Aβ1-16 Conformational Changes Induced by Heavy Metals, Antioxidants, and Corn Zeins: CD, AFM, SEM, and FT-IR Studies

摘要

Amyloid-beta (known also as Aβ or A-beta or beta-amyloid) is a peptide of 36-43 amino acids that appears to be the main constituent of amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The transformation process from α-helix to β-sheet structures appears to be one of the major factors in the genesis and evolution of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases such as AD, Parkinson's disease (PD), and several prion diseases. Metal-based reactions of some polypeptides and proteins are considered as a common denominator for neurodegenerative diseases (Figure 1). Amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregates are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and may be promoted by the trace amounts of metal ions like aluminium, iron, zinc or copper. For example, copper ions cause the peptide aggregation to a great extent and highly increase the neurotoxicity exhibited by Aβ1-40 in cell culture.