How natural protein can help fight Alzheimer's disease

Focus on hot spots

Researchers in Protein misfolding and aggregation laboratory, Department of Life Sciences and NutritionKarolinska Institutet used advanced structural biology techniques, e.g Solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron microscopy, to visualize the structure and interactions between BRICHOS and fibers at the atomic level. They discovered that the BRICHOS device can sense and bind to specific areas on the fiber, and these areas can act as collection hotspots. By binding to these hotspots, BRICHOS potentially prevents further aggregates from forming and thus suppresses its toxic effects.

The researchers suggest that targeting these assembly hotspots could be a promising way to disrupt the process of fibril formation and thus its harmful effects in Alzheimer's disease. They also plan to investigate whether similar mechanisms are involved in other neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, which is also characterized by protein accumulation.

This study was conducted in collaboration with groups in Lyon, France, and Riga, Latvia, which provided access and expertise to new solid-state NMR devices.