LAUSR

The transformation of functional proteins into amyloidic plaques is responsible for the impairment of neurological functions in patients fallen victim to debilitating neurological conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. The nucleating role of amyloid beta (Aβ1-40 ) peptide into amyloids is well established. Herein, lipid hybrid-vesicles were generated with glycerol/cholesterol-bearing polymers aiming to alter the nucleation process and modulate the early phases of Aβ1-40 fibrillation. Hybrid-vesicles (± 100 nm) were prepared by incorporating variable amounts of cholesterol-/glycerol-conjugated poly(di(ethylene glycol)m acrylates)n polymers into 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) membranes. The in vitro fibrillation kinetics coupled to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to investigate the role of hybrid-vesicles on Aβ1-40 fibrillation without destroying the vesicular membrane. Both polymers, when embedded in hybrid-vesicles (up to 20%) significantly prolonged the fibrillation lag phase compared to a small acceleration in the presence of DOPC vesicles, irrespective of the polymers or the amount of polymers inside the hybrid-vesicles. Along with the notable retardation effect, a morphological transformation of the amyloid's secondary structures to amorphous aggregates or the absence of fibrillar structures when interacting with the hybrid-vesicles was confirmed by TEM and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.