Zurich discovery could help treat Alzheimer’s

Amyloid fibrils play a role in serious neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, which is triggered by the misfolding and aggregation of tau and ABeta proteins. This causes tiny fibrils to form, which then accumulate in the brain. Such amyloid fibres have long been studied by a research group at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.

As part of an international research team, the ETH Zurich researchers have now made an important discovery with amyloid fibrils generated by fragments of proteins from animal, human and disease-related protein sources: the amyloid fibrils can transform into amyloid crystals without the need to fold and refold the protein. It simply has to get rid of the torsional energy associated with the twisting amyloid fibrils. In the past, this phenomenon had only been observed in test tubes. 

Such amyloid crystals have never before been found in living cells, explains ETH Zurich in a statement, and for now it is still too difficult to say what implications the discovery will have in the field of amyloid-related diseases. 

But Nick Reynolds from Swinburne University of Technology, who participated in the study, believes that this work will have major implications in understanding the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases. This could eventually lead to identifying potential new routes for the early diagnosis and treatment of such diseases.