Structural Reorganization Mechanism of the Aβ42 Fibril Mediated by N-Substituted Oligopyrrolamide ADH-353

The inhibition of Amyloid-β (Aβ) fibrillation and clearance of Aβ aggregates have emerged as a potential pharmacological strategy to alleviate Aβ aggregate-induced neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Maity et al. shortlisted ADH-353 from a small library of positively charged N-substituted oligopyrrolamides for its notable ability to inhibit Aβ fibrillation, disintegrate intracellular cytotoxic Aβ oligomers, and alleviate Aβ-induced cytotoxicity in the SH-SY5Y and N2a cells. However, the molecular mechanism through which ADH-353 interacts with the Aβ₄₂ fibrils, leading to their disruption and subsequent clearance, remains unclear. Thus, a detailed molecular mechanism underlying the disruption of neurotoxic Aβ₄₂ fibrils (PDB ID 2NAO) by ADH-353 has been illuminated in this work using molecular dynamics simulations. Interestingly, conformational snapshots during simulation depicted the shortening and disappearance of β-strands and the emergence of a helix conformation, indicating a loss of the well-organized β-sheet-rich structure of the disease-relevant Aβ₄₂ fibril on the incorporation of ADH-353. ADH-353 binds strongly to the Aβ₄₂ fibril (ΔG_binding= -142.91 ± 1.61 kcal/mol) with a notable contribution from the electrostatic interactions between positively charged N-propylamine side chains of ADH-353 with the glutamic (Glu3, Glu11, and Glu22) and aspartic (Asp7 and Asp23) acid residues of the Aβ₄₂ fibril. This aligns well with heteronuclear single quantum coherence NMR studies, which depict that the binding of ADH-353 with the Aβ peptide is driven by electrostatic and hydrophobic contacts. Furthermore, a noteworthy decrease in the binding affinity of Aβ₄₂ fibril chains on the incorporation of ADH-353 indicates the weakening of interchain interactions leading to the disruption of the double-horseshoe conformation of the Aβ₄₂ fibril. The illumination of key interactions responsible for the destabilization of the Aβ₄₂ fibril by ADH-353 in this work will greatly aid in designing new chemical scaffolds with enhanced efficacy for the clearance of Aβ aggregates in AD.

Alzheimer’s disease; Aβ fibril disassembly; amyloid-β; conformational transition; molecular dynamics; neurotoxic oligomers.