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Betreff:
PROTEIN FOLDING
(Amyloid)...similarities between raindrops...2004
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Von: JCMPelican @aol.com
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Datum: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 01:02:36 EDT
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PROTEIN FOLDING (AMYLOID) - SIMILARITIES BETWEEN RAINDROPS
There is "a bit of irony" in that
information regarding raindrop formation is providing clues to amyloid plaque formation
linked to neurodegenerative problems such as ALS, mad cow disease and
Alzheimers Disease and my "simplistic reference" to a song by B. J.
Thomas called "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." Alternating the
title with "EMF's Keep Falling On My Head" might
be appropos considering these neurodegenerative diseases all, more
likely than not, are promoted by "close, chronic, prolonged
EMF/EMR exposures (EMF/EMR occupational exposures and/or EMF/EMR
"sleep exposures," cellular antennae, high voltage powerlines,
cell phones, WiFi, wiring and grounding problems, etc. .....).
While reading the commentary regarding raindrops
below, I can't help but think again about my (
EMF/EMR-exposed to "electric meter" ) guinea pig,
Kelley, who died from the rare bone marrow disease, " REACTIVE
RENAL AMYLOIDOSIS " (amyloidosis is caused by misfolding of
proteins - see:
http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/M608589200v1.pdf January 2007 JBC papers in press re Amyloidogenesis
AND:
Protein Misfolding, Amyloid
Formation, and Neurodegeneration = A Critical Role for Molecular
Chaperones?.
Neuron, Volume
35, Issue 1, Pages 9-12 P.
Muchowski http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0896627302007614 )
I will try and
find out what biochemists Mikael Oliveberg and Linda Hedberg at Umeå
University have discovered since their report in 2004. Take
care - Joanne
Joanne C. Mueller
Guinea Pigs R Us
731 - 123rd Avenue N.W.
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55448-2127 USA
Phone: 763-755-6114
Email: jcmpelican@aol.com
(6-25-07)
"No substance is a poison by itself. It is the
dose that makes a substance a poison..." Paracelsus (1493-1541)
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Medical News Today - www.medicalnewstoday.com
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Unexpected
similarities between raindrops and proteins
27 May
2004
Raindrops
and proteins seem to have a lot in common. This has been shown in a new
study by scientists at Umeå University in Sweden. The principle behind the
formation of raindrops is very similar to how proteins fold. This knowledge
is vital to our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases like ALS.
These findings have been published in the latest issue of the journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and have caught the
attention of the international research community. The study was carried
out by the biochemists Mikael Oliveberg and Linda Hedberg at Umeå
University.
To form a raindrop, it is not enough for a few water molecules to stick
together. About 100 water molecules have to conglomerate at the same time. If
there are fewer, the drop cannot begin to grow, but it falls to pieces
immediately.
Using newly developed theory, Linda Hedberg and Mikael Oliveberg have shown
that the inscrutable building blocks of the body, proteins, adopt their
proper shape in a similar manner. Unlike water, proteins are made up of
long chains, and these chains have to instantly fold to a
globular form to keep the normal function of the cell.
But just like raindrops, it is not enough if just a few segments of the
protein chains start tangling together. All parts have to come together at
once, otherwise nothing happens. The scientists see a key principle in
this.
"Now that we see the similarities between the genesis of raindrops and
the folding of proteins we can also analyze protein folding in a clearer
light. We have a stringent theory to follow," says Mikael Oliveberg.
The complicated way in which proteins fold offers the advantage that no
half-developed proteins are formed. If such half-developed proteins
nevertheless accumulate, they tend to stick to each other, which in
turn can lead the cell to "commit suicide".
Such improper folding in the sensitive nerve cells lies behind severe
disorders like ALS, mad-cow disease, and Alzheimer's disease. At
present these diseases are incurable because the knowledge of the
misfolding process is yet fragmental.
With the aid of the new theory, these scientists are now working to map
what parts of the proteins control the folding and what parts are
vulnerable to noxious misfolding. The findings could
represent an important step toward a more detailed molecular understanding
of how proteins behave in our cells and what happens when things go wrong.
As so often in the past, parts of the puzzle turn up when they are least
expected: in this case the principle behind the formation of
raindrops may be the key to understanding neurodegenerative
diseases.
"The connection between raindrops and proteins may seem simple, but
simple solutions are often the right ones. It also shows how everything
fits together in nature. Phenomena recur, but with different faces. If we
can understand protein folding with help of this theory, we will also be
gaining a greater knowledge of life and why things sometimes go
wrong," says Mikael Oliveberg. [ Emphasis by
Joanne Mueller 6-25-07...]
Contact:
Karin Wikman
karin.wikman@adm.umu.se
46-90-786-6024
Swedish Research Council
Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=8730
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=8730