Background. In β2-microglobulin-related (Aβ2M) amyloidosis, partial unfolding of β2-microglobulin (β2-m) is believed to be prerequisite to its assembly into Aβ2M amyloid fibrils in vivo. Low concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate induce partial unfolding of β2-m to an amyloidogenic conformer and subsequent amyloid fibril formation in vitro, but the biological molecules that induce them under ...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of β2-microglobulin (β2-M) on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in renal tubular epithelial cells. METHODS A human kidney proximal tubular cell line (HK-2) was used as the proximal tubular cell model. HK-2 cells were exposed to different concentrations of β2-M (5, 10, 25, and 50 μM) for up to 24, 48 and 72 h. Th...