Amyloid Fibril Formation by Aβ16-22, a Seven-Residue Fragment of the Alzheimer’s β-Amyloid Peptide, and Structural Characterization by Solid State NMR

The seven-residue peptide N-acetyl-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-Glu-NH2, called Aβ16-22 and representing residues 16 through 22 of the full-length β-amyloid peptide associated with Alzheimer’s disease, is shown by electron microscopy to form highly ordered fibrils upon incubation of aqueous solutions. X-ray powder diffraction and optical birefringence measurements confirm that these are amyloid fibrils. The peptide conformation and supramolecular organization in Aβ16-22 fibrils are investigated by solid state C NMR measurements. Two-dimensional magic-angle spinning (2D MAS) exchange and constant-time double-quantum-filtered dipolar recoupling (CTDQFD) measurements indicate a β-strand conformation of the peptide backbone at the central phenylalanine. One-dimensional and twodimensional spectra of selectively and uniformly labeled samples show C NMR linewidths less than 2 ppm, demonstrating that the peptide, including amino acid sidechains, has a well ordered conformation in the fibrils. Two-dimensional C-C chemical shift correlation spectroscopy permits a nearly complete assignment of backbone and sidechain C NMR signals and indicates that the β-strand conformation extends across the entire hydrophobic segment from Leu17 through Ala21. C multiple quantum (MQ) NMR and C/N rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) measurements indicate an antiparallel organization of β-sheets in the Aβ16-22 fibrils. These results suggest that the degree of structural order at the molecular level in amyloid fibrils can approach that in peptide or protein crystals, suggest how the supramolecular organization of β-sheets in amyloid fibrils can be dependent on the peptide sequence, and illustrate the utility of solid state NMR measurements as probes of the molecular structure of amyloid fibrils. Aβ16-22 is among the shortest fibril-forming fragments of full-length β-amyloid reported to date, and hence serves as a useful model system for physical studies of amyloid fibril formation.