• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.79-86
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• 2014

Amyloid oligomers are believed to play important causal roles in many types of amyloid-related degenerative diseases. Many different laboratories have reported amyloid oligomers that differ in size, morphology, toxicity, and method of preparation or purification, raising the question of the structural relationships among these oligomer preparations. The structural plasticity that has been reported to occur in amyloid formed from the same protein sequence indicates that it is quite possible that different oligomer preparations may represent distinct structural variants. In view of the difficulty in determining the precise structure of amyloids, conformation- and epitope-specific antibodies may provide a facile means of classifying amyloid oligomer structures. Conformation-dependent antibodies that recognize generic epitopes that are specifically associated with distinct aggregation states of many different amyloid-forming sequences indicate that there are at least two fundamentally distinct types of amyloid oligomers: fibrillar and prefibrillar oligomers. Classification of amyloid oligomers according to their underlying structures may be a more useful and rational approach than relying on differences in size and morphology.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2007

Imaging distribution of ${\beta}-amyloid$ plaques in Alzheimer's disease is very important for early and accurate diagnosis. Early trial of the ${\beta}-amyloid$ plaques includes using radiolabeled peptides which can be only applied for peripheral ${\beta}-amyloid$ plaques due to limited penetration through the blood brain barrier (BBB). Congo red or Chrysamine G derivatives were labeled with Tc-99m for imaging ${\beta}-amyloid$ plaques of Alzheimer patient's brain without success due to problem with BBB penetration. Thioflavin T derivatives gave breakthrough for ${\beta}-amyloid$ imaging in vivo, and a benzothiazole derivative [C-11]6-OH-BTA-1 brought a great success. Many other benzothiazole, benzoxazole, benzofuran, imidazopyridine, and styrylbenzene derivatives have been labeled with F-18 and I-123 to improve the imaging quality. However, [C-11]6-OH-BTA-1 still remains as the best. However, short half-life of C-11 is a limitation of wide distribution of this agent. So, it is still required to develop an Tc-99m, F-18 or I-123 labeled agent for ${\beta}-amyloid$ imaging agent.

• Multiscale and Multiphysics Mechanics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2016

Amyloid fibrils have recently been considered as an interesting material, since they exhibit the excellent mechanical properties such as elastic modulus in the order of 10 GPa, which is larger than that of other protein materials. Despite recent findings of these excellent mechanical properties for amyloid fibrils, it has not been fully understood how these excellent mechanical properties are achieved. In this work, we have studied the nanomechanical deformation behaviors and properties of amyloid fibrils such as their elastic modulus as well as fracture strength, by using atomistic simulations, particularly steered molecular dynamics simulations. Our simulation results suggest the important role of the length of amyloid fibrils in their mechanical properties such that the fracture force of amyloid fibril is increased when the fibril length decreases. This length scale effect is attributed to the rupture mechanisms of hydrogen bonds that sustain the fibril structure. Moreover, we have investigated the effect of boundary condition on the nanomechanical deformation mechanisms of amyloid fibrils. It is found that the fracture force is critically affected by boundary condition. Our study highlights the crucial role of both fibril length and boundary condition in the nanomechanical properties of amyloid fibrils.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1403-1406
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• 2003

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.121-126
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• 1993

Amyloid tumor is a tumorlike localized deposit of amyloid which is encountered occasionally in association with multiple myeloma and various chronic inflammatory diseases. This report describes a case of solitary amyloid tumor of the neck which was the presenting symptom arising in association with multiple myeloma. A 56-year-old woman complained of a palpable neck mass and fine needle aspiration was done. Multiple myeloma was diagnosed on the basis of the bone marrow biopsy and monoclonality of kappa light chain. The histologic and cytologic features of the amyloid appear to be characteristic and may allow a definitive diagnosis to be made on needle aspiration biopsy.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.190-198
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• 2007

Alzheimer's disease, a representative neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by the presence of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles accompanied by neuronal damages. b-Amyloid peptide is considered to be responsible for the formation of senile plagues that accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. There has been compelling evidence supporting that b-amyloid-induced cytotoxicity is mediated through generation of reactive oxygen species. In this study, we have investigated the possible protective effect of Rehmannia glutihosaagainst b-amyloid-induced oxidative ceil death in cultured human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. SH-SY5Y cells treated with b-amyloid underwent apoptotic death as determined by morphological features and positive in situterminal end-labeling (TUNEL staining). Rehmannia glutinosawater extract, wine, and vinegar pretreatments attenuated b-amyloid-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Rehmannia glutinosa vinegar exhibited maximum protective effect by increasing the expression of anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2. in addition to oxidative stress, b-amyloid-treatment caused nitrosative stress via marked increase in the levels of nitric oxide, which was effectively blocked by Rehmannia glutinosa. To further explore the possible molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effect of Rehmannia glutinosa, we assessed the mRNA expression of cellular antioxidant enzymes. Treatment of Rehmannia glutinosa vinegar led to up-regulation of heme oxygemase-1 and catalase. These results suggest that Rehmannia glutinosa could modulate oxidative neuronal cell death caused by b-amyloid and may have preventive or therapeutic potential in the management of Alzheimer's disease. Particularly, Rehmannia glutinosa vinegar can augment cellular antioxidant capacity, there by exhibiting higher neuroprotective potential.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.139-146
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• 1986

