Mechanism of interaction between TTR tetramer and Aβ42 oligomers: Dependence on the Aβ42 oligomeric size and morphology

β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits are the leading cause of Alzheimer's disease. Many studies have confirmed that transthyretin (TTR) inhibits the cytotoxicity of Aβ oligomers (AβOs) with various species (oligomers and protofibrils, but not monomers) through their interactions. Here, we investigated the m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jinfei Mei, Wenqi Gao, Yvning Guan, Sajjad Ahmad, Fahad Nouman Muhammad, Hongqi Ai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2025-04-01
Series:ChemPhysMater
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772571525000099
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849700466959581184
author Jinfei Mei
Wenqi Gao
Yvning Guan
Sajjad Ahmad
Fahad Nouman Muhammad
Hongqi Ai
author_facet Jinfei Mei
Wenqi Gao
Yvning Guan
Sajjad Ahmad
Fahad Nouman Muhammad
Hongqi Ai
author_sort Jinfei Mei
collection DOAJ
description β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits are the leading cause of Alzheimer's disease. Many studies have confirmed that transthyretin (TTR) inhibits the cytotoxicity of Aβ oligomers (AβOs) with various species (oligomers and protofibrils, but not monomers) through their interactions. Here, we investigated the mechanisms of interactions between the TTR tetramer and various Aβ species, including two monomers with different morphologies and four oligomers with different molecular weights, by employing molecular dynamics simulations. From these results, we propose a clear interaction scenario: upon AβO binding, the dimer−dimer distance of TTR increases and the binding energy decreases, indicating an unfavorable effect on the TTR stability. Moreover, the larger the molecular weight (MW) of AβO, the greater the effect of interaction between the TTR tetramer and Aβ oligomer, and consequently the worse the TTR stability. In turn, Aβ–Aβ intermolecular distances in AβO grow and the hydrophobic solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) increases, whereas the number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds decreases, indicating AβO disaggregation induced by the TTR binding. Moreover, a trend is observed for the disaggregation to increase as the MW of the AβO species increases. Finally, we reveal that conformations rich in helical sections rather than the semi-extended conformation are favored upon binding with TTR. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive molecular-level insight to better understand the mechanism and principles of interaction between the TTR tetramer and AβOs.
format Article
id doaj-art-c2bcef9ffca149a3a062432e787d4c9b
institution DOAJ
issn 2772-5715
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
record_format Article
series ChemPhysMater
spelling doaj-art-c2bcef9ffca149a3a062432e787d4c9b2025-08-20T03:18:15ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.ChemPhysMater2772-57152025-04-014218719610.1016/j.chphma.2024.12.006Mechanism of interaction between TTR tetramer and Aβ42 oligomers: Dependence on the Aβ42 oligomeric size and morphologyJinfei Mei0Wenqi Gao1Yvning Guan2Sajjad Ahmad3Fahad Nouman Muhammad4Hongqi Ai5School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China; School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Engineering Research Center of Biomass Conversion and Pollution Prevention of Anhui Educational Institutions, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang 236037, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China; Corresponding author.β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits are the leading cause of Alzheimer's disease. Many studies have confirmed that transthyretin (TTR) inhibits the cytotoxicity of Aβ oligomers (AβOs) with various species (oligomers and protofibrils, but not monomers) through their interactions. Here, we investigated the mechanisms of interactions between the TTR tetramer and various Aβ species, including two monomers with different morphologies and four oligomers with different molecular weights, by employing molecular dynamics simulations. From these results, we propose a clear interaction scenario: upon AβO binding, the dimer−dimer distance of TTR increases and the binding energy decreases, indicating an unfavorable effect on the TTR stability. Moreover, the larger the molecular weight (MW) of AβO, the greater the effect of interaction between the TTR tetramer and Aβ oligomer, and consequently the worse the TTR stability. In turn, Aβ–Aβ intermolecular distances in AβO grow and the hydrophobic solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) increases, whereas the number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds decreases, indicating AβO disaggregation induced by the TTR binding. Moreover, a trend is observed for the disaggregation to increase as the MW of the AβO species increases. Finally, we reveal that conformations rich in helical sections rather than the semi-extended conformation are favored upon binding with TTR. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive molecular-level insight to better understand the mechanism and principles of interaction between the TTR tetramer and AβOs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772571525000099TransthyretinAβ oligomerMechanism of interactionMolecular weightDependence
spellingShingle Jinfei Mei
Wenqi Gao
Yvning Guan
Sajjad Ahmad
Fahad Nouman Muhammad
Hongqi Ai
Mechanism of interaction between TTR tetramer and Aβ42 oligomers: Dependence on the Aβ42 oligomeric size and morphology
ChemPhysMater
Transthyretin
Aβ oligomer
Mechanism of interaction
Molecular weight
Dependence
title Mechanism of interaction between TTR tetramer and Aβ42 oligomers: Dependence on the Aβ42 oligomeric size and morphology
title_full Mechanism of interaction between TTR tetramer and Aβ42 oligomers: Dependence on the Aβ42 oligomeric size and morphology
title_fullStr Mechanism of interaction between TTR tetramer and Aβ42 oligomers: Dependence on the Aβ42 oligomeric size and morphology
title_full_unstemmed Mechanism of interaction between TTR tetramer and Aβ42 oligomers: Dependence on the Aβ42 oligomeric size and morphology
title_short Mechanism of interaction between TTR tetramer and Aβ42 oligomers: Dependence on the Aβ42 oligomeric size and morphology
title_sort mechanism of interaction between ttr tetramer and aβ42 oligomers dependence on the aβ42 oligomeric size and morphology
topic Transthyretin
Aβ oligomer
Mechanism of interaction
Molecular weight
Dependence
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772571525000099
work_keys_str_mv AT jinfeimei mechanismofinteractionbetweenttrtetramerandab42oligomersdependenceontheab42oligomericsizeandmorphology
AT wenqigao mechanismofinteractionbetweenttrtetramerandab42oligomersdependenceontheab42oligomericsizeandmorphology
AT yvningguan mechanismofinteractionbetweenttrtetramerandab42oligomersdependenceontheab42oligomericsizeandmorphology
AT sajjadahmad mechanismofinteractionbetweenttrtetramerandab42oligomersdependenceontheab42oligomericsizeandmorphology
AT fahadnoumanmuhammad mechanismofinteractionbetweenttrtetramerandab42oligomersdependenceontheab42oligomericsizeandmorphology
AT hongqiai mechanismofinteractionbetweenttrtetramerandab42oligomersdependenceontheab42oligomericsizeandmorphology