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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Potential Roles Of Abundant Extracellular Chaperones In The Control Of Amyloid Formation And Toxicity, Mark R. Wilson, Justin J. Yerbury, Stephen Poon Jan 2007

Potential Roles Of Abundant Extracellular Chaperones In The Control Of Amyloid Formation And Toxicity, Mark R. Wilson, Justin J. Yerbury, Stephen Poon

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The in vivo formation of fibrillar proteinaceous deposits called amyloid is associated with more than 40 serious human diseases, collectively referred to as protein deposition diseases. In many cases the amyloid deposits are extracellular and are found associated with newly identified abundant extracellular chaperones (ECs). Evidence is presented suggesting an important regulatory role for ECs in amyloid formation and disposal in the body. A model is presented which proposes that, under normal conditions, ECs stabilize extracellular misfolded proteins by binding to them, and then guide them to specific cell receptors for uptake and subsequent degradation. Thus ECs and their receptors …


Sensitivity Of Marine Microalgae To Copper: The Effect Of Biotic Factors On Copper Adsorption And Toxicity, Jacqueline Levy, Jenny L. Stauber, Dianne F. Jolley Jan 2007

Sensitivity Of Marine Microalgae To Copper: The Effect Of Biotic Factors On Copper Adsorption And Toxicity, Jacqueline Levy, Jenny L. Stauber, Dianne F. Jolley

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Microalgae are sensitive indicators of environmental change and, as the basis of most freshwater and marine ecosystems, are widely used in the assessment of risk and development of environmental regulations for metals. However, interspecies differences in sensitivity to metals are not well understood. The relationship between metal-algal cell binding and copper sensitivity of marine microalgae was investigated using a series of 72-h growth-rate inhibition bioassays and short-term (1-h) uptake studies. A range of marine algae from different taxonomic groups were screened to determine whether copper adsorption to the cell membrane was influenced by biotic factors, such as the ultrastructure of …


The Extracellular Chaperone Clusterin Influences Amyloid Formation And Toxicity By Interacting With Pre-Fibrillar Structures, Justin Yerbury, Stephen Poon, Sarah Meehan, Brianna Thompson, Janet Kumita, Christopher Dobson, Mark Wilson Dec 2006

The Extracellular Chaperone Clusterin Influences Amyloid Formation And Toxicity By Interacting With Pre-Fibrillar Structures, Justin Yerbury, Stephen Poon, Sarah Meehan, Brianna Thompson, Janet Kumita, Christopher Dobson, Mark Wilson

Mark R Wilson

Clusterin is an extracellular chaperone present in all disease-associated extracellular amyloid deposits, however, its roles in amyloid formation and protein deposition in vivo are poorly understood. The current study initially aimed to characterise the effects of clusterin on amyloid formation in vitro by a panel of eight protein substrates. Two of the substrates (Alzheimer's beta peptide and a PI3-SH3 domain) were then used in further experiments to examine the effects of clusterin on amyloid cytotoxicity and to probe the mechanism of clusterin action. We show that clusterin exerts potent effects on amyloid formation, the nature and extent of which vary …