Figures
Artistic rendering of the conformational polymorphism of a neurotoxic protein.
Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's have been causally related to specific proteins that typically do not have a defined structure. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy one can monitor their rich conformational polymorphism, which is on the basis of the key process that triggers the pathological cascade, making it an ideal target for therapy, diagnostics and prevention. This conformational polymorphism is closely associated to disease and can be inhibited by a potential therapeutic agent. See Hervás et al. (e1001335), in this issue.
Image Credit: Àngel Gómez-Sicilia, Albert Galera-Prat, and Mariano Carrón-Vázquez. Image generated using CESGA resources and VMD program.
Citation: (2012) PLoS Biology Issue Image | Vol. 10(5) May 2012. PLoS Biol 10(5): ev10.i05. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pbio.v10.i05
Published: May 29, 2012
Copyright: © 2012 Hervás. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's have been causally related to specific proteins that typically do not have a defined structure. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy one can monitor their rich conformational polymorphism, which is on the basis of the key process that triggers the pathological cascade, making it an ideal target for therapy, diagnostics and prevention. This conformational polymorphism is closely associated to disease and can be inhibited by a potential therapeutic agent. See Hervás et al. (e1001335), in this issue.
Image Credit: Àngel Gómez-Sicilia, Albert Galera-Prat, and Mariano Carrón-Vázquez. Image generated using CESGA resources and VMD program.