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Wolfgang Hoyer

Bio: Wolfgang Hoyer is an academic researcher from University of Düsseldorf. The author has contributed to research in topics: Fibril & Protein aggregation. The author has an hindex of 25, co-authored 66 publications receiving 4726 citations. Previous affiliations of Wolfgang Hoyer include University of Zurich & University of Cambridge.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
06 Oct 2017-Science
TL;DR: The complete structure of an Aβ(1–42) fibril composed of two intertwined protofilaments determined by cryo–electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and provides a structural basis for understanding the effect of several disease-causing and disease-preventing mutations.
Abstract: Amyloids are implicated in neurodegenerative diseases. Fibrillar aggregates of the amyloid-β protein (Aβ) are the main component of the senile plaques found in brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients. We present the structure of an Aβ(1–42) fibril composed of two intertwined protofilaments determined by cryo–electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to 4.0-angstrom resolution, complemented by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. The backbone of all 42 residues and nearly all side chains are well resolved in the EM density map, including the entire N terminus, which is part of the cross-β structure resulting in an overall “LS”-shaped topology of individual subunits. The dimer interface protects the hydrophobic C termini from the solvent. The characteristic staggering of the nonplanar subunits results in markedly different fibril ends, termed “groove” and “ridge,” leading to different binding pathways on both fibril ends, which has implications for fibril growth.

724 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Stabilization of the native, autoinhibitory structure of alphaS constitutes a potential strategy for reducing or inhibiting oligomerization and aggregation in Parkinson's disease.
Abstract: In idiopathic Parkinson's disease, intracytoplasmic neuronal inclusions (Lewy bodies) containing aggregates of the protein α-synuclein (αS) are deposited in the pigmented nuclei of the brainstem. The mechanisms underlying the structural transition of innocuous, presumably natively unfolded, αS to neurotoxic forms are largely unknown. Using paramagnetic relaxation enhancement and NMR dipolar couplings, we show that monomeric αS assumes conformations that are stabilized by long-range interactions and act to inhibit oligomerization and aggregation. The autoinhibitory conformations fluctuate in the range of nanoseconds to micro-seconds corresponding to the time scale of secondary structure formation during folding. Polyamine binding and/or temperature increase, conditions that induce aggregation in vitro, release this inherent tertiary structure, leading to a completely unfolded conformation that associates readily. Stabilization of the native, autoinhibitory structure of αS constitutes a potential strategy for reducing or inhibiting oligomerization and aggregation in Parkinson's disease.

711 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The structure and dynamics of full-length AS fibrils by high-resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy are investigated to provide insight into the amyloid fibrilructure and dynamics with residue-specific resolution.
Abstract: The 140-residue protein α-synuclein (AS) is able to form amyloid fibrils and as such is the main component of protein inclusions involved in Parkinson's disease. We have investigated the structure and dynamics of full-length AS fibrils by high-resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Homonuclear and heteronuclear 2D and 3D spectra of fibrils grown from uniformly 13C/15N-labeled AS and AS reverse-labeled for two of the most abundant amino acids, K and V, were analyzed. 13C and 15N signals exhibited linewidths of <0.7 ppm. Sequential assignments were obtained for 48 residues in the hydrophobic core region. We identified two different types of fibrils displaying chemical-shift differences of up to 13 ppm in the 15N dimension and up to 5 ppm for backbone and side-chain 13C chemical shifts. EM studies suggested that molecular structure is correlated with fibril morphology. Investigation of the secondary structure revealed that most amino acids of the core region belong to β-strands with similar torsion angles in both conformations. Selection of regions with different mobility indicated the existence of monomers in the sample and allowed the identification of mobile segments of the protein within the fibril in the presence of monomeric protein. At least 35 C-terminal residues were mobile and lacked a defined secondary structure, whereas the N terminus was rigid starting from residue 22. Our findings agree well with the overall picture obtained with other methods and provide insight into the amyloid fibril structure and dynamics with residue-specific resolution. EM protein structure amyloid Parkinson's disease protein aggregation

598 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the morphology of a-synuclein aggregates is highly sensitive to solution conditions, implying that the fibrillar state does not necessarily represent the predominant or most functionally significant aggregated state under physiological conditions.

