Biologists find unexpected role for amyloid-forming protein
Fibrous protein clumps known as amyloids are most often associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, where they form characteristic plaques in the brain. Scientists first described amyloids about 150 years ago; they have since been tagged as key players in Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as Alzheimer’s. However, recent findings suggest that this class of proteins may also have critical biological functions in healthy cells. In a study appearing in this week’s issue of Cell, MIT biologists have discovered that yeast cells need to build amyloid-like structures during the production of reproductive cells called spores. Learning more about how yeast build and then break down these protein structures could help scientists develop drugs that destroy disease-causing amyloids, the researchers say. “Amyloids in the brain persist for decades. We just can’t get rid of them, yet yeast cells seem to have a mechanism for getting rid of them in...