Research objects

We work with the proteins which form amyloid fibrils or droplets.

  • Amyloid fibrils are protein aggregates with cross-beta sheet structures. They are found during neurodegenerative disorders, cardiac diseases and cancer.
  • Protein droplets form during liquid-liquid phase separation, which can happen inside the cell. LLPS initiate protein aggregation, but it is also associated with several protein functions.
Schema iliustruojanti amiloidinių baltymų agregacijos procesą.
Schematic representation of the amyloid aggregation process

In our laboratory, we work with these proteins:

  • Alzheimer's disease:beta-amyloid, S100A, Tau; Tau baltymas.
  • Parkinson's disease:alpha-synuclein;
  • Spongiform encephalopathies: prion proteins;
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis:Superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1);
  • Other amyloidoses:ß2-microglobulin, transthyretin;
  • Model proteins: insulin, lysozyme;
  • Bacterial and yeast proteins:CsgABC, Sup35, Ure2;
  • Chaperones and regulatory proteins:14-3-3, Hsp, DegP;

Methodology

  • Gene engineering;
  • Protein and nucleic acid electrophoresis;
  • Production of recombinant proteins in bacteria;
  • Chromatographic methods (e.g. ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)) to purify proteins and other molecules of interest;
  • Monitoring of the amyloid aggregation process by measuring the absorption or dynamic light scattering of the solution, or the intensity of amyloid-specific dye fluorescence emission. Subsequently, we analyse aggregation kinetics using chemical kinetics tools;
  • Infrared spectroscopy to obtain insights into the secondary structure of amyloid proteins and their aggregates;
  • Atomic force microscopy to obtain insights into aggregate morphology and physical parameters (height, length, width, periodicity);
  • Mass spectrometry to determine mass of the protein;
  • Mechanistic insights into amyloid aggregation process are obtained by exploiting bioinformatic tools such as rModeler or AmyloFit.