Interactions of Lipid Membranes with Fibrillar Protein Aggregates

Amyloid fibrils are an intriguing class of protein aggregates with distinct physicochemical, structural and morphological properties. They display peculiar membrane-binding behavior, thus adding complexity to the problem of protein-lipid interactions. The consensus that emerged during the past decade is that amyloid cytotoxicity arises from a continuum of cross-β-sheet assemblies including mature fibrils. Based on literature survey and our own data, in this chapter we address several aspects of fibril-lipid interactions, including (i) the effects of amyloid assemblies on molecular organization of lipid bilayer; (ii) competition between fibrillar and monomeric membrane-associating proteins for binding to the lipid surface; and (iii) the effects of lipids on the structural morphology of fibrillar aggregates. To illustrate some of the processes occurring in fibril-lipid systems, we present and analyze fluorescence data reporting on lipid bilayer interactions with fibrillar lysozyme and with the N-terminal 83-residue fragment of amyloidogenic mutant apolipoprotein A-I, 1-83/G26R/W@8. The results help understand possible mechanisms of interaction and mutual remodeling of amyloid fibers and lipid membranes, which may contribute to amyloid cytotoxicity.