翻译后修饰Tau蛋白及其化学全/半合成

Tau蛋白是一种微管相关蛋白,有6种亚型,由352~441氨基酸组成。Tau蛋白的错误折叠和聚集与Tau蛋白病(Tauopathies),如阿尔茨海默病(AD)密切相关。目前在临床患者样本中可检测到具有各种翻译后修饰的Tau蛋白,这些翻译后修饰可能是AD发病机制的关键因素。本文综述了Tau蛋白常见的翻译后修饰,尤其是退行性疾病相关的翻译后修饰,以及化学全/半合成制备具有特定位点修饰、均一的Tau蛋白的进展。通过回顾翻译后修饰Tau蛋白的研究,可以更深入理解翻译后修饰对Tau蛋白的生理和病理作用,阐明翻译后修饰的调控机制,为相关疾病诊疗研究打下基础。     

利用电喷雾质谱研究Tau蛋白多肽与金属离子的相互作用

老年痴呆症患者脑部一个重要的病理特征为脑细胞内的神经纤维缠结,其主要成分为异常磷酸化的微管相关Tau蛋白[1].在成年人的脑细胞中,至少含有6种Tau蛋白的异构体,其主要的差别为是否含有N端的两个29氨基酸插入片断以及C端的第二个重复片断,其中Tau蛋白C端的三到四个重复片断被认为是Tau蛋白与微管蛋白相互作用的功能区[2],因此研究这些重复多肽片断可以推测导致Tau蛋白聚集的原因.     

Tau蛋白介导阿尔兹海默病的机理及相关药物

阿尔兹海默症是一种以智力缓慢丧失为特征的神经退行性疾病,主要病理特征之一为神经细胞内出现大量神经纤维缠结.神经纤维缠结的主要成分为异常磷酸化的Tau蛋白,研究Tau蛋白的结构和功能以及神经纤维缠结形成的分子机制具有重要的生理意义.Tau和Aβ是阿尔兹海默病药物开发的两个重要靶点,随着近期一些以Aβ为靶点的药物临床研究宣告失败,越来越多的研究组已经开始考虑改变研发阿尔兹海默病药物的策略,并开始转向以Tau为靶点的药物开发.本文综述了Tau介导阿尔兹海默病的机理及相关药物的研究进展.     

磷酸化蛋白质组学中的分离富集方法研究进展

蛋白质的磷酸化是一种可逆性的翻译后修饰,在细胞的增值、分化、信号转导以及转录与翻译调控、蛋白质复合体的形成、蛋白质降解等方面发挥着极为重要的作用.因此磷酸化蛋白的鉴定成为翻译后修饰研究的重要内容.但由于磷酸化蛋白的丰度较低, 难以用质谱直接检测.为了解决这个问题,改善质谱对磷酸肽的信号响应, 需要对磷酸化蛋白质或磷酸肽进行富集.本文系统地介绍了磷酸化蛋白组学研究中应用较为广泛和最新建立的各种分离富集方法的原理、特点、应用研究进展,包括抗体富集法、激酶特异富集法、亲和富集法、化学修饰法、多种色谱分离富集方法以及MALDI靶盘富集法.     

截短与修饰的β-淀粉样蛋白与阿尔茨海默病

β-淀粉样蛋白(Aβ)的聚集和沉积被认为是导致阿尔茨海默病的重要因素,早前的研究多集中在全长无修饰的Aβ_1-40和Aβ_1-42上。近些年研究发现,在AD患者大脑内存在着多种截短与修饰的Aβ蛋白,它们对AD的疾病进程有不可忽视的贡献。例如,焦谷氨酸Aβ、磷酸化Aβ被认为是AD患者出现症状的标志;截短的Aβ_4-40/42在患者脑内的含量与Aβ_1-40/42接近且具有类似的聚集性质和毒性;患者脑内氧化压力升高导致的酪氨酸硝基化、二聚化和甲硫氨酸氧化形式的Aβ也具有不同的性质。本文对这些截短与修饰的Aβ蛋白的产生、结构、毒性以及和AD的关联进行了综述。     

