title: Genetic engineering combined with deep UV resonance Raman spectroscopy for structural characterization of amyloid-like fibrils.
abstract: Elucidating the structure of the cross-beta core in large amyloid fibrils is a challenging problem in modern structural biology. For the first time, a set of de novo polypeptides was genetically engineered to form amyloid-like fibrils with similar morphology and yet different strand length. Differential ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy allowed for separation of the spectroscopic signatures of the highly ordered beta-sheet strands and turns of the fibril core. The relationship between Raman frequencies and Ramachandran dihedral angles of the polypeptide backbone indicates the nature of the beta-sheet and turn structural elements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University at Albany, SUNY, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12222, USA.
authors.forename: Vitali
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sikirzhytski
authors.forename: Natalya I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Topilina
authors.forename: Seiichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higashiya
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.forename: Igor K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Lednev
mesh_terms: D000682:Amyloid / Q000737:chemistry*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D010455:Peptides