Mechanistic and environmental control of the prevalence and lifetime of amyloid oligomers

Amyloid fibrils are self-assembled protein aggregates implicated in a number of human diseases. Fragmentation-dominated models for the self-assembly of amyloid fibrils have had important successes in explaining the kinetics of amyloid fibril formation but predict fibril length distributions that do...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2013, Vol.4 (1), p.1891-1891, Article 1891
Main Authors: Morris, Ryan J., Eden, Kym, Yarwood, Reuben, Jourdain, Line, Allen, Rosalind J., MacPhee, Cait E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/57/2272
Alzheimer's disease
Amyloid - chemistry
Amyloid - metabolism
Amyloid - ultrastructure
Animals
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology
Cattle
Computer Simulation
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Insulin
Insulin - chemistry
Insulin - metabolism
Kinetics
Life Sciences
Models, Molecular
Molecular Weight
multidisciplinary
Protein Structure, Quaternary
Proteins
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Simulation
Sodium Chloride - pharmacology
Time Factors
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Summary:Amyloid fibrils are self-assembled protein aggregates implicated in a number of human diseases. Fragmentation-dominated models for the self-assembly of amyloid fibrils have had important successes in explaining the kinetics of amyloid fibril formation but predict fibril length distributions that do not match experiments. Here we resolve this inconsistency using a combination of experimental kinetic measurements and computer simulations. We provide evidence for a structural transition that occurs at a critical fibril mass concentration, or CFC, above which fragmentation of fibrils is suppressed. Our simulations predict the formation of distinct fibril length distributions above and below the CFC, which we confirm by electron microscopy. These results point to a new picture of amyloid fibril growth in which structural transitions that occur during self-assembly have strong effects on the final population of aggregate species with small, and potentially cytotoxic, oligomers dominating for long periods of time at protein concentrations below the CFC. Amyloid fibrils are implicated in a number of diseases but the origin of their length distributions is poorly understood. Here, evidence is presented to support a structural transition at a critical mass concentration, above which fragmentation of fibrils is suppressed.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/ncomms2909