Frustrated peptide chains at the fibril tip control the kinetics of growth of amyloid-β fibrils

Significance

Amyloid fibril growth is a probable key step in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis, and growing fibril tips may represent the “Achilles’ heel” of the process. We combine thermodynamic and kinetic experiments at the single-fibril level with molecular modeling, exclusively focused on events at the fibril tip. The experiments provide strong evidence for the role of frustrated intermediate states in fibrillization. The frustrated intermediates provide fresh targets in the search for potential drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.

Abstract

Amyloid fibrillization is an exceedingly complex process in which incoming peptide chains bind to the fibril while concertedly folding. The coupling between folding and binding is not fully understood. We explore the molecular pathways of association of Aβ40 monomers to fibril tips by combining time-resolved in situ scanning probe microscopy with molecular modeling. The comparison between experimental and simulation results shows that a complex supported by nonnative contacts is present in the equilibrium structure of the fibril tip and impedes fibril growth in a supersaturated solution. The unraveling of this frustrated state determines the rate of fibril growth. The kinetics of growth of freshly cut fibrils, in which the bulk fibril structure persists at the tip, complemented by molecular simulations, indicate that this frustrated complex comprises three or four monomers in nonnative conformations and likely is contained on the top of a single stack of peptide chains in the fibril structure. This pathway of fibril growth strongly deviates from the common view that the conformational transformation of each captured peptide chain is templated by the previously arrived peptide. The insights into the ensemble structure of the frustrated complex may guide the search for suppressors of Aβ fibrillization. The uncovered dynamics of coupled structuring and assembly during fibril growth are more complex than during the folding of most globular proteins, as they involve the collective motions of several peptide chains that are not guided by a funneled energy landscape.