A folding transition underlies the emergence of membrane affinity in amyloid-β

What is it about?

Why may amyloid beta oligomers cause Alzheimer's, while monomers of the same protein are benign: the answer lies in a critical structural transition.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

For more than a decade, it has been known that the oligomers of amyloid beta are more toxic than the monomers. We now find a possible structural origin of this functional difference. A structural model of this toxic species (the earliest bioactive species probed so far) can guide drug design efforts for Alzheimer's disease.