The amyloid peptides Aβ40 and Aβ42 of Alzheimer's disease are thought to contribute differentially to the disease process. Although Aβ42 seems more pathogenic than Aβ40, the reason for this is not well understood. We show here that small alterations in the Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio dramatically affect the biophysical and biological properties of the Aβ mixtures reflected in their aggregation kinetics, the morphology of the resulting amyloid fibrils and synaptic function tested in vitro and in vivo . A minor increase in the Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio stabilizes toxic oligomeric species with intermediate conformations. The initial toxic impact of these Aβ species is synaptic in nature, but this can spread into the cells leading to neuronal cell death. The fact that the relative ratio of Aβ peptides is more crucial than the absolute amounts of peptides for the induction of neurotoxic conformations has important implications for anti‐amyloid therapy. Our work also suggests the dynamic nature of the equilibrium between toxic and non‐toxic intermediates.

The empirical force field Fold-X was developed previously to allow rapid free energy calculations in proteins. Here, we present an enhanced version of the force field allowing prediction of the position of structural water molecules and metal ions, together called single atom ligands. Fold-X picks up 76% of water molecules found to interact with two or more polar atoms of proteins in high-resolution crystal structures and predicts their position to within 0.8 Å on average. The prediction of metal ion-binding sites have success rates between 90% and 97% depending on the metal, with an overall standard deviation on the position of binding of 0.3-0.6 Å. The following metals were included in the force field: Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Cu²⁺. As a result, the current version of Fold-X can accurately decorate a protein structure with biologically important ions and water molecules. Additionally, the free energy of binding of Ca²⁺and Zn²⁺(i.e., the natural logarithm of the dissociation constant) and its dependence on ionic strength correlate reasonably well with the experimental data available in the literature, allowing one to discriminate between high- and low-affinity binding sites. Importantly, the accuracy of the energy prediction presented here is sufficient to efficiently discriminate between Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Zn²⁺binding.

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α-Synuclein misfolding and aggregation is a hallmark in Parkinson’s disease and in several other neurodegenerative diseases known as synucleinopathies. The toxic properties of α-synuclein are conserved from yeast to man, but the precise underpinnings of the cellular pathologies associated are still elusive, complicating the development of effective therapeutic strategies. Combining molecular genetics with target-based approaches, we established that glycation, an unavoidable age-associated post-translational modification, enhanced α-synuclein toxicity in vitro and in vivo, in Drosophila and in mice. Glycation affected primarily the N-terminal region of α-synuclein, reducing membrane binding, impaired the clearance of α-synuclein, and promoted the accumulation of toxic oligomers that impaired neuronal synaptic transmission. Strikingly, using glycation inhibitors, we demonstrated that normal clearance of α-synuclein was re-established, aggregation was reduced, and motor phenotypes in Drosophila were alleviated. Altogether, our study demonstrates glycation constitutes a novel drug target that can be explored in synucleinopathies as well as in other neurodegenerative conditions.

Self-assembling amyloid-like peptides and proteins give rise to promising biomaterials with potential applications in many fields. Amyloid structures are formed by the process of molecular recognition and self-assembly, wherein a peptide or protein monomer spontaneously self-associates into dimers and oligomers and subsequently into supramolecular aggregates, finally resulting in condensed fibrils. Mature amyloid fibrils possess a quasi-crystalline structure featuring a characteristic fiber diffraction pattern and have well-defined properties, in contrast to many amorphous protein aggregates that arise when proteins misfold. Core sequences of four to seven amino acids have been identified within natural amyloid proteins. They are capable to form amyloid fibers and fibrils and have been used as amyloid model structures, simplifying the investigations on amyloid structures due to their small size. Recent studies have highlighted the use of self-assembled amyloid-based fibers as nanomaterials. Here, we discuss the latest advances and the major challenges in developing amyloids for future applications in nanotechnology and nanomedicine, with the focus on development of sensors to study protein–ligand interactions.