Kinetics of Fibril Formation of Bovine κ-Casein Indicate a Conformational Rearrangement as a Critical Step in the Process

Archive ouverte

Leonil, Joelle | Henry, Gwénaële | Jouanneau, Diane | Delage, Marie-Madeleine | Forge, Vincent | Putaux, Jean-Luc

Edité par CCSD ; Elsevier -

International audience. S-carboxymethylated (SCM) κ-casein forms in vitro fibrils that display several characteristics of amyloid fibrils, although the protein is unrelated to amyloid diseases. In order to get insight into the processes that prevent the formation of amyloid fibrils made of κ-caseins in milk, we have characterized in detail the reaction and the roles of its possible effectors: glycosylation and other caseins. Given that native κ-casein occurs as a heterogeneous mixture of carbohydrate-free and carbohydrate-containing chains, kinetics of fibril formation were performed on purified glycosylated and unglycosylated SCM κ-caseins using the fluorescent dye thioflavin T in conjunction with transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for morphological and structural analyses. Both unglycosylated and glycosylated SCM κ-caseins have the ability to fibrillate. Kinetic data indicate that the fibril formation rate increases with SCM κ-casein concentration but reaches a plateau at high concentrations, for both the unglycosylated and glycosylated forms. Therefore, a conformational rearrangement is the rate-limiting step in fibril growth of SCM κ-casein. Transmission electron microscopy images indicate the presence of 10- to 12-nm spherical particles prior to the appearance of amyloid structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra reveal a conformational change within these micellar aggregates during the fibrillation. Fibrils are helical ribbons with a pitch of about 120–130 nm and a width of 10–12 nm. Taken together, these findings suggest a model of aggregation during which the SCM κ-casein monomer is in rapid equilibrium with a micellar aggregate that subsequently undergoes a conformational rearrangement into a more organized species. These micelles assemble and this leads to the growing of amyloid fibrils. Addition of αs1-and β-caseins decreases the growth rate of fibrils. Their main effect was on the elongation rate, which became close to that of the limiting conformation change, leading to the appearance of a lag phase at the beginning of the kinetics.

Consulter en ligne

Suggestions

Du même auteur

Investigation at Residue Level of the Early Steps during the Assembly of Two Proteins into Supramolecular Objects

Archive ouverte | Salvatore, Delphine B | CCSD

International audience. Understanding the driving forces governing protein assembly requires the characterization of interactions at molecular level. We focus on two homologous oppositely charged proteins, lysozyme ...

Environnement minéral et activités enzymatiques

Archive ouverte | Leonil, Joelle | CCSD

International audience. Les minéraux jouent un rôle déterminant dans les caractéristiques physicochimiques du lait et conditionnent, pour une part importante, ses propriétés et son aptitude à la transformation. S'ap...

Propriétés nutritionnelles des protéines du lait

Archive ouverte | Leonil, Joelle | CCSD

Confirmant une hypothèse avancée depuis longtemps, les travaux de S. Mahé, Y. Boirie et B. Beaufrère à la fin des années quatre dix ont été décisifs pour démontrer l’impact de la nature, de la structure des protéines sur leur biod...

Chargement des enrichissements...