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PLASTIMORF researchers directly observe how disease-associated polyalanine expansions drive the progressive loss of protein structure, revealing an early event that precedes aggregation. We have identified, in real time, how a disease-associated protein progressively loses its structural integrity. The study, published in ACS Bio & Med Chem Au, reveals a slow process of structural unraveling in PABPN1, a protein involved in oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD). PABPN1 no

A study involving researchers from the Blas Cabrera Institute of Physical Chemistry (IQF-CSIC) has identified an unexpected inflammatory mechanism that promotes the chronic, low-grade inflammation associated with aging, known as inflammaging. The findings show that partial inhibition of a key inflammatory protein accelerates aging in animal models, suggesting that future anti-inflammatory therapies may require more sophisticated approaches than targeting a single molecular pa

The microtubule-associated protein tau is implicated in neurodegenerative diseases characterized by amyloid formation. Mutations associated with frontotemporal dementia increase tau aggregation propensity and disrupt its endogenous microtubule-binding activity. However, the structural relationship between aggregation propensity and biological activity remains unclear. We employed a multi-disciplinary approach, including computational modeling, NMR, cross-linking mass spectrom

Abnormal trinucleotide repeat expansions alter protein conformation causing malfunction and contribute to a significant number of incurable human diseases. Scarce structural insights available on disease-related homorepeat expansions hinder the design of effective therapeutics. Here, we present the dynamic structure of human PHOX2B C-terminal fragment, which contains the longest polyalanine segment known in mammals. The major α-helical conformation of the polyalanine tract is

The RNA binding protein TDP-43 forms cytoplasmic inclusions via its C-terminal prion-like domain in several neurodegenerative diseases. Aberrant TDP-43 aggregation arises upon phase de-mixing and transitions from liquid to solid states, following still unknown structural conversions which are primed by oxidative stress and chaperone inhibition. Despite the well-established protective roles for molecular chaperones against protein aggregation pathologies, knowledge on the dete