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Glycation modulates alpha-synuclein fibrillization kinetics: A sweet spot for inhibition

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Tiago OuteiroORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

© 2022 THE AUTHORS. Glycation is a nonenzymatic posttranslational modification (PTM) known to be increased in the brains of hyperglycemic patients. Alpha-synuclein (αSN), a central player in the etiology of Parkinson’s disease, can be glycated at lysine residues, thereby reducing αSN fibril formation in vitro and modulating αSN aggregation in cells. However, the molecular basis for these effects is unclear. To elucidate this, we investigated the aggregation of αSN modified by eight glycating agents, namely the dicarbonyl compound methylglyoxal (MGO) and the sugars ribose, fructose, mannose, glucose, galactose, sucrose, and lactose. We found that MGO and ribose modify αSN to the greatest extent, and these glycation products are the most efficient inhibitors of fibril formation. We show glycation primarily inhibits elongation rather than nucleation of αSN and has only a modest effect on the level of oligomerization. Furthermore, glycated αSN is not significantly incorporated into fibrils. For both MGO and ribose, we discovered that a level of ~5 modifications per αSN is optimal for inhibition of elongation. The remaining sugars showed a weak but optimal inhibition at ~2 modifications per αSN. We propose that this optimal level balances the affinity for the growing ends of the fibril (which decreases with the extent of modification) with the ability to block incorporation of subsequent αSN subunits (which increases with modification). Our results are not only relevant for other αSN PTMs but also for understanding PTMs affecting other fibrillogenic proteins and may thus open novel avenues for therapeutic intervention in protein aggregation disorders.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Farzadfard A, Konig A, Petersen SV, Nielsen J, Vasili E, Dominguez-Meijide A, Buell AK, Outeiro TF, Otzen DE

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Biological Chemistry

Year: 2022

Volume: 298

Issue: 5

Print publication date: 01/05/2022

Online publication date: 18/05/2022

Acceptance date: 05/03/2022

Date deposited: 18/05/2022

ISSN (print): 0021-9258

ISSN (electronic): 1083-351X

Publisher: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Inc.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101848

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101848

PubMed id: 35314196


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
5188-00003B
EXC 2067/1- 390729940
NNF17OC0028806
NNFSA170028392
R276-2018-671

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