Hierarchical Self-Assembly Mechanism of Ladder-Like Orientated Aβ40 Single-Stranded Protofibrils into Multistranded Mature Fibrils

The complex self-assembly processes in three dimensions of Alzheimer’s β-peptide (Aβ) amyloid protofibrils into polymorphic mature fibrils, particularly the relative protofibril orientation and packing mechanism, are poorly understood. We report here the identification and quantification of the hierarchical self-assembly details among distinct Aβ40 fibrils, particularly the winding pictures of two, three, and four individual single-stranded protofibrils into two-, three-, and four-stranded mature fibrils, respectively, via cross-sectional analysis of atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. The statistical polymer physics analysis of fibril flexibilities from AFM characterizations as well as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal a ladder-like packing mechanism rather than a closed-packing manner for the interprotofibril association into Aβ40 mature fibrils. Moreover, our MD results show atomic packing polymorphism at the well-packing interfaces even within the same multistranded fibril. This work provides mechanistic insights into the polymorphic transition of single-stranded Aβ40 protofibrils into multistranded mature fibrils at the mesoscopic level, which is useful for a more comprehensive understanding of Alzheimer’s β-peptide amyloidosis.