Mechanisms of melatonin binding and destabilizing the protofilament and filament of tau R3-R4 domains revealed by molecular dynamics simulation

The accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau protein is considered to be an important pathological characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Failure of medicine targeting Aβ has drawn more attention to the influence of tau protein and its fibrillization on neurodegeneration. Increasing evidence shows that melatonin (Mel) can effectively inhibit the formation of tau fibrils and disassemble preformed tau fibrils. However, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. In this work, we investigated the kinetics of melatonin binding and destabilizing the tetrameric protofilament and octameric filament of tau R3-R4 domains by performing microsecond all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that Mel is able to disrupt the C-shaped structure of the tau protofilament and filament, and destabilizes the association between N- and C-termini. Mel predominantly binds to β1 and β6-β8 regions and favors contact with the elongation surface, which is dominantly driven by hydrogen bonding interactions and facilitated by other interactions. The strong π-π stacking interaction of Mel with Y310 impedes the intramolecular CH-π interaction between I308 and Y310, and the cation-π interaction of Mel with R379 interferes with the formation of the D348-R379 salt bridge. Moreover, Mel occupies the protofilament surface in the tetrameric protofilament and prevents the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between residues K331 and Q336 in the octameric filament. Our work provides molecular insights into Mel hindering tau fibrillization or destabilizing the protofilament and filament, and the revealed inhibitory mechanisms provide useful clues for the design of efficient anti-amyloid agents. Microsecond all-atom molecular dynamics simulations reveal that melatonin can destabilize the protofilament and filament of tau R3-R4 domains. Its influence on tau structure, binding kinetics and sites, and the disruptive mechanism are studied.