Addressing one of the biggest riddles in current molecular cell biology, this ground-breaking monograph builds the case for the crucial involvement of lipids and membranes in the formation of amyloid deposits. Tying together recent knowledge from in vitro and in vivo studes, and built on a sound biophysical and biochemical foundation, this overview brings the reader up to date with current models of the interplay between membranes and amyloid formation. Required reading for any researcher interested in amyloid formation and amyloid toxicity, and possible avenues for the prevention or treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. From the contents: * Interactions of Alpha-Synuclein with Lipids * Interaction of hIAPP and its Precursors with Membranes * Amyloid Polymorphisms: Structural Basis and Significance in Biology and Molecular Medicine * The Role of Lipid Rafts in Alzheimer's Disease * Alzheimer's Disease as a Membrane-Associated Enzymopathy of Beta-Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) Secretases * Impaired Regulation of Glutamate Receptor Channels and Signaling Molecules by Beta-Amyloid in Alzheimer's Disease * Membrane Changes in BSE and Scrapie * Experimental Approaches and Technical Challenges for Studying Amyloid-Membrane Interactions and more

To understand Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the major thrusts of present-day clinical research, strongly supported by more fimdamental cellular, biochemical, immunological and structural studies. It is these latter that receive attention within this book. This compilation of 20 chapters indicates the diversity of work currently in progress and summarizes the current state of knowledge. Experienced authors who are scientifically active in their fields of study have been selected as contributors to this book, in an attempt to present a reasonably complete survey of the field. Inevitably, some exciting topics for one reason or another have not been included, for which we can only apologize. Standardization of terminology is often a problem in science, not least in the Alzheimer field; editorial effort has been made to achieve standardization between the Chapters, but some minor yet acceptable personal / author variation is still present, i. e. P-amyloid/amyloid-P; Ap42/Apl-42/APi. 42! The book commences with a broad survey of the contribution that the range of available microscopical techniques has made to the study of Alzheimer's amyloid plaques and amyloid fibrillogenesis. This chapter also serves as an Introduction to the book, since several of the topics introduced here are expanded upon in later chapters. Also, it is significant to the presence of this chapter that the initial discovery of brain plaques, by Alois Alzheimer, utilized light microscopy, a technique that continues to be extremely valuable in present-day AD research.

Bio-Nanoimaging: Protein Misfolding & Aggregation provides a unique introduction to both novel and established nanoimaging techniques for visualization and characterization of misfolded and aggregated protein species. The book is divided into three sections covering: - Nanotechnology and nanoimaging technology, including cryoelectron microscopy of beta(2)-microglobulin, studying amyloidogensis by FRET; and scanning tunneling microscopy of protein deposits - Polymorphisms of protein misfolded and aggregated species, including fibrillar polymorphism, amyloid-like protofibrils, and insulin oligomers - Polymorphisms of misfolding and aggregation processes, including multiple pathways of lysozyme aggregation, misfolded intermediate of a PDZ domain, and micelle formation by human islet amyloid polypeptide Protein misfolding and aggregation is a fast-growing frontier in molecular medicine and protein chemistry. Related disorders include cataracts, arthritis, cystic fibrosis, late-onset diabetes mellitus, and numerous neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Nanoimaging technology has proved crucial in understanding protein-misfolding pathologies and in potential drug design aimed at the inhibition or reversal of protein aggregation. Using these technologies, researchers can monitor the aggregation process, visualize protein aggregates and analyze their properties. - Provides practical examples of nanoimaging research from leading molecular biology, cell biology, protein chemistry, biotechnology, genetics, and pharmaceutical labs - Includes over 200 color images to illustrate the power of various nanoimaging technologies - Focuses on nanoimaging techniques applied to protein misfolding and aggregation in molecular medicine

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the product of the slow and progressive degenerative alteration that develops in the adult brain and can remain asymptomatic for a considerable time before cognitive deficits becomes evident. The main challenge for researchers is to identify markers of this degenerative process, and, in this sense, data has been generated through experiments bringing to light new mechanisms and hypothesis to explain its pathophysiology. This book is a review of recent studies in AD molecular biology. Chapters explain various facets of AD, which include animal models, morphological changes, membrane composition, amyloidogenic peptides, intracellular transport systems, and the role of oxidative stress and calcium deregulation. Readers will understand the molecular mechanisms behind AD and therefore broaden their perspective on this neurodegenerative disease and its progression.

​Protein conversion from a water-soluble native conformation to the insoluble aggregates and fibrils, which can deposit in amyloid plaques, underlies more than 20 human diseases, representing a major public health problem and a scientific challenge. Such a conversion is called protein misfolding. Protein misfolding can also involve errors in the topology of the folded proteins and their assembly in lipid membranes. Lipids are found in nearly all amyloid deposits in vivo, and can critically influence protein misfolding in vitro and in vivo in many different ways. This book focuses on recent advances in our understanding of the role of lipids in modulating the misfolding of various proteins. The main emphasis is on the basic biophysical studies that address molecular basis of protein misfolding and amyloid formation, and the role of lipids in this complex process.

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

The general process of lipid peroxidation consists of three stages: initiation, propagation, and termination. The initiation phase of lipid peroxidation includes hydrogen atom abstraction. Several species can abstract the first hydrogen atom and include the radicals: hydroxyl, alkoxyl, peroxyl, and possibly HO* 2. The membrane lipids, mainly phospholipids, containing polyunsaturated fatty acids are predominantly susceptible to peroxidation because abstraction from a methylene group of a hydrogen atom, which contains only one electron, leaves at the back an unpaired electron on the carbon. The initial reaction of *OH with polyunsaturated fatty acids produces a lipid radical (L*), which in turn reacts with molecular oxygen to form a lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH). Further, the LOOH formed can suffer reductive cleavage by reduced metals, such as Fe++, producing lipid alkoxyl radical (LO*). Peroxidation of lipids can disturb the assembly of the membrane, causing changes in fluidity and permeability, alterations of ion transport and inhibition of metabolic processes. In addition, LOOH can break down, frequently in the presence of reduced metals or ascorbate, to reactive aldehyde products, including malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal (4-HHE) and acrolein. Lipid peroxidation is one of the major outcomes of free radical-mediated injury to tissue mainly because it can greatly alter the physicochemical properties of membrane lipid bilayers, resulting in severe cellular dysfunction. In addition, a variety of lipid by-products are produced as a consequence of lipid peroxidation, some of which can exert beneficial biological effects under normal physiological conditions. Intensive research performed over the last decades have also revealed that by-products of lipid peroxidation are also involved in cellular signalling and transduction pathways under physiological conditions, and regulate a variety of cellular functions, including normal aging. In the present collection of articles, both aspects (adverse and benefitial) of lipid peroxidation are illustrated in different biological paradigms. We expect this eBook may encourage readers to expand the current knowledge on the complexity of physiological and pathophysiological roles of lipid peroxidation.

Neurodegenerative diseases are severe, rapidly developing, and currently incurable conditions that result in progressive degeneration and the death of neurons. This causes dementia, movement problems, and essentially loss of personal identity. Amyloids attempts to answer the following questions: (1) why do we develop these severe neurodegenerative diseases? (2) what histological and physiological changes are observed upon development and progression of these diseases? and (3) how can we treat amyloid-associated diseases?