Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.2.1.17 (lysozyme)
21,489 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Amyloid fibril depositions are associated with many neurodegenerative diseases as well as amyloidosis. The detailed molecular mechanism of fibrillation is still far from complete understanding. In our previous study of in vitro fibrillation of hen egg white lysozyme, an irreversible partially unfolded intermediate was characterized. A similarity of unfolding kinetics found for the secondary and tertiary structure of lysozyme using deep UV resonance Raman (DUVRR) and tryptophan fluorescence spectroscopy leads to a hypothesis that the unfolding might be a two-state transition. In this study, chemometric analysis, including abstract factor analysis (AFA), target factor analysis (TFA), evolving factor analysis (EFA), multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (ALS), and genetic algorithm, was employed to verify that only two principal components contribute to the DUVRR and fluorescence spectra of soluble fraction of lysozyme during the fibrillation process. However, a definite conclusion on the number of conformers cannot be made based solely on the above spectroscopic data although chemometric analysis suggested the existence of two principal components. Therefore, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was also utilized to address the hypothesis. The protein ion charge state distribution (CSD) envelopes of the incubated lysozyme were well fitted with two principal components. Based on the above analysis, the partial unfolding of lysozyme during in vitro fibrillation was characterized quantitatively and proven to be a two-state transition. The combination of ESI-MS and Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies with advanced statistical analysis was demonstrated to be a powerful methodology for studying protein structural transformations.
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PMID:The first step of hen egg white lysozyme fibrillation, irreversible partial unfolding, is a two-state transition. 1740 Sep 24

We have studied the effects of the extracellular molecular chaperone, clusterin, on the in vitro aggregation of mutational variants of human lysozyme, including one associated with familial amyloid disease. The aggregation of the amyloidogenic variant I56T is inhibited significantly at clusterin to lysozyme ratios as low as 1:80 (i.e. one clusterin molecule per 80 lysozyme molecules). Experiments indicate that under the conditions where inhibition of aggregation occurs, clusterin does not bind detectably to the native or fibrillar states of lysozyme, or to the monomeric transient intermediate known to be a key species in the aggregation reaction. Rather, it seems to interact with oligomeric species that are present at low concentrations during the lag (nucleation) phase of the aggregation reaction. This behavior suggests that clusterin, and perhaps other extracellular chaperones, could have a key role in curtailing the potentially pathogenic effects of the misfolding and aggregation of proteins that, like lysozyme, are secreted into the extracellular environment.
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PMID:The extracellular chaperone clusterin potently inhibits human lysozyme amyloid formation by interacting with prefibrillar species. 1740 82

Protein aggregation and amyloid accumulation in different tissues are associated with cellular dysfunction and toxicity in important human pathologies, including Alzheimer's disease and various forms of systemic amyloidosis. Soluble oligomers formed at the early stages of protein aggregation have been increasingly recognized as the main toxic species in amyloid diseases. To gain insight into the mechanisms of toxicity instigated by soluble protein oligomers, we have investigated the aggregation of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL), a normally harmless protein. HEWL initially aggregates into beta-sheet rich, roughly spherical oligomers which appear to convert with time into protofibrils and mature amyloid fibrils. HEWL oligomers are potently neurotoxic to rat cortical neurons in culture, while mature amyloid fibrils are little or non-toxic. Interestingly, when added to cortical neuronal cultures HEWL oligomers induce tau hyperphosphorylation at epitopes that are characteristically phosphorylated in neurons exposed to soluble oligomers of the amyloid-beta peptide. Furthermore, injection of HEWL oligomers in the cerebral cortices of adult rats induces extensive neurodegeneration in different brain areas. These results show that soluble oligomers from a non-disease related protein can mimic specific neuronal pathologies thought to be induced by soluble amyloid-beta peptide oligomers in Alzheimer's disease and support the notion that amyloid oligomers from different proteins may share common structural determinants that would explain their generic cytotoxicities.
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PMID:Soluble oligomers from a non-disease related protein mimic Abeta-induced tau hyperphosphorylation and neurodegeneration. 1772 39