484 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The selected Aβ conformation allows us to suggest a structural mechanism for amyloid formation based on soluble oligomeric hairpin intermediates, and ZAβ3 acts as a stoichiometric inhibitor of Aβ fibrillation.
Abstract: According to the amyloid hypothesis, the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is triggered by the oligomerization and aggregation of the amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide into protein plaques. Formation of the potentially toxic oligomeric and fibrillar Abeta assemblies is accompanied by a conformational change toward a high content of beta-structure. Here, we report the solution structure of Abeta(1-40) in complex with the phage-display selected affibody protein Z(Abeta3), a binding protein of nanomolar affinity. Bound Abeta(1-40) features a beta-hairpin comprising residues 17-36, providing the first high-resolution structure of Abeta in beta conformation. The positions of the secondary structure elements strongly resemble those observed for fibrillar Abeta. Z(Abeta3) stabilizes the beta-sheet by extending it intermolecularly and by burying both of the mostly nonpolar faces of the Abeta hairpin within a large hydrophobic tunnel-like cavity. Consequently, Z(Abeta3) acts as a stoichiometric inhibitor of Abeta fibrillation. The selected Abeta conformation allows us to suggest a structural mechanism for amyloid formation based on soluble oligomeric hairpin intermediates.

400 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The relative importance of the common main-chain and side-chain interactions in determining the propensities of proteins to aggregate is discussed and some of the evidence that the oligomeric fibril precursors are the primary origins of pathological behavior is described.
Abstract: Peptides or proteins convert under some conditions from their soluble forms into highly ordered fibrillar aggregates. Such transitions can give rise to pathological conditions ranging from neurodegenerative disorders to systemic amyloidoses. In this review, we identify the diseases known to be associated with formation of fibrillar aggregates and the specific peptides and proteins involved in each case. We describe, in addition, that living organisms can take advantage of the inherent ability of proteins to form such structures to generate novel and diverse biological functions. We review recent advances toward the elucidation of the structures of amyloid fibrils and the mechanisms of their formation at a molecular level. Finally, we discuss the relative importance of the common main-chain and side-chain interactions in determining the propensities of proteins to aggregate and describe some of the evidence that the oligomeric fibril precursors are the primary origins of pathological behavior.

5,897 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The brain is a singular organ of unique biological complexity that serves as the command center for cognitive and motor function and has requirements for the highest concentrations of metal ions in the body and the highest per-weight consumption of body oxygen.
Abstract: The brain is a singular organ of unique biological complexity that serves as the command center for cognitive and motor function. As such, this specialized system also possesses a unique chemical composition and reactivity at the molecular level. In this regard, two vital distinguishing features of the brain are its requirements for the highest concentrations of metal ions in the body and the highest per-weight consumption of body oxygen. In humans, the brain accounts for only 2% of total body mass but consumes 20% of the oxygen that is taken in through respiration. As a consequence of high oxygen demand and cell complexity, distinctly high metal levels pervade all regions of the brain and central nervous system. Structural roles for metal ions in the brain and the body include the stabilization of biomolecules in static (e.g., Mg2+ for nucleic acid folds, Zn2+ in zinc-finger transcription factors) or dynamic (e.g., Na+ and K+ in ion channels, Ca2+ in neuronal cell signaling) modes, and catalytic roles for brain metal ions are also numerous and often of special demand.

1,814 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The ability to form the amyloid state is more general than previously imagined, and its study can provide unique insights into the nature of the functional forms of peptides and proteins, as well as understanding the means by which protein homeostasis can be maintained and protein metastasis avoided.
Abstract: The phenomenon of protein aggregation and amyloid formation has become the subject of rapidly increasing research activities across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Such activities have been stimulated by the association of amyloid deposition with a range of debilitating medical disorders, from Alzheimer's disease to type II diabetes, many of which are major threats to human health and welfare in the modern world. It has become clear, however, that the ability to form the amyloid state is more general than previously imagined, and that its study can provide unique insights into the nature of the functional forms of peptides and proteins, as well as understanding the means by which protein homeostasis can be maintained and protein metastasis avoided.

1,758 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review describes this field of science with particular reference to the advances that have been made over the last decade in understanding of its fundamental nature and consequences and shows evidence that a complex proteostasis network actively combats protein aggregation.
Abstract: Peptides and proteins have been found to possess an inherent tendency to convert from their native functional states into intractable amyloid aggregates. This phenomenon is associated with a range of increasingly common human disorders, including Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases, type II diabetes, and a number of systemic amyloidoses. In this review, we describe this field of science with particular reference to the advances that have been made over the last decade in our understanding of its fundamental nature and consequences. We list the proteins that are known to be deposited as amyloid or other types of aggregates in human tissues and the disorders with which they are associated, as well as the proteins that exploit the amyloid motif to play specific functional roles in humans. In addition, we summarize the genetic factors that have provided insight into the mechanisms of disease onset. We describe recent advances in our knowledge of the structures of amyloid fibrils and their oligomeric precursors a...

1,727 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
16 Mar 2012-Cell
TL;DR: This work summarizes studies of structure and nucleation of amyloid and relate these to observations on amyloids polymorphism, prion strains, coaggregation of pathogenic proteins in tissues, and mechanisms of toxicity and transmissibility.

1,487 citations