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Brief Communication

Nature Chemical Biology 4, 197–199 (1 March 2008) | doi:10.1038/nchembio.65

Small-molecule aggregates inhibit amyloid polymerization

Brian Y Feng , Brandon H Toyama , Holger Wille , David W Colby , Sean R Collins , Barnaby C H May , Stanley B Prusiner , Jonathan Weissman & Brian K Shoichet

Many amyloid inhibitors resemble molecules that form chemical aggregates, which are known to inhibit many proteins. Eight known chemical aggregators inhibited amyloid formation of the yeast and mouse prion proteins Sup35 and recMoPrP in a manner characteristic of colloidal inhibition.