Journal Article (Review Article)

DZNE-2025-00885

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Physics of Protein Aggregation in Normal and Accelerated Brain Aging.

Espay, A. J. ; Sturchio, A. ; Imarisio, A. ; Hill, E. J. ; Williamson, B. ; Montemagno, K. ; Hoffmann, C.DZNE* ; Roy, H. L. ; Milovanovic, D.DZNE* ; Manfredsson, F. P.

2025
Wiley-Liss New York, NY

This record in other databases:    

Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1002/bies.70030

Abstract: Protein aggregation is a normal response to age-related exposures. According to the thermodynamic hypothesis of protein folding, soluble proteins precipitate into amyloids (pathology) under supersaturated conditions through a process similar to crystallization. This soluble-to-insoluble phase transition occurs via nucleation and may be catalyzed by ectopic surfaces such as lipid nanoparticles, microbes, or chemical pollutants. The increasing prevalence of these exposures with age correlates with the rising incidence of pathology over the lifespan. However, the formation of amyloid fibrils does not inherently cause neurodegeneration. Neurodegeneration emerges when the levels of functional monomeric proteins, from which amyloids form, fall below a critical threshold. The preservation of monomeric proteins may explain neurological resilience, regardless of the extent of amyloid deposition. This biophysical framework challenges the traditional clinicopathological view that considers amyloids intrinsically toxic, despite the absence of a known mechanism of toxicity. Instead, it suggests that chronic exposures driving persistent nucleation consume monomeric proteins as they aggregate. In normal aging, replacement matches loss; in accelerated aging, it does not. A biophysical approach to neurodegenerative diseases has important therapeutic implications, refocusing treatment strategies from removing pathology to restoring monomeric protein homeostasis above the threshold needed to sustain normal brain function.

Keyword(s): Humans (MeSH) ; Aging: metabolism (MeSH) ; Aging: pathology (MeSH) ; Brain: metabolism (MeSH) ; Brain: pathology (MeSH) ; Amyloid: metabolism (MeSH) ; Amyloid: chemistry (MeSH) ; Protein Aggregates (MeSH) ; Neurodegenerative Diseases: metabolism (MeSH) ; Neurodegenerative Diseases: pathology (MeSH) ; Animals (MeSH) ; Protein Aggregation, Pathological: metabolism (MeSH) ; Protein Folding (MeSH) ; Thermodynamics (MeSH) ; Alzheimer's disease ; Parkinson's disease ; amyloid ; cross‐beta ; nucleation ; seed amplification assay ; supersaturation ; Amyloid ; Protein Aggregates

---

Contributing Institute(s):

1. Molecular Neuroscience (AG Milovanovic (Berlin))

Research Program(s):

1. 351 - Brain Function (POF4-351) (POF4-351)

Appears in the scientific report 2025

---

Database coverage:
; ; ; BIOSIS Previews ; BIOSIS Reviews Reports And Meetings ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; DEAL Wiley ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF < 5 ; JCR ; Nationallizenz ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection ; Zoological Record

---