Cryo-EM structure and inhibitor design of human IAPP (amylin) fibrils.
Cao, Q., Boyer, D.R., Sawaya, M.R., Ge, P., Eisenberg, D.S.(2020) Nat Struct Mol Biol 27: 653-659
- PubMed: 32541896 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-020-0435-3
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6VW2 - PubMed Abstract: 
Human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) functions as a glucose-regulating hormone but deposits as amyloid fibrils in more than 90% of patients with type II diabetes (T2D). Here we report the cryo-EM structure of recombinant full-length hIAPP fibrils. The fibril is composed of two symmetrically related protofilaments with ordered residues 14-37. Our hIAPP fibril structure (i) supports the previous hypothesis that residues 20-29 constitute the core of the hIAPP amyloid; (ii) suggests a molecular mechanism for the action of the hIAPP hereditary mutation S20G; (iii) explains why the six residue substitutions in rodent IAPP prevent aggregation; and (iv) suggests regions responsible for the observed hIAPP cross-seeding with β-amyloid. Furthermore, we performed structure-based inhibitor design to generate potential hIAPP aggregation inhibitors. Four of the designed peptides delay hIAPP aggregation in vitro, providing a starting point for the development of T2D therapeutics and proof of concept that the capping strategy can be used on full-length cryo-EM fibril structures.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Biological Chemistry, UCLA-DOE Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.