Backbone Thioamide Substitution Enhances the Activity of Short Peptides in Modulating the Aggregation of α-Synuclein

Abstract

The non-amyloid-{beta} component (NAC) region of the Parkinson's-associated protein -synuclein plays a key role in its pathogenic aggregation, motivating the development of molecules that target this critical region. Here, we show that a minimal NAC-derived motif, 66VGGAVVT72, can be reprogrammed through backbone engineering to modulate -synuclein aggregation. Backbone thioamide substitution of this peptide enhances its interactions with -synuclein fibrils and accelerates aggregation, whereas N-methylation disrupts {beta}-sheet hydrogen bonding and inhibits fibrillization. Strikingly, combining these modifications yields hybrid peptides that inhibit the fibrillization of full-length -synuclein at sub-stoichiometric concentrations. Consistent with in vitro results, these backbone-modified peptides can also reduce seeded -synuclein aggregation in cells. These results establish that minimal amyloidogenic sequences can be systematically tuned from aggregation promoters to inhibitors through backbone-level perturbations, particularly thioamide incorporation.