Identification of Clusterin as a Major ABri- and ADan-Binding Protein Using Affinity Chromatography

Affinity chromatography has, for many years, been at the research forefront as one of the simplest although highly versatile techniques capable of identifying biologically relevant protein-protein interactions. In the field of amyloid disorders, the use of ligands immobilized to a variety of affinity matrices was the method of choice to individualize proteins with affinity for soluble circulating forms of amyloid subunits. The methodology has also played an important role in the identification of proteins that interact with different amyloidogenic peptides and, as a result, are capable of modulating their physiological and pathological functions by altering solubility, aggregation propensity, and fibril formation proclivity. Along this line, classical studies conducted in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) identified clusterin as a major binding protein to both circulating soluble Aβ as well as to the brain deposited counterpart. The affinity chromatography-based approach employed herein, individualized clusterin as the major protein capable of binding the amyloid subunits associated with familial British and Danish dementias, two non-Aβ neurodegenerative conditions also exhibiting cerebral amyloid deposition and sharing striking similarities to AD. The data demonstrate that clusterin binding ability to amyloid molecules is not restricted to Aβ, suggesting a modulating effect on the aggregation/fibrillization propensity of the amyloidogenic peptides that is consistent with its known chaperone activity.