1
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Kalitnik A, Szefczyk M, Wojciechowska AW, Wojciechowski JW, Gąsior-Głogowska M, Olesiak-Bańska J, Kotulska M. Cytotoxic Staphylococcus aureus PSMα3 inhibits the aggregation of human insulin in vitro. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:15587-15599. [PMID: 38757742 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00669k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are extracellular short amphipathic peptides secreted by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). They play an essential role in the bacterial lifecycle, biofilm formation, and stabilisation. From the PSM family, PSMα3 has been of special interest recently due to its cytotoxicity and highly stable α-helical conformation, which also remains in its amyloid fibrils. In particular, PSMα3 fibrils were shown to be composed of self-associating "sheets" of α-helices oriented perpendicular to the fibril axis, mimicking the architecture of canonical cross-β fibrils. Therefore, they were called cross-α-fibrils. PSMα3 was synthesised and verified for identity with wild-type sequences (S. aureus). Then, using several experimental techniques, we evaluated its propensity for in vitro aggregation. According to our findings, synthetic PSMα3 (which lacks the N-terminal formyl groups found in bacteria) does not form amyloid fibrils and maintains α-helical conformation in a soluble monomeric form for several days of incubation. We also evaluated the influence of PSMα3 on human insulin fibrillation in vitro, using a variety of experimental approaches in combination with computational molecular studies. First, it was shown that PSMα3 drastically inhibits the fibrillation of human insulin. The anti-fibrillation effect of PSMα3 was concentration-dependent and required a concentration ratio of PSMα3: insulin equal to or above 1 : 100. Molecular modelling revealed that PSMα3 most likely inhibits the production of insulin primary nuclei by competing for residues involved in its dimerization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Kalitnik
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Monika Szefczyk
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Alicja W Wojciechowska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Jakub W Wojciechowski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Marlena Gąsior-Głogowska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Joanna Olesiak-Bańska
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Kotulska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
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2
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Alom SE, Kalita S, Kawa AH, Mandal B, Swaminathan R. Early events during the aggregation of Aβ 16-22-derived switch-peptides tracked using Protein Charge Transfer Spectra. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1297:342374. [PMID: 38438229 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding Aβ aggregation and inhibiting it at early stages is of utmost importance in treating Alzheimer's and other related amyloidogenic diseases. However, majority of the techniques to study Aβ aggregation mainly target the late stages; while those used to monitor early stages are either expensive, use extrinsic dyes, or do not provide information on molecular level interactions. Here, we investigate the early events of Aβ16-22(KLVFFAE) aggregation using Aβ16-22 derived switch-peptides (SwPs) through a novel label-free approach employing Protein Charge Transfer Spectra (ProCharTS). RESULTS When pH is increased from 2 to 7.2, the Aβ-derived switch peptides undergo controlled self-assembly, where the initial random coil peptides convert into β-sheet. We leveraged the intrinsic absorbance/luminescence arising from ProCharTS among growing peptide oligomers to observe the aggregation kinetics in real-time. In comparison to monomer, the lysine and glutamate headgroups in the peptide oligomer are expected to come in proximity enhancing ProCharTS intensity due to photoinduced electron transfer. With a combination of Aβ-derived switch-peptides and ProCharTS, we obtained structural insights on the early stages of Aβ-derived SwP aggregation in four unique peptides. Increase in scatter corrected ProCharTS absorbance (250-500 nm) and luminescence (320-720 nm) along with decreased mean luminescence lifetime (2.3-0.8 ns) characterize the initial stages of aggregation monitored for 1-96 h depending on the peptide. We correlated the results with Circular Dichroism (CD), 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) and Thioflavin T (ThT) measurements. SIGNIFICANCE We demonstrate ProCharTS as an intrinsic analytical probe with following advantages over other conventional methods to track aggregation: it is a label-free probe; it's intensity can be measured using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer; it is more sensitive in detecting the early molecular events in aggregation compared to ANS and ThT; and it can provide information on specific contacts made between charged headgroups of Lysine/Glutamate in the oligomer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shah Ekramul Alom
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India
| | - Sourav Kalita
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India
| | - Altaf Hussain Kawa
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India
| | - Bhubaneswar Mandal
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India
| | - Rajaram Swaminathan
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India.
