Crocus-derived compounds alter the aggregation pathway of Alzheimer’s Disease - associated beta amyloid protein
Nikolaos Stavros Koulakiotis, Pasi Purhonen, Evagelos Gikas, Hans Hebert, Anthony Tsarbopoulos
Abstract
Abstract Natural products have played a dominant role in the discovery of lead compounds for the development of drugs aimed at the treatment of human diseases. This electrospray ionization-ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (ESI-IMS-MS)—based study demonstrates that dietary antioxidants, isolated components from the stigmas of saffron ( Crocus sativus L.) may be effective in inhibiting Aβ fibrillogenesis, a neuropathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This study reveals a substantial alteration in the monomer/oligomer distribution of Aβ 1-40, concomitant with re-direction of fibril formation, induced by the natural product interaction. These alterations on the Aβ 1-40 aggregation pathway are most prominent for trans-crocin-4 (TC4). Use of ESI-IMS-MS, electron microscopy alongside Thioflavin-T kinetics, and the interpretation of 3-dimensional Driftscope plots indicate a correlation of these monomer/oligomer distribution changes with alterations to Aβ 1-40 amyloid formation. The latter could prove instrumental in the development of novel aggregation inhibitors for the prevention, or treatment of AD.