Dimers of D76N-β(2)-microglobulin display potent antiamyloid aggregation activity

Self-association of WT β(2-)microglobulin (WT-β(2)m) into amyloid fibrils is associated with the disorder dialysis related amyloidosis. In the familial variant D76N-β(2)m, the single amino acid substitution enhances the aggregation propensity of the protein dramatically and gives rise to a disorder that is independent of renal dysfunction. Numerous biophysical and structural studies on WT- and D76N-β(2)m have been performed in order to better understand the structure and dynamics of the native proteins and their different potentials to aggregate into amyloid. However, the structural properties of transient D76N-β(2)m oligomers and their role(s) in assembly remained uncharted. Here, we have utilized NMR methods, combined with photo-induced crosslinking, to detect, trap, and structurally characterize transient dimers of D76N-β(2)m. We show that the crosslinked D76N-β(2)m dimers have different structures from those previously characterized for the on-pathway dimers of ΔN6-β(2)m and are unable to assemble into amyloid. Instead, the crosslinked D76N-β(2)m dimers are potent inhibitors of amyloid formation, preventing primary nucleation and elongation/secondary nucleation when added in substoichiometric amounts with D76N-β(2)m monomers. The results highlight the specificity of early protein–protein interactions in amyloid formation and show how mapping these interfaces can inform new strategies to inhibit amyloid assembly.