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3
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Grelich-Mucha M, Bachelart T, Torbeev V, Ożga K, Berlicki Ł, Olesiak-Bańska J. Amyloid engineering - how terminal capping modifies morphology and secondary structure of supramolecular peptide aggregates. Biomater Sci 2024; 12:1590-1602. [PMID: 38323504 DOI: 10.1039/d3bm01641b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
The effects of peptide N- and C-termini on aggregation behavior have been scarcely studied. Herein, we examine (105-115) peptide fragments of transthyretin (TTR) containing various functional groups at both termini and study their impact on the morphology and the secondary structure. We synthesized TTR(105-115) peptides functionalized with α-amino (H-), N-acetyl-α-amino (Ac-) or N,N-dimethyl-α-amino (DiMe-) groups at the N-terminus, and with amide (-NH2) or carboxyl (-OH) functions at the C-terminus. We also investigated quasi-racemic mixtures by mixing the L-enantiomers with the D-enantiomer capped by H- and -NH2 groups. We observed that fibril formation is promoted by the sufficient number of hydrogen bonds at peptides' termini. Moreover, the final morphology of the aggregates can be controlled by the functional groups at the N-terminus. Remarkably, all quasi-racemic mixtures resulted in the robust formation of fibrils. Overall, this work illustrates how modifications of peptide termini may help to engineer supramolecular aggregates with a predicted morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Grelich-Mucha
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Thomas Bachelart
- École Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS), CNRS UMR 7242 Biotechnology and Cellular Signalling, University of Strasbourg, 67400 Illkirch, France
| | - Vladimir Torbeev
- École Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS), CNRS UMR 7242 Biotechnology and Cellular Signalling, University of Strasbourg, 67400 Illkirch, France
| | - Katarzyna Ożga
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Łukasz Berlicki
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Joanna Olesiak-Bańska
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
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4
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Kalitnik A, Grelich-Mucha M, Olesiak-Bańska J. Chitosan oligosaccharides inhibit the fibrillation of insulin and disassemble its preformed fibrils. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 254:127857. [PMID: 37924913 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
In the current study, we first established that chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) have significant anti-fibrillogenic and fibril-destabilising effects on bovine insulin in vitro that proportionally expand with concentration growth. The obtained data were supported by the Thioflavin T (ThT) assay, circular dichroism (CD), attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Interestingly, coincubation of insulin with COS in the ratio of 1 to 10 over 48 h at 37 °C leads to full prevention of insulin aggregation, and in the case of preformed fibrils, results in their destabilisation and disaggregation. Moreover, both a cationic polymer of allylamine (PAH) and a sulphated oligosaccharide (CROS) prepared from carrageenan had no inhibitory effect on insulin amyloid formation. Thus, we proposed that COS modulates insulin amyloid formation due to the presence of linear sugar units, the degree of polymerization, and the free amino group providing a positive charge. These findings highlight the potential implications of COS as a promising substance for the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and localised insulin-derived amyloidosis and, moreover, provide a new insight into the mechanism of the anti-diabetic and antitoxic properties of chitosan and chitosan-based agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Kalitnik
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Manuela Grelich-Mucha
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Joanna Olesiak-Bańska
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
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5
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Hajda A, Grelich-Mucha M, Rybczyński P, Ośmiałowski B, Zaleśny R, Olesiak-Bańska J. BF 2-Functionalized Benzothiazole Amyloid Markers: Effect of Donor Substituents on One- and Two-Photon Properties. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2023; 6:5676-5684. [PMID: 38060806 PMCID: PMC10731634 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.3c00815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Investigation of amyloids with the aid of fluorescence microscopy provides crucial insights into the development of numerous diseases associated with the formation of aggregates. Here, we present a series of BF2-functionalized benzothiazoles with electron-donating methoxy group(s), which are tested as amyloid fluorescent markers. We evaluate how the position of donor functional group(s) influences optical properties (fluorescence lifetime (τ) and fluorescence quantum yield (FQY)) in a solution and upon binding to amyloids. We elucidate the importance of surrounding environmental factors (hydrogen-bonding network, polarity, and viscosity) on the observed changes in FQY and evaluate how the localization of a donor influences radiative and nonradiative decay pathways. We conclude that a donor attached to the benzothiazole ring contributes to the increment of radiative decay pathways