Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2016, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (2): 172-177.doi: 10.1007/s40242-016-5347-8

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Studies on the Interaction Between Vanillin and β-Amyloid Protein via Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy

SONG Shengmei1,2, MA Xuewen1, ZHOU Yehong1, XU Maotian2, SHUANG Shaomin1, DONG Chuan1   

  1. 1. Institute of Environmental Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, P. R. China;
    2. Key Laboratory of Biomolecular Recognition and Sensing of Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, P. R. China
  • Received:2015-09-08 Revised:2015-12-18 Online:2016-04-01 Published:2016-01-24
  • Contact: DONG Chuan E-mail:dc@sxu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21205076, 21175086), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China(No.2013M541203) and the Hundred-Talent Project of Shanxi Province, China.

Abstract:

β-Amyloid(Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary lesions in the brain are markers of Alzheimer's disease(AD). The ability to safely decrease Aβ concentrations is potentially important as a preventive strategy for AD. The interactions between vanillin and Aβ polypeptide were investigated via fluorescence spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy(AFM). The results of fluorescence and synchronous spectroscopies illustrate that the intrinsic fluorescence of tyrosine(Tyr) residues in Aβ1-42 aggregates can be quenched strongly upon the formation of vanillin-Aβ1-42 complex. Thioflavine T(ThT)-induced fluorescence changes indicated that Aβ1-42 aggregates could be disaggregated by vanillin, and the AFM images of Aβ1-42 enunciated the depolymerization of Aβ1-42 aggregates by vanillin in a dose-dependent manner. Vanillin may be a potential pharmacological agent for the treatment of AD.

Key words: β-Amyloid fibril, Vanillin, Interaction, Fluorescence spectroscopy, Atomic force microscopy