Stimulation and inhibition of fibril formation by a peptide in the presence of different concentrations of SDS.

Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), a detergent that mimics some characteristics of biological membranes, has been found to affect significantly fibril formation by a peptide from human complement receptor 1. In aqueous solution the peptide is unfolded but slowly aggregates to form fibrils. In sub-micell...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pertinhez, T, Bouchard, M, Smith, R, Dobson, C, Smith, L
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2002
Description
Summary:Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), a detergent that mimics some characteristics of biological membranes, has been found to affect significantly fibril formation by a peptide from human complement receptor 1. In aqueous solution the peptide is unfolded but slowly aggregates to form fibrils. In sub-micellar concentrations of SDS the peptide is initially alpha-helical but converts rapidly to a beta-sheet structure and large quantities of fibrils form. In SDS above the critical micellar concentration the peptide adopts a stable alpha-helical structure and no fibrils are observed. These findings demonstrate the sensitivity of fibril formation to solution conditions and suggest a possible role for membrane components in amyloid fibril formation in living systems.