Life on the Edge: Proteins are close to the Solubility Limits

by Prof. Michele Vendruscolo (Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, UK)

Tuesday 22 May 2012, 16:00 → 19:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Dipartimento di Fisica - Ed. G. Marconi)

The maintenance of proteins in a soluble state is a fundamental aspect of protein homeostasis. This task, however, is very challenging in living systems because native states of proteins are metastable against aggregation, so that without tight regulation in the cell they will eventually form aberrant assemblies and causing neurodegeneration. These observations form the basis for a unified framework for understanding the molecular basis of protein aggregation and for the rational development of therapeutic strategies based on the biological and chemical regulation of protein solubility.