Amyloid nucleation through agitation was studied with beta2-microglobulin, which is responsible for dialysis-related amyloidosis, in the presence of salt under acid and neutral pH conditions. First, the aggregation of beta2-microglobulin in NaCl solutions was achieved by mildly agitating for 24 h at 37 degrees C protein solutions in three different states: acid-unfolded, salt-induced protofibrillar, and native. The formation of aggregates was confirmed by an increase in light scattering intensity of the solutions. Then, the aggregated samples were incubated without agitation at 37 degrees C for up to 25-45 days. The structural changes in the aggregated state during the incubation period were examined by means of fluorescence spectroscopy with thioflavin T, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. The results revealed that all the samples in the different states produced a mature amyloid nucleus upon agitation, after which the fibrils elongated without any detectable lag phase during the incubation, with the acid-unfolded protein better suited to undergoing the structural rearrangements necessary to form amyloid fibrils than the more structured forms. The amount of aggregate including the amyloid nucleus produced by agitation from the native conformation at neutral pH was estimated to be about 9% of all the protein by an analysis using ultracentrifugation. Additionally, amyloid nucleation by agitation was similarly achieved for a different protein, hen egg-white lysozyme, in 0.5 M NaCl solution at neutral pH. Taken together, the agitation-treated aggregates of both proteins have a high propensity to produce an amyloid nucleus even at neutral pH, providing evidence that the aggregation pathway involves amyloid nucleation under entirely native conditions.
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PMID:Amyloid nucleation triggered by agitation of beta2-microglobulin under acidic and neutral pH conditions. 1821 Nov

A single-domain fragment, cAb-HuL22, of a camelid heavy-chain antibody specific for the active site of human lysozyme has been generated, and its effects on the properties of the I56T and D67H amyloidogenic variants of human lysozyme, which are associated with a form of systemic amyloidosis, have been investigated by a wide range of biophysical techniques. Pulse-labeling hydrogen-deuterium exchange experiments monitored by mass spectrometry reveal that binding of the antibody fragment strongly inhibits the locally cooperative unfolding of the I56T and D67H variants and restores their global cooperativity to that characteristic of the wild-type protein. The antibody fragment was, however, not stable enough under the conditions used to explore its ability to perturb the aggregation behavior of the lysozyme amyloidogenic variants. We therefore engineered a more stable version of cAb-HuL22 by adding a disulfide bridge between the two beta-sheets in the hydrophobic core of the protein. The binding of this engineered antibody fragment to the amyloidogenic variants of lysozyme inhibited their aggregation into fibrils. These findings support the premise that the reduction in global cooperativity caused by the pathogenic mutations in the lysozyme gene is the determining feature underlying their amyloidogenicity. These observations indicate further that molecular targeting of enzyme active sites, and of protein binding sites in general, is an effective strategy for inhibiting or preventing the aberrant self-assembly process that is often a consequence of protein mutation and the origin of pathogenicity. Moreover, this work further demonstrates the unique properties of camelid single-domain antibody fragments as structural probes for studying the mechanism of aggregation and as potential inhibitors of fibril formation.
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PMID:Engineering a camelid antibody fragment that binds to the active site of human lysozyme and inhibits its conversion into amyloid fibrils. 1881 62

Inhibiting protein misfolding and aggregation is imperative for treatment of amyloid diseases. In this regard small molecules which bind to and stabilize the monomeric protein have invited attention owing to their ability to significantly slow down or inhibit aggregation and amyloid formation. We have earlier shown that hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) spontaneously forms soluble oligomers at pH 12.2, which are later stabilized by intermolecular disulphide bonds, eventually resulting in amyloid fibrils. In this work, we show that overnight ( approximately 12 h) pre-incubation of HEWL with its competitive inhibitor, N,N',N''-Triacetylchitotriose (chitotriose) at neutral pH, impairs its aggregation and fibrillogenesis at pH 12.2. Unlike in control or N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG) pre-incubated samples, HEWL-chitotriose complex displayed i) reduced thioflavin T and ANS fluorescence, ii) small oligomers but no amyloid fibrils in AFM, iii) absence of large aggregates in SDS-PAGE and gel-filtration elutions, iv) marginally more helical content in CD spectra and v) >70% enzymatic activity after 24 h and approximately 16% activity after week long incubation at alkaline pH. It is likely that strong binding in the HEWL-chitotriose complex, in contrast to weakly bound HEWL-NAG complex, raises the activation energy barrier for protein misfolding and subsequent aggregation, thereby retarding the aggregation kinetics substantially. These results hold promise for the therapy of human lysozyme amyloidosis.
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PMID:Suppression of lysozyme aggregation at alkaline pH by tri-N-acetylchitotriose. 1933 35

Calorimetric measurements were carried out using a differential scanning calorimeter to characterize the thermal response of beta(2)-microglobulin amyloid fibrils, the deposition of which results in dialysis-related amyloidosis. The fibril solution showed a large decrease in heat capacity (exothermic effect) before the temperature-induced depolymerization of the fibrils, which was characterized by a definite dependence on heating rate. To understand the factors that determine the heating-rate-dependent thermal response, the concentration dependence of polyethylene glycol, which inhibits the association of amyloid fibrils with heating, on exothermic effect was examined in detail and showed a causal link between the exothermic effect and fibril association. The results suggest that the transient association driven by a spatial approach and the concomitant dehydration of hydrophobic areas of amyloid fibrils may be significant factors determining the thermal response with exothermic effect, which has not been observed in calorimetric studies of monomolecular globular proteins. The heating-rate-dependent thermal response with the exothermic effect was observed not only for other amyloid fibrils formed from amyloid beta-peptides but also during the processes of the temperature-induced conversion of beta(2)-microglobulin protofibrils and hen egg-white lysozyme into amyloid fibrils. These results highlight the physics related to the heating-rate-dependent behaviors of heat capacity in terms of interactions between the specific structures of amyloid fibrils and water molecules.
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PMID:Thermal response with exothermic effects of beta2-microglobulin amyloid fibrils and fibrillation. 1937 58

