Cholesterol inhibits the insertion of the Alzheimer’s peptide Aβ(25–35) in lipid bilayers

Abstract

The physiological relationship between brain cholesterol content and the action of amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a highly controversially discussed topic. Evidences for modulations of the Abeta/membrane interaction induced by plasma membrane cholesterol have already been observed. We have recently reported that Abeta(25-35) is capable of inserting in lipid membranes and perturbing their structure. Applying neutron diffraction and selective deuteration, we now demonstrate that cholesterol alters, at the molecular level, the capability of Abeta(25-35) to penetrate into the lipid bilayers; in particular, a molar weight content of 20% of cholesterol hinders the intercalation of monomeric Abeta(25-35) completely. At very low cholesterol content (about 1% molar weight) the location of the C-terminal part of Abeta(25-35) has been unequivocally established in the hydrocarbon region of the membrane, in agreement with our previous results on pure phospholipids membrane. These results link a structural property to a physiological and functional behavior and point to a therapeutical approach to prevent the AD by modulation of membrane properties.