Journal of Structural Biology, Vol.206, No.1, 29-35, 2019
Amyloid structure of high-order assembly of Leucine-rich amelogenin revealed by solid-state NMR
High-order assemblies of amelogenin, the major protein in enamel protein matrix, are believed to act as the template for enamel mineral formation. The Leucine-rich amelogenin (LRAP) is a natural splice-variant of amelogenin, a functional protein in vivo, containing conserved domains of amelogenin. In this work, we showed LRAP aggregates hierarchically into assemblies with various sizes including scattered beads, beads-on-a-string and gel-like precipitations in the presence of both calcium and phosphate ions. Solid-state NMR combined with X-ray diffraction and microscopic techniques, was applied to give a picture of LRAP self-assemblies at the atomic level. Our results, for the first time, confirmed LRAP assemblies with different sizes all contained a consistent rigid segment with beta-sheet secondary structure (residues 12-27) and the beta-sheet segment would further assemble into amyloid-like structures.
Keywords:Enamel biomineralization;Matrix protein;Self-assembly;Secondary structure;Amyloid structure;Solid-state NMR