Hepatocellular necrosis in carbon tetracholride-induced injury of rats is associated with an accumulation of lipocytes (perisinusoidal cells or Ito cells) containing fat droplets and giving vitamin A fluorescence. In the subsequent formation of connective tissue septa, transitional cells having morphologic characteristics of lipocytes and fibroblasts are abundant and are associated with the app...

Recent reports give strong support to the idea that amyloid fibril formation and the subsequent development of protein deposition diseases originate from conformational changes in corresponding amyloidogenic proteins. In this review, recent findings are surveyed to illustrate that protein fibrillogenesis requires a partially folded conformation. This amyloidogenic conformation is relatively unf...

The effect of enantiomeric trifluoromethyl-indolyl-acetic acid ethyl esters on the fibrillogenesis of Alzheimer's amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide is described. These compounds have been previously identified as effective inhibitors of the Abeta self-assembly in their racemic form. Thioflavin-T Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were applied to assess the potency of the chiral ta...

Aβ(1-40) coated 20 nm gold colloidal nanoparticles exhibit a reversible color change as pH is externally altered between pH 4 and 10. This reversible process may contain important information on the initial reversible step reported for the fibrillogenesis of Aβ (a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease). We examined this reversible color change by microscopic investigations. AFM images on graphite sur...

The influence of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) on collagen fibrillogenesis in vitro was investigated. GAG and collagen were isolated from the liver of rats treated with carbon tetrachloride at various time intervals (3-16 weeks). It was found that GAG obtained from the fibrotic liver accelerated collagen fibril formation. This effect was more evident in a solution of type I collagen than type II...

The large surface area and small size of nanoparticles provide properties and applications that are distinct from those of bulk materials. The ability of nanoparticles to influence protein folding and aggregation is interesting, not only because of the potential beneficial applications, but also the potential risks to human health and the environment. This makes it essential that we understand ...