Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Characterizing Individual Protein Aggregates by Infrared Nanospectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy
Published on: September 12, 2019
Factors governing fibrillogenesis of polypeptide chains revealed by lattice models
Mai Suan Li1, Nguyen Truong Co, Govardhan Reddy
1Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland.
Abstract:
Using lattice models we explore the factors that determine the tendencies of polypeptide chains to aggregate by exhaustively sampling the sequence and conformational space. The morphologies of the fibril-like structures and the time scales (τ(fib)) for their formation depend on a balance between hydrophobic and Coulomb interactions. The extent of population of an ensemble of N* structures, which are fibril-prone structures in the spectrum of conformations of an isolated protein, is the major determinant of τ(fib). This observation is used to determine the aggregating sequences by exhaustively exploring the sequence space, thus providing a basis for genome wide search of fragments that are aggregation prone.
Related Concept Videos
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
Protein Folding
Protein Organization
Protein Organization
The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence.