We aimed to reassess renal amyloidosis in kidney biopsies with a focus on possibly misclassified or unclassified cases and changes in the prevalence of different amyloid types. Two hundred thirty-three kidney biopsies obtained from 231 patients diagnosed with amyloid during the period from 1990 to 2007 years were included in this retrospective study. Amyloid was identified by Congo red staining and polarization microscopy. Immunohistochemical classification was made with antibodies directed against AA amyloid, apolipoprotein A1, fibrinogen, lysozyme, lambda-light chain, kappa-light chain, beta2-microglobulin, transthyretin, and amyloid P-component. Amyloid was present in each biopsy as vascular, tubulo-interstitial and/or glomerular deposits. Immunoglobulin light chain-derived (AL) amyloidosis was most prevalent and diagnosed in 123 (53.2%) patients. It was categorized into AL amyloid of lambda-light chain (ALlambda) [105 (85.4%) patients] and kappa-light chain origin (ALkappa) [10 (8.1%)]. The amyloid deposits of 8 (6.5%) patients were not clearly distinguishable into ALlambda amyloid or ALkappa amyloid and categorized as AL amyloid, not otherwise specified. Reactive systemic amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis was the second most common type and was found in 93 patients (40.3%). Overall 7 patients were found to suffer from fibrinogen A alpha-chain-[amyloid of fibrinogen (AFib); 4 (1.7%) patients], transthyretin-[amyloid of transthyretin (ATTR); 2 (0.9%)], or apolipoprotein A1-derived (AApoAI) amyloidosis [1 (0.4%)]. In 8 patients (3.4%) the amyloid deposits remained unclassifiable. After additional immunostaining and further clinical information the diagnoses of 12 patients (5.1%) were modified (2 ALlambda amyloid, 4 ALkappa amyloid, 1 amyloid unclassified, 3 mixed-type amyloidosis, AA+ATTR, ALlambda+ATTR, and ALkappa+ATTR, 1 AFib, and 1 AApoAI). Although the histologic and immunohistochemical reevaluation confirmed the classifications in 221 (95.7%) patients. Renal amyloidosis is most commonly of ALlambda-origin, followed by AA amyloidosis. AFib amyloidosis was found to be the most prevalent type of hereditary renal amyloidosis, illustrating the necessity of a thorough classification of the amyloid proteins.
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PMID:Prevalence and origin of amyloid in kidney biopsies. 1956 48

Nanobodies are single chain antibodies that are uniquely produced in Camelidae, e.g. camels and llamas. They have the desirable features of small sizes (Mw < 14 kDa) and high affinities against antigens (Kd approximately nM), making them ideal as structural probes for biomedically relevant motifs both in vitro and in vivo. We have previously shown that nanobody binding to amyloidogenic human lysozyme variants can effectively inhibit their aggregation, the process that is at the origin of systemic amyloid disease. Here we report the NMR assignments of a new nanobody, termed NbSyn2, which recognises the C-terminus of the intrinsically disordered protein, human alpha-synuclein (aS), whose aberrant self-association is implicated in Parkinson's disease.
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PMID:(1)H, (13)C and (15)N assignments of a camelid nanobody directed against human alpha-synuclein. 1976 86

Protein misfolding and aggregation are implicated in a wide range of increasingly prevalent human diseases ranging from dementia to diabetes. In this review we discuss the current experimental strategies that are being employed in the investigation of the pathogenesis of three important protein misfolding disorders. The first, Alzheimer's disease (AD), is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease and is thought to be initiated by the aggregation of a natively unstructured peptide called amyloid beta (Abeta). We discuss methods for the characterization of the aggregation properties of Abeta in vitro and how the results of such experiments can be correlated with data from animal models of disease. We then consider another form of amyloidosis, where a systemic distribution of amyloid deposit is caused by aggregation and deposition of mutational variants of lysozyme. We describe how experiments in vitro, and more recently in vivo, have provided insights into the origins of this disease. Finally we outline the varied paradigms that have been employed in the study of the serpinopathies, and in particular, a dementia caused by neuroserpin polymerization.
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PMID:Methods and models in neurodegenerative and systemic protein aggregation diseases. 2003 26


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