Zn2+’s Ability to Alter the Distribution of Cu2+ among the Available Binding Sites of Aβ(1–16)-Polyethylenglycol-ylated Peptide: Implications in Alzheimer’s Disease

The formation of mixed copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes with Aβ(1–16)-PEG has been investigated. The peptide fragment forms stable mixed metal complexes at physiological pH in which the His13/His14 dyad is the zinc(II)’s preferred binding site, while copper(II) coordination occurs at the N-terminus also involving the His6 imidazole. Copper(II) is prevented by zinc(II) excess from the binding to the two His residues, His13 and His14. As the latter binding mode has been recently invoked to explain the redox activity of the copper-Aβ complex, the formation of ternary metal complexes may justify the recently proposed protective role of zinc(II) in Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, the reported results suggest that zinc(II) competes with copper for Aβ binding and inhibits copper-mediated Aβ redox chemistry.