Oligomers Role in Seeding and Nucleating Amyloid Fibrils

Aβ is one of many peptides and proteins associated with AD. Yet, while the peptides and proteins associated with these diseases are unique in sequence, recent evidence suggests that they share common pathways for aggregation, common structural features at each stage of aggregation, and perhaps common mechanisms of toxicity. The aggregation pathway contains intermediate conformations referred to as soluble spherical oligomers. Dr. Kayed will test hypotheses regarding the role of soluble oligomers in fibril formation. The long term goal of this project is to better understand the mechanisms of the process of amyloid fibril formation in order to effectively interrupt and/or hinder amyloid formation in AD and perhaps other degenerative diseases.