Rational design of amyloid β peptide–binding proteins: Pseudo-Aβ β-sheet surface presented in green fluorescent protein binds tightly and preferentially to structured Aβ

Some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease are caused by protein misfolding. In AD, amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) is thought to be a toxic agent by self-assembling into a variety of aggregates involving soluble oligomeric intermediates and amyloid fibrils. Here, we have designed several green fluorescent protein (GFP) variants that contain pseudo-Aβ β-sheet surfaces and evaluated their abilities to bind to Aβ and inhibit Aβ oligomerization. Two GFP variants P13H and AP93Q bound tightly to Aβ, K_d = 260 nM and K_d = 420 nM, respectively. Moreover, P13H and AP93Q were capable of efficiently suppressing the generation of toxic Aβ oligomers as shown by a cell viability assay. By combining the P13H and AP93Q mutations, a super variant SFAB4 comprising four strands of Aβ-derived sequences was designed and bound more tightly to Aβ (K_d = 100 nM) than those having only two pseudo-Aβ strands. The SFAB4 protein preferentially recognized the soluble oligomeric intermediates of Aβ more than both unstructured monomer and mature amyloid fibrils. Thus, the design strategy for embedding pseudo-Aβ β-sheet structures onto a protein surface arranged in the β-barrel structure is useful to construct molecules capable of binding tightly to Aβ and inhibiting its aggregation. This strategy may provide implication for the diagnostic and therapeutic development in the treatment of AD. Proteins 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.