“What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger”: Future Applications of Amyloid Aggregates in Biomedicine
Sherin Abdelrahman,
Mawadda Alghrably,
Joanna Izabela Lachowicz,
Abdul-Hamid Emwas,
Charlotte A. E. Hauser,
Mariusz Jaremko
Affiliations
Sherin Abdelrahman
Laboratory for Nanomedicine, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Mawadda Alghrably
Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Joanna Izabela Lachowicz
Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Policlinico Universitario, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
Abdul-Hamid Emwas
Core Labs, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Charlotte A. E. Hauser
Laboratory for Nanomedicine, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Mariusz Jaremko
Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Amyloid proteins are linked to the pathogenesis of several diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, but at the same time a range of functional amyloids are physiologically important in humans. Although the disease pathogenies have been associated with protein aggregation, the mechanisms and factors that lead to protein aggregation are not completely understood. Paradoxically, unique characteristics of amyloids provide new opportunities for engineering innovative materials with biomedical applications. In this review, we discuss not only outstanding advances in biomedical applications of amyloid peptides, but also the mechanism of amyloid aggregation, factors affecting the process, and core sequences driving the aggregation. We aim with this review to provide a useful manual for those who engineer amyloids for innovative medicine solutions.
