Amyloid Diseases and Protein Assembly

What happens when proteins misfold or inappropriately self-assemble? Amyloid diseases, specifically Alzheimer's Disease, has been recognized since the turn of the last century and are now understand to arise from the self-assembly of mis-folded peptides or proteins. We proposed the first robust structurally defined model for an amyloid fibril. Jijun Dong and Kun Lu have now designed simpler polypeptides allowing them to dissect the mechanism of the self-assembly process. The data they have collected thus far offers profound insights into the mechanism and energetics of self-assembly and provides new tools for diagnosis and treatment as well as for the construction of new Supramolecular Self-Assembling functional nanomaterials.

Recent News:

Fluorescent Study of Amyloid Nanotube Growth

Emory-led Study Links Metals to Alzheimer's and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases