Effect of carbonaceous ultrafine particles on the structure and oligomerization of Aβ42 peptide
Kaumbekova S. Amouei Torkmahalleh M. Umezawa M. Wang Y. Shah D.
15 April 2023Elsevier Ltd
Environmental Pollution
2023#323
The impact of pervasive air pollutants on human health is a growing concern in scientific communities. Among different air pollutants, ultrafine particles (UFPs; with aerodynamic diameter <100 nm) might pass through biological barriers and have a severe impact on human health, including early progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers disease (AD). A significant fraction of UFPs consists of carbonaceous compounds, composed of elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC). While in-vivo experimental studies showed the neurotoxicity of typical OC and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the molecular interactions involved in the progression of AD remain unclear. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the impact of carbonaceous UFPs on the structure of the Aβ42 monomer and the oligomerization of four Aβ42 peptides, associated with the development of AD. For the simulations, a fullerene (C60) was used for the modeling of EC, while benzo [a]pyrene (B[a]P) was used for the modeling of OC. The results revealed that the presence of C60 accelerated the tetramerization of Aβ42 peptides by 2.5 times, while C60/B[a]P promoted the unfolding of the peptide monomer showing the strongest interactions with the Aβ42 monomer. Similarly, C60/4B[a]P decreased the number of helices in the secondary structure of the peptide monomer by 60%. The simplified UFP models in this study, promoted the early aggregation of peptides to dimers, suggesting the progression of AD.
Alzheimers diseases , Amyloid beta peptide , Carbonaceous ultrafine particles , Environmental nanotoxicology , Oligomerization , Protein structure
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr 53, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, 60612, IL, United States
Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika, Tokyo, 125-8585, Japan
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Department of Materials Science and Technology
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026