Zhanna Evgrafova1, Sonu Kumar1, Bruno Voigt1, Juliane Adler2, Daniel Huster2, Jochen Balbach1 and Wolfgang H. Binder1
1Faculty of Natural Science II, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Danckelmann-Platz 4, D-06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
2Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics, Leipzig University, Härtelstraße 16-18, D-04107 Leipzig, Germany
The formation of amyloid fibrils is considered to be one of the main causes for many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or Huntington’s disease [1, 2]. Current knowledge suggests that amyloid-aggregation represents a nucleation-dependent aggregation process in vitro, where a sigmoidal growth phase follows an induction period. Here, we studied the fibrillation of amyloid β 1-40 (Aβ40) and Parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the presence of thermoresponsive polymers, expected to alter their fibrillation kinetics due to their specific hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions with proteins [3]. Mixtures in varying concentrations and the conjugates of PTH or Aβ40 with poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate were studied via time-dependent measurements of the thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence and transition electron microscopy (TEM). The studies revealed that amyloid fibrillation was altered, accompanied by either reduction or elongation of the lag phase of PTH or Aβ40 fibrillation in the presence of studied polymers [4].
References:
[1] Chiti, F.; Dobson, C.M., Annu. Rev. Biochem. 2006, 75, 333–366. (link)
[2] Hamley, I.W., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 8128–8147. (link)
[3] Adler, J.; Huster, D., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2017, 19, 1839–1846. (link)
[4] Funtan, S.; Evgrafova, Z.; Adler, J.; Huster, D.; Binder, W.H., Polymers 2016, 8, 178. (link)