Aggregation of islet amyloid polypeptide: from physical chemistry to cell biology

► Islet amyloid contributes to type-2 diabetes and to islet transplant failure. ► IAPP is natively unfolded, but is one of the most amyloidogenic proteins known. ► High resolution models of IAPP amyloid fibers are available. ► Anionic lipids and glycosaminoglycans catalyze IAPP amyloid formation in vitro. ► There are multiple mechanisms of IAPP induced β-cell toxicity.