Controlling polymerization of β-amyloid and prion-derived peptides with synthetic small molecule ligands

Abstract

The Alzheimer β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) and a fragment of the prion protein have the capacity of forming amyloid-like fibrils when incubated under physiological conditions in vitro. Here we show that a small amyloid ligand, RO-47-1816/001, enhances this process several-fold by binding to amyloid molecules and apparently promote formation of the peptide-to-peptide bonds that join the monomers of the amyloid fibrils. This effect could be antagonized by other ligands, including analogues of R0-47-1816/001, as well as the structurally unrelated ligand Congo red. Analogues of R0-47-1816/001 with low affinity for amyloid did not display any antagonistic effect. In conclusion, these data suggest that synthetic molecules, and possibly also small natural substances present in the brain, may act in a chaperone-like fashion, promoting Aβ polymerization and growth of amyloid fibrils in vitro and possibly also in vivo. Furthermore, we demonstrate that small organic molecules can be used to inhibit the action of amyloid-enhancing compounds.