SMALL ANGLE X-RAY SCATTERING STUDY OF INSULIN FIBRILS

Abstract

The small-angle X-ray scattering technique was employed to determine low-resolution 3D structure of insulin amyloid fibrils. This object is of particular interest since amyloid deposits of insulin causes insulin injection amyloidosis. Structural characterization of amyloid fibrils as a particular class of linear highly ordered protein aggregates is of utmost importance for deeper understanding of the molecular etiology of conformational diseases and development of effective therapeutic strategies. The small-angle X-ray scattering pattern analysis showed that the maximum dimension of the insulin fibril cross-section reaches 24±2.4 nm, while gyration radius of the cross-section is about 6 nm.