Cryo-EM structure of islet amyloid polypeptide fibrils reveals similarities with amyloid-β fibrils

Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2020 Jul;27(7):660-667. doi: 10.1038/s41594-020-0442-4. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

Abstract

Amyloid deposits consisting of fibrillar islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) in pancreatic islets are associated with beta-cell loss and have been implicated in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, we applied cryo-EM to reconstruct densities of three dominant IAPP fibril polymorphs, formed in vitro from synthetic human IAPP. An atomic model of the main polymorph, built from a density map of 4.2-Å resolution, reveals two S-shaped, intertwined protofilaments. The segment 21-NNFGAIL-27, essential for IAPP amyloidogenicity, forms the protofilament interface together with Tyr37 and the amidated C terminus. The S-fold resembles polymorphs of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated amyloid-β (Aβ) fibrils, which might account for the epidemiological link between T2D and AD and reports on IAPP-Aβ cross-seeding in vivo. The results structurally link the early-onset T2D IAPP genetic polymorphism (encoding Ser20Gly) with the AD Arctic mutation (Glu22Gly) of Aβ and support the design of inhibitors and imaging probes for IAPP fibrils.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / physiopathology
  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / chemistry
  • Cryoelectron Microscopy
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Islet Amyloid Polypeptide / chemistry*
  • Islet Amyloid Polypeptide / genetics
  • Islet Amyloid Polypeptide / metabolism
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Protein Conformation

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Islet Amyloid Polypeptide