residue fragment Aβ(42) with sulfated GAGs, hyaluronan, chitosan, and poly(vinyl sulfate) (PVS). Our results indicate that the formation of stable Aβ(42) fibrils is promoted by polymeric GAGs with negative charges placed in-frame with the 4.8-Å separating Aβ(42) monomers within protofibrillar β-sheets. Incubation of Aβ(42) with excess sulfated GAGs and hyaluronan increased amyloid fibril content and resistance to proteolysis 2- to 5-fold, whereas in the presence of the cationic polysaccharide chitosan, Aβ(42) fibrillar species were reduced by 25% and sensitivity to protease degradation increased ∼3-fold. Fibrils of intermediate stability were obtained in the presence of PVS, an anionic polymer with more tightly packed charges than GAGs. Important structural differences between Aβ(42) fibrils induced by PVS and Aβ(42) fibrils obtained in the presence of GAGs and hyaluronan were observed by AFM, whereas mainly precursor protofibrillar forms were detected after incubation with chitosan. Computed binding energies per peptide from -11.2 to -13.5 kcal/mol were calculated for GAGs and PVS, whereas a significantly lower value of -7.4 kcal/mol was obtained for chitosan. Taken together, our data suggest a simple and straightforward mechanism to explain the role of GAGs as enhancers of the formation of insoluble Aβ(42) fibrils trapping soluble toxic forms.