New insights into the formation of toxic protein clumps in Alzheimer’s disease

New insights into the formation of toxic protein clumps in Alzheimer's
Small Aβ oligomers (left: cryo-electron microscopy) are clumps consisting of just a few Aβ molecules. They cluster together to form short, worm-like structures known as protofibrils (right: atomic force microscopy). In an acidic environment, the Aβ oligomers form very quickly and cluster to form large particles from which protofibrils are separated following neutralization of the pH value (right, red arrows). Credit: Forschungszentrum Jülich, HHU Düsseldorf / Wolfgang Hoyer

Small aggregates of proteins known as Aβ oligomers are suspected as the main cause for the development of Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is not yet clear where and under what conditions these toxic aggregates form. Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and Forschungszentrum Jülich, together…

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