Volume 39, Number 1, 63-72, DOI: 10.1007/s10858-007-9176-4

Positioning of the Alzheimer Aβ(1–40) peptide in SDS micelles using NMR and paramagnetic probes

Jüri Jarvet, Jens Danielsson, Peter Damberg, Marta Oleszczuk and Astrid Gräslund

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Abstract

NMR spectroscopy combined with paramagnetic relaxation agents was used to study the positioning of the 40-residue Alzheimer Amyloid β-peptide Aβ(1–40) in SDS micelles. 5-Doxyl stearic acid incorporated into the micelle or Mn2+ ions in the aqueous solvent were used to determine the position of the peptide relative to the micelle geometry. In SDS solvent, the two α-helices induced in Aβ(1–40), comprising residues 15–24, and 29–35, respectively, are surrounded by flexible unstructured regions. NMR signals from these unstructured regions are strongly attenuated in the presence of Mn2+ showing that these regions are positioned mostly outside the micelle. The central helix (residues 15–24) is significantly affected by 5-doxyl stearic acid however somewhat less for residues 16, 20, 22 and 23. This α-helix therefore resides in the SDS headgroup region with the face with residues 16, 20, 22 and 23 directed away from the hydrophobic interior of the micelle. The C-terminal helix is protected both from 5-doxyl stearic acid and Mn2+, and should be buried in the hydrophobic interior of the micelle. The SDS micelles were characterized by diffusion and 15N-relaxation measurements. Comparison of experimentally determined translational diffusion coefficients for SDS and Aβ(1–40) show that the size of SDS micelle is not significantly changed by interaction with Aβ(1–40).

Keywords  NMR - Amyloid β-peptide - SDS micelle

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