upon binding to amyloids (kr), while the donor attached to the flexible part of a molecule (with rotational freedom) contributes to a decrease in nonradiative decay pathways (knr). We find that the donor-acceptor-donor architecture allows us to obtain 58 times higher FQY of the dye upon binding to bovine insulin amyloids. Finally, we measure two-photon absorption (2PA) cross sections (σ2) of the dyes and their change upon binding by the two-photon excited fluorescence (2PEF) technique. Measurements reveal that dyes that exhibit the increase/decrease of σ2 values when transferred from highly polar solvents to CHCl3 present a similar behavior upon amyloid binding. Our 2PA experimental values are supported by quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) simulations. Despite this trend, the values of σ2 are not the same, which points out the importance of two-photon absorption measurements of amyloid-dye complexes in order to understand the performance of 2P probes upon binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata Hajda
- Faculty
of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science
and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, PL-50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Manuela Grelich-Mucha
- Faculty
of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science
and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, PL-50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Patryk Rybczyński
- Faculty
of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Gagarina Street 7, Toruń PL-87-100, Poland
| | - Borys Ośmiałowski
- Faculty
of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Gagarina Street 7, Toruń PL-87-100, Poland
| | - Robert Zaleśny
- Faculty
of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science
and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, PL-50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Joanna Olesiak-Bańska
- Faculty
of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science
and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, PL-50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
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6
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Mirón GD, Semelak JA, Grisanti L, Rodriguez A, Conti I, Stella M, Velusamy J, Seriani N, Došlić N, Rivalta I, Garavelli M, Estrin DA, Kaminski Schierle GS, González Lebrero MC, Hassanali A, Morzan UN. The carbonyl-lock mechanism underlying non-aromatic fluorescence in biological matter. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7325. [PMID: 37957206 PMCID: PMC10643446 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42874-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Challenging the basis of our chemical intuition, recent experimental evidence reveals the presence of a new type of intrinsic fluorescence in biomolecules that exists even in the absence of aromatic or electronically conjugated chemical compounds. The origin of this phenomenon has remained elusive so far. In the present study, we identify a mechanism underlying this new type of fluorescence in different biological aggregates. By employing non-adiabatic ab initio molecular dynamics simulations combined with a data-driven approach, we characterize the typical ultrafast non-radiative relaxation pathways active in non-fluorescent peptides. We show that the key vibrational mode for the non-radiative decay towards the ground state is the carbonyl elongation. Non-aromatic fluorescence appears to emerge from blocking this mode with strong local interactions such as hydrogen bonds. While we cannot rule out the existence of alternative non-aromatic fluorescence mechanisms in other systems, we demonstrate that this carbonyl-lock mechanism for trapping the excited state leads to the fluorescence yield increase observed experimentally, and set the stage for design principles to realize novel non-invasive biocompatible probes with applications in bioimaging, sensing, and biophotonics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Díaz Mirón
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía (INQUIMAE), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jonathan A Semelak
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía (INQUIMAE), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Luca Grisanti
- Division of Theoretical Physics, Ruder Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Alex Rodriguez
- Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
| | - Irene Conti
- Dipartimento di Chimica industriale "Toso Montanari", Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Martina Stella
- Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Seriani
- Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
| | - Nadja Došlić
- Division of Theoretical Physics, Ruder Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivan Rivalta
- Dipartimento di Chimica industriale "Toso Montanari", Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- ENSL, CNRS, Lyon, France
| | - Marco Garavelli
- Dipartimento di Chimica industriale "Toso Montanari", Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Dario A Estrin
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía (INQUIMAE), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Mariano C González Lebrero
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía (INQUIMAE), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ali Hassanali
- Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy.
| | - Uriel N Morzan
- Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy.
