Department of Biochemistry, Center for Structural Biology and Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232 USA.
Science. 2012 Jun 1;336(6085):1168-71. doi: 10.1126/science.1219988.
C99 is the transmembrane carboxyl-terminal domain of the amyloid precursor protein that is cleaved by γ-secretase to release the amyloid-β polypeptides, which are associated with Alzheimer's disease. Nuclear magnetic resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy show that the extracellular amino terminus of C99 includes a surface-embedded "N-helix" followed by a short "N-loop" connecting to the transmembrane domain (TMD). The TMD is a flexibly curved α helix, making it well suited for processive cleavage by γ-secretase. Titration of C99 reveals a binding site for cholesterol, providing mechanistic insight into how cholesterol promotes amyloidogenesis. Membrane-buried GXXXG motifs (G, Gly; X, any amino acid), which have an established role in oligomerization, were also shown to play a key role in cholesterol binding. The structure and cholesterol binding properties of C99 may aid in the design of Alzheimer's therapeutics.
C99 是淀粉样前体蛋白的跨膜羧基末端结构域,可被 γ-分泌酶切割,释放出与阿尔茨海默病相关的淀粉样-β 多肽。核磁共振和电子顺磁共振波谱显示,C99 的细胞外氨基末端包含一个表面嵌入的“N-螺旋”,随后是一个短的“N-环”连接到跨膜结构域(TMD)。TMD 是一个灵活弯曲的α螺旋,非常适合 γ-分泌酶的连续切割。C99 的滴定显示出胆固醇的结合位点,为胆固醇促进淀粉样蛋白形成的机制提供了深入的了解。在寡聚化中具有既定作用的膜埋 GXXXG 基序(G,甘氨酸;X,任何氨基酸)也被证明在胆固醇结合中起关键作用。C99 的结构和胆固醇结合特性可能有助于阿尔茨海默病治疗药物的设计。