>Amyloidogenic Proteins: Beta2-Microglobulin

A variety of apparently unrelated diseases such as Alzehimer's disease, Prion disease, diabetes and cancer, share a common feature: the aggregation of protein misfolded deposit. This suggest the possibility to link the causes of all these diseases under common principles and the exciting challange to find a common target for therapeutic intervention.

ß2m intermolecular beta sheet

In order to shed more light on the molecular processes at the basis of protein folding misfolding and aggregations, we have undertaken a systematic study on Acylphosphatases (ACP) from different sources and on ß2-microglobulin (ß2m), the non -covalently bound light chain of the human class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I). The natural turnover of this complex, give rise to the release of ß2m in the periplasmatic fluid and to the consequent catabolism in the kidney. As a consequence for renal failure, in patient receiving haemodyalisis, the increasing of ß2m concentration can lead to the deposition of amyloid fibrils