Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1983910 | The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology | 2012 | 14 Pages |
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying protein misfolding and aggregation has become a central issue in biology and medicine. Compelling evidence show that the formation of amyloid aggregates has a negative impact in cell function and is behind the most prevalent human degenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases or type 2 diabetes. Surprisingly, the same type of macromolecular assembly is used for specialized functions by different organisms, from bacteria to human. Here we address the conformational properties of these aggregates, their formation pathways, their role in human diseases, their functional properties and how bioinformatics tools might be of help to study these protein assemblies.
Keywords
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Biochemistry
Authors
Gaetano Invernizzi, Elena Papaleo, Raimon Sabate, Salvador Ventura,