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Ethanol Controls the Self-Assembly and Mesoscopic Properties of Human Insulin Amyloid Spherulites.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Vetri, Valeria 
Piccirilli, Federica 
Krausser, Johannes 
Buscarino, Gianpiero  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8324-6783
Łapińska, Urszula 

Abstract

Protein self-assembly into amyloid fibrils or highly hierarchical superstructures is closely linked to neurodegenerative pathologies as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Moreover, protein assemblies also emerged as building blocks for bioinspired nanostructured materials. In both the above mentioned fields, the main challenge is to control the growth and properties of the final protein structure. This relies on a more fundamental understanding of how interactions between proteins can determine structures and functions of biomolecular aggregates. Here, we identify a striking effect of the hydration of the single human insulin molecule and solvent properties in controlling hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, structures, and morphologies of a superstructure named spherulite, observed in connection to Alzheimer's disease. Depending on the presence of ethanol, such structures can incorporate fluorescent molecules with different physicochemical features and span a range of mechanical properties and morphologies. A theoretical model providing a thorough comprehension of the experimental data is developed, highlighting a direct connection between the intimate physical protein-protein interactions, the growth, and the properties of the self-assembled superstructures. Our findings indicate structural variability as a general property for amyloid-like aggregates and not limited to fibrils. This knowledge is pivotal not only for developing effective strategies against pathological amyloids but also for providing a platform to design highly tunable biomaterials, alternative to elongated protein fibrils.

Description

Keywords

Amyloid, Circular Dichroism, Ethanol, Humans, Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions, Insulins, Microscopy, Atomic Force, Microscopy, Confocal, Microscopy, Electron, Transmission, Neutron Diffraction, Optical Imaging, Scattering, Small Angle, Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared

Journal Title

J Phys Chem B

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1520-6106
1520-5207

Volume Title

122

Publisher

American Chemical Society (ACS)