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A possible role for -stacking in the self-assembly of amyloid fibrils

Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel

¹Correspondence: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel. E-mail: ehudg{at}post.tau.ac.il

Amyloid fibril formation is assumed to be the molecular basis for a variety of diseases of unrelated origin. Despite its fundamental clinical importance, the mechanism of amyloid formation is not fully understood. When we analyzed a variety of short functional fragments from unrelated amyloid-forming proteins, a remarkable occurrence of aromatic residues was observed. The finding of aromatic residues in diverse fragments raises the possibility that - interactions may play a significant role in the molecular recognition and self-assembly processes that lead to amyloid formation. This is in line with the well-known central role of -stacking interactions in self-assembly processes in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry. We speculate that the stacking interactions may provide energetic contribution as well as order and directionality in the self-assembly of amyloid structures. Experimental data regarding amyloid formation and inhibition by short peptide analogs also support our hypothesis. The -stacking hypothesis suggests a new approach to understanding the self-assembly mechanism that governs amyloid formation and indicates possible ways to control this process.—Gazit, E. A possible role for -stacking in the self-assembly of amyloid fibrils.

Key Words: Alzheimer’s disease • aromatic residue • amyloid-related proteins

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