纳米材料在蛋白磷酸化分析中的应用研究

蛋白质磷酸化修饰是一种重要的蛋白质翻译后修饰,在细胞代谢过程中发挥着重要作用。当蛋白质的正常磷酸化调节发生异常时,会导致癌症、糖尿病、心脏病等各种疾病的发生。因此,蛋白磷酸化分析对于疾病的早期快速诊断、药物筛选和治疗等方面具有重大的意义。由于蛋白质磷酸化过程是动态的,并且磷酸化肽段或蛋白在生物样品中的含量较低,因此高灵敏的蛋白磷酸化分析面临着巨大的挑战。该文依据在检测过程中,选择性识别或捕获磷酸化的肽段或蛋白的主要机理,综述了近几年纳米材料对磷酸化肽段的富集和信号放大作用在蛋白磷酸化分析中的研究进展,并对其未来研究方向进行了展望。     

泛素化蛋白的化学合成及半合成

蛋白质翻译后修饰（post-translational modifications,PTMs）在调节蛋白质的结构和功能上发挥着重要作用,异常的蛋白质翻译后修饰会导致某些疾病的发生.泛素化（ubiquitination）作为一类重要的蛋白质翻译后修饰,已经被证明与细胞的稳态以及细胞内部的多条信号通路有关,主要参与细胞内蛋白的定位、调节和降解以及细胞周期、基因表达、信号传递、损伤修复、炎症免疫等多种生命过程.然而,对于泛素蛋白的相关研究虽然进行了多年,但是许多重要的科学问题尚未研究清楚,其中如何高效地获得大量、均一的泛素化蛋白是最重要的挑战之一.近年来,蛋白质化学合成及半合成手段的发展,很大程度上解决了这一难题.本文主要针对目前常用的泛素化蛋白的化学合成和半合成方法进行综述.     

聚胍基离子液体材料制备及其对蛋白质识别性能评价

磷酸化修饰是蛋白质翻译后修饰中最为重要的修饰之一,蛋白质的磷酸化修饰几乎参与生命活动的每一个环节。因此,制备对磷酸化蛋白具有选择性识别性能的材料在磷酸化蛋白质组学中具有重要意义。本实验首先合成胍基离子液体功能单体,通过沉淀聚合法合成聚胍基离子液体材料。通过傅里叶红外光谱(FT-IR)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、热重分析仪(TGA)考察了材料的结构、形貌、热稳定性。结果显示所制备材料为粒径约200 nm的球形颗粒。并以标准磷酸化蛋白(β-酪蛋白)为模型蛋白质,考察了聚胍基离子液体材料的识别性能。研究结果表明:材料对磷酸化蛋白具有较高吸附容量(对 β-酪蛋白的最大吸附量达到599.1 mg/g)、较快的吸附速度(1 h内达平衡),而且对磷酸化蛋白表现出较高的选择性。     

O-GlcNAcase抑制剂

O-连接的N-乙酰葡糖胺糖基化修饰 (O-GlcNAcylation) 是一种存在于蛋白质Ser/Thr上的翻译后修饰。与磷酸化相似,它参与细胞内的信号传递,并与神经退行性疾病、Ⅱ型糖尿病、癌症等许多疾病的发病机理密切相关。O-连接的N-乙酰葡糖胺水解酶 (O-GlcNAcase, OGA) 是生物体内唯一水解蛋白质O-GlcNAc修饰的糖苷酶。因此,研究高效、专一的OGA小分子抑制剂是调节细胞中蛋白质O-GlcNAc水平的有效策略,利于阿尔茨海默病等相关神经退行性疾病新型药物的开发。结合本实验室对OGA抑制剂的研究,本文介绍了OGA的结构、催化机理及目前OGA抑制剂的研究进展,讨论了各种抑制剂的构效关系,并对OGA抑制剂的研究前景进行了展望。     

