Molecular modulation of human α7 nicotinic receptor by amyloid-β peptides
- Lasala, Matías Marcelo
- Fabiani, Camila
- Corradi, Jeremias
- Antollini, Silvia Susana
- Bouzat, Cecilia Beatriz
DOIAbstract
Amyloid β peptide (Aβ) is a key player in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is the primary component of senile plaques in AD patients and is also found in soluble forms. Cholinergic activity mediated by α7 nicotinic receptors has been shown to be affected by Aβ soluble forms. To shed light into the molecular mechanism of this effect, we explored the direct actions of oligomeric Aβ 140 and Aβ 142 on human α7 by fluorescence spectroscopy and single-channel recordings. Fluorescence measurements using the conformational sensitive probe crystal violet (CrV) revealed that in the presence of Aβ α7 undergoes concentration-dependent conformational changes. Exposure of α7 to 100 pM Aβ changes CrV K D towards that of the desensitized sta...