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7
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Benkowska-Biernacka D, Mucha SG, Firlej L, Formalik F, Bantignies JL, Anglaret E, Samoć M, Matczyszyn K. Strongly Emitting Folic Acid-Derived Carbon Nanodots for One- and Two-Photon Imaging of Lyotropic Myelin Figures. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023. [PMID: 37366586 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c05656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Non-invasive imaging of morphological changes in biologically relevant lipidic mesophases is essential for the understanding of membrane-mediated processes. However, its methodological aspects need to be further explored, with particular attention paid to the design of new excellent fluorescent probes. Here, we have demonstrated that bright and biocompatible folic acid-derived carbon nanodots (FA CNDs) may be successfully applied as fluorescent markers in one- and two-photon imaging of bioinspired myelin figures (MFs). Structural and optical properties of these new FA CNDs were first extensively characterized; they revealed remarkable fluorescence performance in linear and non-linear excitation regimes, justifying further applications. Then, confocal fluorescence microscopy and two-photon excited fluorescence microscopy were used to investigate a three-dimensional distribution of FA CNDs within the phospholipid-based MFs. Our results showed that FA CNDs are effective markers for imaging various forms and parts of multilamellar microstructures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Benkowska-Biernacka
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Sebastian G Mucha
- Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), UMR5221, Université de Montpellier (CNRS), 34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Lucyna Firlej
- Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), UMR5221, Université de Montpellier (CNRS), 34095 Montpellier, France
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Filip Formalik
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Micro, Nano, and Bioprocess Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Jean-Louis Bantignies
- Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), UMR5221, Université de Montpellier (CNRS), 34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Eric Anglaret
- Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), UMR5221, Université de Montpellier (CNRS), 34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Marek Samoć
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Matczyszyn
- Institute of Advanced Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
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8
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Balasco N, Diaferia C, Rosa E, Monti A, Ruvo M, Doti N, Vitagliano L. A Comprehensive Analysis of the Intrinsic Visible Fluorescence Emitted by Peptide/Protein Amyloid-like Assemblies. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24098372. [PMID: 37176084 PMCID: PMC10178990 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloid aggregation is a widespread process that involves proteins and peptides with different molecular complexity and amino acid composition. The structural motif (cross-β) underlying this supramolecular organization generates aggregates endowed with special mechanical and spectroscopic properties with huge implications in biomedical and technological fields, including emerging precision medicine. The puzzling ability of these assemblies to emit intrinsic and label-free fluorescence in regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as visible and even infrared, usually considered to be forbidden in the polypeptide chain, has attracted interest for its many implications in both basic and applied science. Despite the interest in this phenomenon, the physical basis of its origin is still poorly understood. To gain a global view of the available information on this phenomenon, we here provide an exhaustive survey of the current literature in which original data on this fluorescence have been reported. The emitting systems have been classified in terms of their molecular complexity, amino acid composition, and physical state. Information about the wavelength of the radiation used for the excitation as well as the emission range/peak has also been retrieved. The data collected here provide a picture of the complexity of this multifaceted phenomenon that could be helpful for future studies aimed at defining its structural and electronic basis and/or stimulating new applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Balasco
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council (CNR), Department of Chemistry, University of Rome Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Diaferia
- Department of Pharmacy and CIRPeB, Research Centre on Bioactive Peptides "Carlo Pedone", University of Naples "Federico II", Via Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Rosa
- Department of Pharmacy and CIRPeB, Research Centre on Bioactive Peptides "Carlo Pedone", University of Naples "Federico II", Via Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Alessandra Monti
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Menotti Ruvo
