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Enlightening amyloid fibrils linked to type 2 diabetes and cross-interactions with Aβ

Three recent studies report cryo-EM structures of amyloid fibrils of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), which are linked to type 2 diabetes (T2D) pathogenesis. The results shed light on the structural basis of IAPP fibril formation, reveal remarkable similarities between IAPP and Aβ fibrils and will inform the design of anti-amyloid drugs in T2D and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

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Fig. 1: Cryo-EM structures of IAPP fibrils and implications for T2D and AD pathogenesis.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 1035; B06) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Correspondence to Aphrodite Kapurniotu.

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The author is a coinventor on patents and patent applications for designed peptides as inhibitors of IAPP and Aβ amyloid formation and their use in the treatment of T2D and AD.

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Kapurniotu, A. Enlightening amyloid fibrils linked to type 2 diabetes and cross-interactions with Aβ. Nat Struct Mol Biol 27, 1006–1008 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-020-00523-z

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