Oligomeric Intermediates in Amyloid Formation: Structure Determination and Mechanisms of Toxicity Review Article

Oligomeric intermediates are non-fibrillar polypeptide assemblies that occur during amyloid fibril formation and that are thought to underlie the aetiology of amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimerʹs disease, Parkinsonʹs disease and Huntingtonʹs disease. Focusing primarily on the oligomeric states formed from Alzheimerʹs disease β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, this review will make references to other polypeptide systems, highlighting common principles or sequence-specific differences. The covered topics include the structural properties and polymorphism of oligomers, the biophysical mechanism of peptide self-assembly and its role for pathogenicity in amyloid disease. Oligomer-dependent toxicity mechanisms will be explained along with recently emerging possibilities of interference.