Neurotoxic, redox-competent Alzheimer's --amyloid is released from lipid membrane by methionine oxidation

The amyloid β peptide is toxic to neurons, and it is believed that this toxicity plays a central role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The mechanism of this toxicity is contentious. Here we report that an Aβ peptide with the sulfur atom of Met-35 oxidized to a sulfoxide (Met(O)Aβ) is toxic to neuronal cells, and this toxicity is attenuated by the metal chelator clioquinol and completely rescued by catalase implicating the same toxicity mechanism as reduced Aβ. However, unlike the unoxidized peptide, Met(O)Aβ is unable to penetrate lipid membranes to form ion channel-like structures, and β-sheet formation is inhibited, phenomena that are central to some theories for Aβ toxicity. Our results show that, like the unoxidized peptide, Met(O)Aβ will coordinate Cu₂₊ and reduce the oxidation state of the metal and still produce H2O2. We hypothesize that Met(O)Aβ production contributes to the elevation of soluble Aβ seen in the brain in Alzheimer's disease.

A girl like you

A Girl Like You (2012) is a response to a work I made in 2003 titled “Memory + Moments” reflecting on unexpected and unsolicited comments from friends and strangers during my early years… “can I touch your hair?” “you’re very well-spoken” “where do you get your colour?” “are you wearing a bustle?” In 2011 I re-discovered my teenage diaries from 1989-1995. The process of redaction is about coming to terms with my vulnerability through a process of revealing and exposing the internal monologue of a teenage girl, growing up in Hobart during the 80s.