A minimal conformational switching-dependent model for amyloid self-assembly.

ABSTRACT: Amyloid formation is associated with various pathophysiological conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases as well as many useful functions. The hallmark of amyloid assemblies is a conformational transition of the constituent proteins into a β - sheet rich filament. Accounting for this conformational transition in amyloidogenic proteins, we develop an analytically solvable model that can probe the dynamics of an ensemble of single filaments. Using the theory and Monte Carlo simulations, we show the presence of two kinetic regimes for the growth of a self-assembling filament - switching-dependent and -independent growth regimes. We observe a saturation in fibril elongation velocities at higher concentrations in the first regime, providing a novel explanation to the concentration-i

SUBMITTER: Ranganathan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4756677 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature