Foldamer-mediated manipulation of a pre-amyloid toxin

Disordered proteins, such as those central to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are particularly intractable for structure-targeted therapeutic design. Here we demonstrate the capacity of a synthetic foldamer to capture structure in a disease relevant peptide. Oligoquinoline amides have a defined fold with a solvent-excluded core that is independent of its outwardly projected, derivatizable moieties. Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is a peptide central to β-cell pathology in type II diabetes. A tetraquinoline is presented that stabilizes a pre-amyloid, α-helical conformation of IAPP. This charged, dianionic compound is readily soluble in aqueous buffer, yet crosses biological membranes without cellular assistance: an unexpected capability that is a consequence of its ability to reversibly fold. The tetraquinoline docks specifically with intracellular IAPP and rescues β-cells from toxicity. Taken together, our work here supports the thesis that stabilizing non-toxic conformers of a plastic protein is a viable strategy for cytotoxic rescue addressable using oligoquinoline amides.