Distinct Membrane Disruption Pathways Are Induced by 40-Residue β-Amyloid Peptides

Cellular membrane disruption induced by beta-amyloid (A beta) peptides has been considered one of the major pathological mechanisms for Alzheimer disease. Mechanistic studies of the membrane disruption process at a high-resolution level, on the other hand, are hindered by the co-existence of multiple possible pathways, even in simplified model systems such as the phospholipid liposome. Therefore, separation of these pathways is crucial to achieve an in-depth understanding of theA beta-induced membrane disruption process. This study, which utilized a combination of multiple biophysical techniques, shows that the peptide-to-lipid (P:L) molar ratio is an important factor that regulates the selection of dominant membrane disruption pathways in the presence of 40-residue A beta peptides in liposomes. Three distinct pathways (fibrillation with membrane content leakage, vesicle fusion, and lipid uptake through a temporarily stable ionic channel) become dominant in model liposome systems under specific conditions. These individual systems are characterized by both the initial states of A beta peptides and the P:L molar ratio. Our results demonstrated the possibility to generate simplified A beta-membrane model systems with a homogeneous membrane disruption pathway, which will benefit high-resolution mechanistic studies in the future. Fundamentally, the possibility of pathway selection controlled by P:L suggests that the driving forces for A beta aggregation and A beta-membrane interactions may be similar at the molecular level.