High affinity binding of amyloid β-peptide to calmodulin: Structural and functional implications

Amyloid β-peptides (Aβ) are a major hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their neurotoxicity develop with cytosolic calcium dysregulation. On the other hand, calmodulin (CaM), a protein which plays a major multifunctional role in neuronal calcium signaling, has been shown to be involved in the regulation of non-amyloidogenic processing of amyloid β precursor protein (APP). Using fluorescent 6-bromoacetyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene derivatives of CaM, Badan-CaM, and human amyloid β(1-42) HiLyte™-Fluor555, we show in this work that Aβ binds with high affinity to CaM through the neurotoxic Aβ25-35 domain. In addition, the affinity of Aβ for calcium-saturated CaM conformation is approximately 20-fold higher than for CaM conformation in the absence of calcium (apo-CaM). Moreover, the value of K_d of 0.98 ± 0.11 nM obtained for Aβ1-42 dissociation from CaM saturated by calcium points out that CaM is one of the cellular targets with highest affinity for neurotoxic Aβ peptides. A major functional consequence of Aβ-CaM interaction is that it slowdowns Aβ fibrillation. The novel and high affinity interaction between calmodulin and Aβ shown in this work opens a yet-unexplored gateway to further understand the neurotoxic effect of Aβ in different neural cells and also to address the potential of calmodulin and calmodulin-derived peptides as therapeutic agents in AD.