A generic class of amyloid fibril inhibitors

Abstract

Amyloid fibrils are large ordered fibrillar aggregates formed from mis-folded proteins. A number of human diseases are linked to the presence of amyloid deposits, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and type II diabetes. One therapeutic strategy for treating amyloid related diseases involves inhibiting fibril formation. Amyloid fibrils are β-sheet rich fibrillar aggregates that associate through hydrophobic interactions between precursor units. In this study, these generic physical properties of amyloid fibrils have been exploited to design a universal class of amphiphilic macromolecular inhibitors. A naturally occurring macromolecule of this structure is arabinogalactan prote..