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Nunzianna Doti
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Luigi Vitagliano
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Napoli, Italy
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9
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Morzan UN, Díaz Mirón G, Grisanti L, González Lebrero MC, Kaminski Schierle GS, Hassanali A. Non-Aromatic Fluorescence in Biological Matter: The Exception or the Rule? J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:7203-7211. [PMID: 36128666 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
While in the vast majority of cases fluorescence in biological matter has been attributed to aromatic or conjugated groups, peptides associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or Huntington's, have been recently shown to display an intrinsic visible fluorescence even in the absence of aromatic residues. This has called the attention of researchers from many different fields, trying to understand the origin of this peculiar behavior and, at the same time, motivating the search for novel strategies to control the optical properties of new biophotonic materials. Today, after nearly 15 years of its discovery, there is a growing consensus about the mechanism underlying this phenomenon, namely, that electronic interactions between non-optically active molecules can result in supramolecular assemblies that are fluorescent. Despite this progress, many aspects of this phenomenon remain uncharted territory. In this Perspective, we lay down the state-of-the-art in the field highlighting the open questions from both experimental and theoretical fronts in this fascinating emerging area of non-aromatic fluorescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uriel N Morzan
- International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34151 Trieste, Italy
| | - Gonzalo Díaz Mirón
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1053 Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Luca Grisanti
- Division of Theoretical Physics, Ruđer Bos̆cković Institute, Bijenic̆ka cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mariano C González Lebrero
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1053 Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Ali Hassanali
- International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34151 Trieste, Italy
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10
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Mucha S, Piksa M, Firlej L, Krystyniak A, Różycka M, Kazana W, Pawlik KJ, Samoć M, Matczyszyn K. Non-toxic Polymeric Dots with the Strong Protein-Driven Enhancement of One- and Two-Photon Excited Emission for Sensitive and Non-destructive Albumin Sensing. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:40200-40213. [PMID: 36017993 PMCID: PMC9460497 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c08858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The need for efficient probing, sensing, and control of the bioactivity of biomolecules (e.g., albumins) has led to the engineering of new fluorescent albumins' markers fulfilling very specific chemical, physical, and biological requirements. Here, we explore acetone-derived polymer dots (PDs) as promising candidates for albumin probes, with special attention paid to their cytocompatibility, two-photon absorption properties, and strong ability to non-destructively interact with serum albumins. The PDs show no cytotoxicity and exhibit high photostability. Their pronounced green fluorescence is observed upon both one-photon excitation (OPE) and two-photon excitation (TPE). Our studies show that both OPE and TPE emission responses of PDs are proteinaceous environment-sensitive. The proteins appear to constitute a matrix for the dispersion of fluorescent PDs, limiting both their aggregation and interactions with the aqueous environment. It results in a large enhancement of PD fluorescence. Meanwhile, the PDs do not interfere with the secondary protein structures of albumins, nor do they induce their aggregation, enabling the PD candidates to be good nanomarkers for non-destructive probing and sensing of albumins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian
G. Mucha
- Laboratoire
Charles Coulomb, UMR5221, Université
de Montpellier (CNRS), Montpellier 34095, France
| | - Marta Piksa
- Ludwik
Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw 53-114, Poland
| | - Lucyna Firlej
- Laboratoire
Charles Coulomb, UMR5221, Université
de Montpellier (CNRS), Montpellier 34095, France
| | - Agnieszka Krystyniak
- Institute
of Advanced Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw 50-370, Poland
| | - Mirosława
O. Różycka
- Department
of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw 50-370, Poland
| | - Wioletta Kazana
- Ludwik
Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw 53-114, Poland
| | - Krzysztof J. Pawlik
- Ludwik
Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw 53-114, Poland
| | - Marek Samoć
- Institute
of Advanced Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw 50-370, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Matczyszyn
- Institute
of Advanced Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw 50-370, Poland
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