Zipped Structure May Explain Protein Clumping in Brain Disorders- All Images

All Images

News Release 05-095

Zipped Structure May Explain Protein Clumping in Brain Disorders

Finding may provide insight on Alzheimer's and Huntington’s disease

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

Back to article
Note about images

The zipper structure of the amyloid fibril formed by the yeast protein.

This structure, determined by X-ray microcrystallography, is the first glimpse at the atomic level of the amyloid spine that is common to fibrils formed from numerous proteins, some associated with fatal diseases. The "molecular zipper" is highlighted.

Credit: Michael Sawaya, Rebecca Nelson, Melinda Balbirnie and David Eisenberg, University of California, Los Angeles

Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (2.2 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.