PIP 2 Phospholipid-Induced Aggregation of Tau Filaments Probed by Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
Résumé
The morphology and secondary structure of peptide
fibers formed by aggregation of tubulin-associated unit (Tau)
fragments (K18), in the presence of the inner cytoplasmic
membrane phosphatidylinositol component (PIP2) or heparin
sodium (HS) as cofactors, are determined with nanoscale
(<10 nm) spatial resolution. By means of tip-enhanced Raman
spectroscopy (TERS), the inclusion of PIP2 lipids in fibers is
determined based on the observation of specific C=O ester
vibration modes. Moreover, analysis of amide I and amide III
bands suggests that the parallel b-sheet secondary structure
content is lower and the random coil content is higher for fibers
grown from the PIP2 cofactor instead of HS. These observations
highlight the occurrence of some local structural differences
between these fibers. This study constitutes the first
nanoscale structural characterization of Tau/phospholipid
aggregates, which are implicated in deleterious mechanisms
on neural membranes in AlzheimerQs disease.