What are the consequences of protein misfolding in cells?
Proteins that fold improperly may also impact the health of the cell regardless of the function of the protein. When proteins fail to fold into their functional state, the resulting misfolded proteins can be contorted into shapes that are unfavorable to the crowded cellular environment.
How does protein misfolding cause Parkinson disease?
Parkinson’s disease is thought to be a proteinopathy — a condition caused by proteins in the brain folding improperly, which sets off a chain reaction of misfolding in other proteins, eventually forming clumps and damaging the brain. Specifically, Parkinson’s is characterized by clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein.
Why do misfolded proteins cause disease?
The formation of oligomers and aggregates occurs in the cell when a critical concentration of misfolded protein is reached. Aggregated proteins inside the cell often lead to the formation of an amyloid-like structure, which eventually causes different types of degenerative disorders and ultimately cell death [[4]].
Which of these protein misfolding and aggregation is linked to Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been identified as a proteopathy: a protein misfolding disease due to the accumulation of abnormally folded amyloid beta (Aβ) protein in the brain.
How protein misfolding causes Huntington’s disease?
Huntington’s disease, a lethal neurodegenerative condition, is believed to be caused by misfolding of mutated versions of huntingtin protein in which a glutamine-containing sequence is repeated too many times.
What happens if a protein is misfolded?
The misfolding of proteins can trigger the further misfolding and accumulation of other proteins into aggregates or oligomers. The increased levels of aggregated proteins in the cell leads to formation of amyloid-like structures which can cause degenerative disorders and cell death.
What proteins are affected by type 2 diabetes?
In people with diabetes, either the pancreas isn’t producing insulin (type 1 diabetes) or the insulin that is produced isn’t effectively shuttling sugar into the organs (type 2 diabetes). The protein TXNIP, short for thioredoxin-interacting protein, is involved in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.