MpUL-multi: Software for Calculation of Amyloid Fibril Mass per Unit Length from TB-TEM Images

Structure determination for amyloid fibrils presents many challenges due to the high variability exhibited by fibrils and heterogeneous morphologies present, even in single samples. Mass per unit length (MPL) estimates can be used to differentiate amyloid fibril morphologies and provide orthogonal evidence for helical symmetry parameters determined by other methods. In addition, MPL data can provide insight on the arrangement of subunits in a fibril, especially for more complex fibrils assembled with multiple parallel copies of the asymmetric unit or multiple twisted protofilaments. By detecting only scattered electrons, which serve as a relative measure of total scattering, and therefore protein mass, dark field imaging gives an approximation of the total mass of protein present in any given length of fibril. When compared with a standard of known MPL, such as Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV), MPL of the fibrils in question can be determined. The program suite MpUL-multi was written for rapid semi-automated processing of TB-TEM dark field data acquired using this method. A graphical user interface allows for simple designation of fibrils and standards. A second program averages intensities from multiple TMV molecules for accurate standard determination, makes multiple measurements along a given fibril, and calculates the MPL.