Chemical Physics Seminar
Noyes 147 (J. Holmes Sturdivant Lecture Hall)
Simulations of protein aggregation in the cellular milieu
Joan-Emma Shea,
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
University of California, Santa Barbara,
A number of diseases, known as amyloid diseases, are associated with pathological protein folding. Incorrectly or partially folded peptides or proteins can self-assemble into a variety of neurotoxic aggregate species, ranging from small soluble oligomers to amyloid fibrils. I will discuss fully atomic simulations of the early stages of aggregation of the amylin peptide (implicated in Type II diabetes) and of the Abeta peptide (implicated in Alzheimer s disease). I will also introduce a novel off-lattice coarse-grained peptide model that can be used to simulate the entire aggregation process from monomers to fibrils. The effects of beta-sheet propensity and of surfaces on the morphology of the aggregates will be discussed.
For more information, please contact Priscilla Boon by phone at 6524 or by email at [email protected].
Event Series
Chemical Physics Seminar Series