title: β-Amyloid amorphous aggregates induced by the small natural molecule ferulic acid.
abstract: There is an emerging interest in small natural molecules for their potential therapeutic use in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ferulic acid (FA), an antioxidant phenolic compound present in fruit and vegetables, has been proposed as an inhibitor of beta amyloid (Aβ) pathological aggregation. Using fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electrophoresis techniques, chromatographic analysis, and confocal microscopy, we investigated the effects of FA in the early stages of Aβ fibrillogenesis in vitro. Our results show that FA interacts promptly with Aβ monomers/oligomers, interfering since the beginning with its self-assembly and finally forming amorphous aggregates more prone to destabilization. These findings highlight the molecular basis underlying FA antiamyloidogenic activity in AD.
authors.affiliation: Istituto dei Composti Organo-Metallici, ‡Istituto di Biofisica, and §Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR , U.O. Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bramanti
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fulgentini
authors.forename: Ranieri
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bizzarri
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lenci
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sgarbossa
mesh_terms: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C078592:amyloid beta-protein (1-40); C004999:ferulic acid