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Updated: Jul 8, 2025

Rapid Generation of Amyloid from Native Proteins In vitro
Published on: December 5, 2013
A tale of dual functions of SERF family proteins in regulating amyloid formation
Shixing Qi1,2, Yun Peng1,2, Guan Wang1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430071, Wuhan, China.
Abstract:
The abnormal aggregation of proteins is a significant pathological hallmark of diseases, such as the amyloid formation associated with fused in sarcoma protein (FUS) in frontotemporal lobar degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diseases. Understanding which cellular components and how these components regulate the process of abnormal protein aggregation in living organisms is crucial for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. MOAG-4/SERF is a conserved family of proteins with rich positive charged residues, which was initially identified as an enhancer for the formation of amyloids in C. elegans. Knocking out SERF impedes the amyloid formation of various proteins, including α-synuclein and β-amyloid, which are linked to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, respectively. However, recent studies revealed SERF exhibited dual functions, as it could both promote and inhibit the fibril formation of the neurodegenerative disease-related amyloidogenic proteins. The connection between functions and structure basis of SERF in regulating the amyloid formation is still unclear. This review will outline the hallmark proteins in neurodegenerative diseases, summarize the contradictory role of the SERF protein family in promoting and inhibiting the aggregation of neurodegenerative proteins, and finally explore the potential structural basis and functional selectivity of the SERF protein.
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