Effect of the aggregation state of amyloid-beta (25-35) on the brain oxidative stress in vivo.

Aggregation pathway of amyloid-β (25-35) in water affects the oxidative stress in the brain observed after administration of aggregated peptide in animals in vivo. Our studies on peptide aggregation ex situ prior to injection suggest that from the onset of peptide incubation in aqueous media, all samples exhibit the formation of fibril-like aggregates, characterized by a significant amount of β-sheets. This induces significant oxidative stress in vivo as observed for up to 60 min of peptide aggregation time. As the aggregation advances, the fibril-like aggregates become longer and intertwined, while the amount of β-sheets does not change significantly. An injection of such large, thick, and entangled aggregates in the animal brain results in a drastic increase in oxidative stress. This may be related to the number of activated microglia that initiate a sequence of inflammatory responses in the presence of large, highly interconnected fibrils.