Protein aggregation and lyophilization: Protein structural descriptors as predictors of aggregation propensity

Beta-catenin Forms Protein Aggregation at High Concentrations in HEK293TCells

Background: The canonical Wnt signal transduction (or the Wnt/β-catenin pathway) plays a crucial role in the development of animals and in carcinogenesis. Beta-catenin is the central component of this signaling pathway. The activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling results in the cytoplasmic and nuclear accumulation of β-catenin. In the nucleus, β-catenin interacts with the TCF/LEF transcription fa...

An Evolutionary Trade-Off between Protein Turnover Rate and Protein Aggregation Favors a Higher Aggregation Propensity in Fast Degrading Proteins

We previously showed the existence of selective pressure against protein aggregation by the enrichment of aggregation-opposing 'gatekeeper' residues at strategic places along the sequence of proteins. Here we analyzed the relationship between protein lifetime and protein aggregation by combining experimentally determined turnover rates, expression data, structural data and chaperone interaction...

Structural coalescence underlies the aggregation propensity of a β-barrel protein motif

A clear understanding of the structural foundations underlying protein aggregation is an elusive goal of central biomedical importance. A step toward this aim is exemplified by the β-barrel motif represented by the intestinal fatty acid binding protein (IFABP) and two abridged all-β sheet forms (Δ98Δ and Δ78Δ). At odds with the established notion that a perturbation of the native fold should ne...

Protein aggregation

As a rule amyloid fibrils appear as unbranched, long rodor ribbon-like structures with the typical diameter of about 10 nm and the length reaching up to 1μm and more. Amyloid fibrils are exceptionally stable against chemical denaturants or temperature. Experiments show that they can withstand up to 8M urea or the temperatures as high as 100 °C (prion fibrils). From a macroscopic viewpoint, form...

Thermodynamic and Structural Analysis of Protein Aggregation and Amyloid Formation