Morphological inhibitors of aggregation-prone amyloid-β conformers: A computational exploration

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline and memory loss. It is associated with the self-assembly of the amyloid-β peptide, a soluble intrinsically disordered protein naturally present in the brain parenchyma in various alloforms. This study presents a computational approach to identify possible modulators of the monomeric aggregation-prone conformations of amyloid-β, a critical intermediate in the fibrillation process. A structure-based virtual screening campaign was designed using a structural ensemble to identify potential binders. The workflow included binding site identification, small molecule-peptide docking, protein-protein docking, and molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate interaction stability and aggregation propensity. From this pipeline, a set of novel molecules was identified as capable of interacting with aggregation-prone forms of amyloid-β, potentially reducing their tendency to form toxic aggregates.