To form extracellular aggregates, amyloidogenic proteins bypass the intracellular quality control, which normally targets unfolded/aggregated polypeptides. Human D76N β2-microglobulin (β2m) variant is the prototype of unstable and amyloidogenic protein that forms abundant extracellular fibrillar deposits. Here we focus on the role of the class I major histocompatibility complex (MHCI) in the in...

OBJECTIVE Considerable data support an inherited defect in insulin secretion as one component of type 2 diabetes. Coding variants of the pancreas duodenum homeobox gene (PDX1) were proposed to predispose late-onset type 2 diabetes and to decrease transactivation in vitro. We tested the hypothesis that the Asp76Asn (D76N) variant that was identified in several populations predisposed type 2 diab...

C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid P component (SAP), two major classical pentraxins in humans, are soluble pattern recognition molecules that regulate the innate immune system, but their chaperone activities remain poorly understood. Here, we examined their effects on the amyloid fibril formation from Alzheimer's amyloid β (Aβ) (1-40) and on that from D76N β2-microglobulin (β2-m) which...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the rs12255372 (TCF7L2) and D76N (PDX-1) polymorphisms are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Mashhad, northeast Iran. A hundred twenty seven patients with T2DM and 71 non-diabetic controls in Mashhad were genotyped by PCR-RFLP and ARMS-PCR methods. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were confirmed by sequencing in some sample...

β2-Microglobulin is responsible for systemic amyloidosis affecting patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. Its genetic variant D76N causes a very rare form of familial systemic amyloidosis. These two types of amyloidoses differ significantly in terms of the tissue localization of deposits and for major pathological features. Considering how the amyloidogenesis of the β2-microglobulin mechan...

Systemic amyloidosis is caused by misfolding and aggregation of globular proteins in vivo for which effective treatments are urgently needed. Inhibition of protein self-aggregation represents an attractive therapeutic strategy. Studies on the amyloidogenic variant of β2-microglobulin, D76N, causing hereditary systemic amyloidosis, have become particularly relevant since fibrils are formed in vi...

D76N is the first natural variant of human β-2 microglobulin (β2m) so far identified. Contrary to the wt protein, this mutant readily forms amyloid fibres in physiological conditions, leading to a systemic and severe amyloidosis. Although the Asp76Asn mutant has been extensively characterized, the molecular bases of its instability and aggregation propensity remain elusive. In this work all Asp...

Dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) is characterized by accumulation of amyloid β2- microglobulin (β2m) in the interstitial matrix. Matrix substances such as heparin have reportedly been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of dialysis-related amyloidosis. In clinical setting of hemodialysis, two types of heparin, i.e., high and low molecular heparin (H.M.H. and L.M.H.) have been routinely us...

Voltage-gated K(+) channels co-assemble with auxiliary beta subunits to form macromolecular complexes. In heart, assembly of Kv7.1 pore-forming subunits with KCNE1 beta subunits generates the repolarizing K(+) current I(KS). However, the detailed nature of their interface remains unknown. Mutations in either Kv7.1 or KCNE1 produce the life-threatening long or short QT syndromes. Here, we studie...

β-2-microglobulin (β2m) self-aggregates to form amyloid fibril in renal patients taking long-term dialysis treatment. Despite the extensive structural and mutation studies carried out so far, the molecular details on the factors that dictate amyloidogenic potential of β2m remain elusive. Here we report molecular dynamics simulations followed by the solvation thermodynamic analyses on the wild-t...