Basic equations in statics and kinetics of protein polymerization and the mechanism of the formation and dissociation of amyloid fibrils revealed by pressure perturbation

Abstract

Studies of the pressure-dissociation of several amyloid or amyloid-like fibrils have shown that the fibril state is considerably voluminous. Quantitative characterization of the protein fibrillation reaction with respect to volumetric parameters is necessary to elucidate mechanisms of amyloid fibrillation in molecular terms such as protein cavity and hydration. Here we discuss, firstly, basic equations in statics and kinetics of protein polymerization as employed to obtain thermodynamic, volumetric, and kinetic parameters. Equilibrium treatment of the reactions with the scheme such as one-step polymerization, linear-association polymerization, or nucleation-dependent polymerization, and kinetic treatment of seeded linearpolymerization or spontaneous nucleation-elongation polymerization are described. In particular we will detail kinetics of the dissociation of fibrils which have been produced under the linear-association mechanism and therefore the length-distribution of which conforms to a geometric sequence in the degree of polymerization with a common ratio r, which is less than, and usually very close to, unity. In this case, an observed macroscopic rate of dissociation is shown to be a product of the microscopic elementary dissociation rate constant and a factor (1–r), extremely reduced compared with the intrinsic elementary rate. Secondly, we discuss protein conformational states in fibrillogenesis with molecular and volumetric observations reported, such as the unfolded state responsible for the association with seeds and the extension of amyloid fibrils, the transition state in which protein cavity formation and dehydration occur to intermediate levels, and the fibril state in which they occur to final respective levels which, in some cases, depend on the maturity of the fibril.