Estimating Nuclei Concentration in Amyloid Fibrillation Reactions
Author Information
Author(s): Mirco Sorci, Whitney Silkworth, Timothy Gehan, Georges Belfort
Primary Institution: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Hypothesis
Can we estimate the concentration of nuclei during the amyloid fibrillation process?
Conclusion
The estimated concentration of insulin nuclei during the lag-phase of aggregation is in the picomolar range.
Supporting Evidence
- The study provides a theoretical estimate of nuclei concentrations during insulin aggregation.
- Nuclei concentration is suggested to be in the picomolar range.
- The method used is conservative and may overestimate the actual nuclei concentration.
Takeaway
This study tries to figure out how many tiny building blocks, called nuclei, are present when proteins start to clump together and form harmful structures in diseases.
Methodology
The study used a back-calculation method to estimate nuclei concentration based on fibril length distribution from AFM data.
Limitations
The method may overestimate nuclei concentration and does not account for fibril fragmentation.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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