Proteins are like intricate origami. Misfolding can lead to a number of neurodegenerative diseases.
Ashutosh Tiwari, an associate professor of chemistry at Michigan Tech, calls misfolding “a breakdown of the cellular machinery” that leads to a number of diseases.
“If proteins are aggregating in different parts of the brain, they can affect different functions,” Tiwari says, explaining that these aggregates are called many names including plaques, tangles, and pick bodies. “At the end of the day, we as biochemists are describing a very specific structure of an aggregate and the big question in our field is, what are the toxic forms?”
Check out this video where Tiwari explains the basics of protein misfolding.
Ashutosh Tiwari: Misfolded Protein
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
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