The characteristics of the amyloid proteins were histochemically investigated with the amyloidladen organs from bovine(15 cases), canine(1 case), feline(1 case), and artificially induced rabbit amyloidosis(1 case). The amyloid-laden organs from bovine, canine and experimental rabbit amyloidosis showed potassium-permanganate-senstive reaction, revealing complete disappearance for Congo red affinity, loss of brick-red colored fluorescence and green birefringence. From these findings, the amyloids from bovine, canine and experimentally induced rabbit amyloidosis were thought to be equivalent to amyloid protein A (AA protein). In the present feline case with amyloidosis, however, the amyloid proteins revealed potassium permanganate-resistant reaction, showing unchanged affinity for Congo red, and immunoglobulin was also deposited in the glomeruli of the kidney. From these findings, the amyloid proteins from feline case with amyloidosis were considered to be equivalent to amyloid light chain-related proteins (AL protein).

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2015

Alzheimer's disease severely compromises cognitive function. One of the mechanisms to explain the pathology of Alzheimer's disease has been the hypotheses of amyloid-pore/channel formation by complex $A{\beta}$-aggregates. Clinical studies suggested the moderate alcohol consumption can reduces probability developing neurodegenerative pathologies. A recent report explored the ability of ethanol to disrupt the generation of complex $A{\beta}$ in vitro and reduce the toxicity in two cell lines. Molecular dynamics simulations were applied to understand how ethanol blocks the aggregation of amyloid. On the other hand, the in silico modeling showed ethanol effect over the dynamics assembling for complex $A{\beta}$-aggregates mediated by break the hydrosaline bridges between Asp 23 and Lys 28, was are key element for amyloid dimerization. The amyloid pore/ channel hypothesis has been explored only in neuronal models, however recently experiments suggested the frog oocytes such an excellent model to explore the mechanism of the amyloid pore/channel hypothesis. So, the used of frog oocytes to explored the mechanism of amyloid aggregates is new, mainly for amyloid/pore hypothesis. Therefore, this experimental model is a powerful tool to explore the mechanism implicates in the Alzheimer's disease pathology and also suggests a model to prevent the Alzheimer's disease pathology.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.675-687
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• 2023

Accumulation of pathogenic amyloid-β disrupts the tight junction of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), one of its senescence-like structural alterations. In the clearance of amyloid-β, the autophagy-lysosome pathway plays the crucial role. In this context, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibits the process of autophagy and lysosomal degradation, acting as a potential therapeutic target for age-associated disorders. However, efficacy of targeting mTOR to treat age-related macular degeneration remains largely elusive. Here, we validated the therapeutic efficacy of the mTOR inhibitors, Torin and PP242, in clearing amyloid-β by inducing the autophagy-lysosome pathway in a mouse model with pathogenic amyloid-β with tight junction disruption of RPE, which is evident in dry age-related macular degeneration. High concentration of amyloid-β oligomers induced autophagy-lysosome pathway impairment accompanied by the accumulation of p62 and decreased lysosomal activity in RPE cells. However, Torin and PP242 treatment restored the lysosomal activity via activation of LAMP2 and facilitated the clearance of amyloid-β in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, clearance of amyloid-β by Torin and PP242 ameliorated the tight junction disruption of RPE in vivo. Overall, our findings suggest mTOR inhibition as a new therapeutic strategy for the restoration of tight junctions in age-related macular degeneration.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.2 s.69
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• pp.169-175
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• 2005

Resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a phytoalexin found in grape skins, peanuts, and red wine, has been reported to have a wide range of biological and pharmacological properties. $Amyloid-\beta$ deposition and senile plaque-associated astrocytes are common neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we have explored the effects of resveratrol on $amyloid-\beta-peptide-mediated$ cytotoxicity in vitro and modulation of cell growth-regulatory gene products in astroglioma C6 cells to elucidate its possible mechanism for anti-cytotoxicity. Exposure of C6 cells to $Amyloid-\beta$ resulted in dose-dependent growth inhibition and morphological changes of C6 cells, which were recovered by pre-treatment with resveratrol. The anti-proliferative effect of $amyloid-\beta$ was associated with the induction of tumor suppressor p53 and cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p21 (WAF1/CIP1) expression assessed by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis in time-dependent manner in C6 cells. In addition, the pro-apoptotic Bax expression was also up-regulated in $amyloid-\beta-treated$ C6 cells without alteration of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and $Bcl-X_L$ expression. However, pre-treatment of resveratrol significantly inhibited $amyloid-\beta-induced$ p53, p21 and Bax levels, suggesting that the modulation of p53, p21 and Bax levels could be one of the possible pathways by which resveratrol functions as anti-cytotoxic agent. Our results demonstrate that resveratrol may enhance the protection against $amyloid-\beta-induced$ cytotoxicity by promoting the survival of glial cells.