New insights into formation of non-pathological amyloids
In humans, amyloids are associated with neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease, and prion diseases like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In these pathological amyloids, proteins are trapped in a toxic form that causes cell death, and leading to brain and organ damage and eventually death. Proteins with purpose Amyloid plaques are composed of proteins or protein fragments that organize into spiraling fibers that continuously grow by attracting new molecules. Previous research has indicated that the resulting tissue damage in human disease is mainly caused by small protein aggregates generated during the early stages of amyloid formation. These molecular predecessors to amyloids are composed of the same subunits, but differ in structure. Bacteria, however, have the remarkable ability to make 'functional amyloids' through a deliberate pathway that does not involve the formation of...