快速检测阿尔茨海默标志蛋白(Tau)的阻抗生物传感器研究

通过构建自组装阻抗免疫传感器,对微量Tau蛋白进行检测,以达到辅助早期诊断阿尔茨海默病的目的。传感器通过以下步骤构建,将双功能分子3,3'-二硫代双(磺酸琥珀酰亚氨基丙酸酯,DTSSP)通过Au-S键修饰到金电极表面,通过烷磺基-氨基结合抗体39E10。利用免疫原理,通过抗原-抗体之间的吸附作用特异性结合捕获Tau蛋白,使用交流阻抗法进行表征,并通过循环伏安法验证。通过对DTSSP修饰时间及抗体浓度的优化,传感器对质量浓度为0.02~100μg/m L的Tau蛋白有检测信号,其中在0.2~20μg/m L质量浓度范围内具有良好线性关系,r~2为0.988 8,检出限为0.43 nmol/L,检测时间为15 min。自组装免疫传感器对Tau实现了特异性捕获,可作为AD临床检测的辅助手段。     

Single Posttranslational Modifications in the Central Repeat Domains of Tau4 Impact its Aggregation and Tubulin Binding

A variety of methods have been employed to study the impact of posttranslational modifications on Tau protein function. Here, a semisynthesis strategy is described that enables selective modification within the central repeat domain of Tau4 (residues 291‐321), comprising a major interaction motive with tubulin as well as one of the key hexapeptides involved in Tau aggregation. This strategy has led to the preparation of four semisynthetic Tau variants with phosphoserine residues in different positions and one with a so far largely ignored carboxymethyllysine modification that results from a non‐enzymatic posttranslational modification (nPTM). The latter modification inhibits tubulin polymerization but exhibits an aggregation behavior very similar to unmodified Tau. In contrast, phosphorylated Tau variants exhibit similar binding to tubulin as unmodified Tau4 but show lower tendencies to aggregate.     

Enhanced self-assembly of the 7–12 sequence of amyloid-β peptide by tyrosine bromination

ABSTRACT

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a serious neuropathology related to the misfolded assembly state of amyloid-beta (Aβ40 and Aβ42) peptides. It has been demonstrated that protein post-translation modifications (PPTMs) of the more hydrophilic N-term moiety of the Aβ peptide affect its aggregation kinetics and interaction with the environment. Considering that chlorination and bromination are non-canonical PPTMs found in various metabolic pathways and often correlated to inflammatory responses, halogenation of the Y10 of the Aβ N-term could be a putative in vivo modification with implications in the Aβ peptide aggregation propensity. In this framework, we chose as a model system, a short peptide sequence, DSGYEV (i.e. residues 7–12 of the Aβ N-term) and studied its self-assembly behaviour in comparison to its chlorinated and brominated derivatives. Our results show that Y10 halogenation works as a molecular trigger of the peptide self-assembly in solution, promoting the formation of more structured aggregates.     

Microtubule‐Binding R3 Fragment from Tau Self‐Assembles into Giant Multistranded Amyloid Ribbons

Tau protein and its fragments self‐assemble into amyloid fibrils in the presence of polyanions, such as heparin. By combining microscopy, scattering, and spectroscopy techniques, we studied the aggregation of the 26‐mer Tau‐derived peptide alone, Tau_306–327, the third repeat fragment (R3) of the microtubule‐binding domain. We show that: i) the sole Tau_306–327 can self‐assemble into amyloid fibrils without the need of aggregation‐promoting polyanions; ii) the resulting structures consist of surprisingly large, well‐ordered 2D laminated flat ribbons, with a log‐normal distribution of the lateral width, reaching the unprecedented lateral size of 350 nm and/or 45 individual protofilaments, that is, the largest amyloid laminated structures ever observed for Tau or any other amyloidogenic sequence. Our results provide insight into the molecular determinants of Tau aggregation and open new perspectives in the understanding of the assembly of amyloid fibrils and β‐sheet‐based biomaterials.     

蛋白质半胱氨酸上的翻译后修饰组分析方法进展

半胱氨酸的巯基具有很高的反应活性,作为亲核、氧化还原催化反应、金属结合及变构调节位点等在蛋白质的结构和功能中发挥着非常重要的作用,且容易发生多种翻译后修饰,调控亦或损伤蛋白功能,与人类许多重要疾病关系密切,因此,定性与定量分析蛋白质半胱氨酸上的翻译后修饰组对理解其生物学功能具有重要意义。本文综述了近年来蛋白质半胱氨酸上常见的翻译后修饰组的质谱和蛋白质组学分析方法进展。     

Chemoinformatics Analyses of Tau Ligands Reveal Key Molecular Requirements for the Identification of Potential Drug Candidates against Tauopathies

Tau is a highly soluble protein mainly localized at a cytoplasmic level in the neuronal cells, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of microtubule dynamic stability. Recent studies have demonstrated that several factors, such as hyperphosphorylation or alterations of Tau metabolism, may contribute to the pathological accumulation of protein aggregates, which can result in neuronal death and the onset of a number of neurological disorders called Tauopathies. At present, there are no available therapeutic remedies able to reduce Tau aggregation, nor are there any structural clues or guidelines for the rational identification of compounds preventing the accumulation of protein aggregates. To help identify the structural properties required for anti-Tau aggregation activity, we performed extensive chemoinformatics analyses on a dataset of Tau ligands reported in ChEMBL. The performed analyses allowed us to identify a set of molecular properties that are in common between known active ligands. Moreover, extensive analyses of the fragment composition of reported ligands led to the identification of chemical moieties and fragment combinations prevalent in the more active compounds. Interestingly, many of these fragments were arranged in recurring frameworks, some of which were clearly present in compounds currently under clinical investigation. This work represents the first in-depth chemoinformatics study of the molecular properties, constituting fragments and similarity profiles, of known Tau aggregation inhibitors. The datasets of compounds employed for the analyses, the identified molecular fragments and their combinations are made publicly available as supplementary material.     

Stabilizer‐Guided Inhibition of Protein–Protein Interactions

The discovery of novel protein–protein interaction (PPI) modulators represents one of the great molecular challenges of the modern era. PPIs can be modulated by either inhibitor or stabilizer compounds, which target different though proximal regions of the protein interface. In principle, protein–stabilizer complexes can guide the design of PPI inhibitors (and vice versa). In the present work, we combine X‐ray crystallographic data from both stabilizer and inhibitor co‐crystal complexes of the adapter protein 14‐3‐3 to characterize, down to the atomic scale, inhibitors of the 14‐3‐3/Tau PPI, a potential drug target to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The most potent compound notably inhibited the binding of phosphorylated full‐length Tau to 14‐3‐3 according to NMR spectroscopy studies. Our work sets a precedent for the rational design of PPI inhibitors guided by PPI stabilizer–protein complexes while potentially enabling access to new synthetically tractable stabilizers of 14‐3‐3 and other PPIs.     

Biochemical and immunological aspects of protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases

Protein aggregation is commonly associated with a large number of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and other types of pathological conditions. Misfolding and aggregation of a number of peptides and proteins have been found to occur under these conditions. In the present review, some mechanistic features of the events related to the type of structure–function relationships which may define the outcome of the abnormal conditions are discussed. The immunological responses to the aggregates and possible therapeutic strategies for prevention or control of the diseases are also reviewed. Protein aggregation and its effect on human body have become an important issue over the last two decades. Many diseases in human are related to aggregation and misfolding of different kinds of proteins; therefore, diagnosis of causes of the aggregation and their mechanisms which provoke it are important. This review describes the relations between structures and functions of already aggregated proteins, as well as proteins, which only enter initial stages of aggregation. The consequences of aggregations, which provoke many kinds of neurodegenerative disorders, are explained in details and some factors that may influence their severity are described. In addition, the immunologic responses to these aggregates are discussed. Suggestions of plausible therapies of preventing or slowing down the protein condensation diseases are presented.     

Site-Specific Ubiquitination of Tau Amyloids Promoted by the E3 Ligase CHIP

Post-translational modifications of Tau are emerging as key players in determining the onset and progression of different tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease, and are recognized to mediate the structural diversity of the disease-specific Tau amyloids. Here we show that the E3 ligase CHIP catalyzes the site-specific ubiquitination of Tau filaments both in vitro and in cellular models, proving that also Tau amyloid aggregates are direct substrate of PTMs. Transmission electron microscopy and mass spectrometry analysis on ubiquitin-modified Tau amyloids revealed that the conformation of the filaments restricts CHIP-mediated ubiquitination to specific positions of the repeat domain, while only minor alterations in the structure of the fibril core were inferred using seeding experiments in vitro and in a cell-based tauopathy model. Overexpression of CHIP significantly increased the ubiquitination of exogenous PHF, proving that the ligase can interact and modify Tau aggregates also in a complex cellular environment.