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Original

Dimerisation of N-acetyl-l-tyrosine ethyl ester and Aβ peptides via formation of dityrosine

, , , , , & show all
Pages 1-9 | Received 30 Mar 2005, Published online: 07 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterised by the formation of amyloid deposits composed primarily of the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ). This peptide has been shown to bind redox active metals ions such as copper and iron, leading to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and formation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The generation of H2O2 has been linked with Aβ neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration in AD. Because of the relative stability of a tyrosyl radical, the tyrosine residue (Tyr-10) is believed to be critical to the neurotoxicity of Aβ. This residue has also been shown to be important to Aβ aggregation and amyloid formation. It is possible that the formation of an Aβ tyrosyl radical leads to increased aggregation via the formation of dityrosine as an early aggregation step, which is supported by the identification of dityrosine in amyloid plaque. The role of dityrosine formation in Aβ aggregation and neurotoxicity is as yet undetermined, partly because there are no facile methods for the synthesis of Aβ dimers containing dityrosine. Here we report the use of horseradish peroxidase and H2O2 to dimerise N-acetyl-l-tyrosine ethyl ester and apply the optimised conditions for dityrosine formation to fully unprotected Aβ peptides. We also report a simple fluorescent plate reader method for monitoring Aβ dimerisation via dityrosine formation.

Abbreviations
ATEE=

N-acetyl tyrosyl ethyl ester

AD=

Alzheimer's disease

=

Amyloid β peptide

APP=

β amyloid precursor protein

Boc=

t-Butyloxycarbonyl

DOPA=

3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine

ECL=

enhanced chemiluminescence

ESI-MS=

Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry

HFIP=

hexafluoroisopropanol

MCA=

multichannel analysis mode

MCO=

Metal catalysed oxidation

NFT=

intracellular neurofibrilar tangles

OH=

hydroxyl radical

PBS=

Phosphate buffered saline

ROS=

Reactive oxygen species

RP-HPLC=

Reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography

SDS=

sodium dodecyl sulphate

TR=

Tyrosyl radical

Abbreviations
ATEE=

N-acetyl tyrosyl ethyl ester

AD=

Alzheimer's disease

=

Amyloid β peptide

APP=

β amyloid precursor protein

Boc=

t-Butyloxycarbonyl

DOPA=

3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine

ECL=

enhanced chemiluminescence

ESI-MS=

Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry

HFIP=

hexafluoroisopropanol

MCA=

multichannel analysis mode

MCO=

Metal catalysed oxidation

NFT=

intracellular neurofibrilar tangles

OH=

hydroxyl radical

PBS=

Phosphate buffered saline

ROS=

Reactive oxygen species

RP-HPLC=

Reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography

SDS=

sodium dodecyl sulphate

TR=

Tyrosyl radical

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