Fakultät für Chemie
Dr. Veronica Dodero publishes in ACS Nano with the article being featured on the front cover
Dr. Veronica Dodero publishes in ACS Nano with the article being featured on the front cover
The article talks about peptides, the building blocks of proteins, that can sometimes behave in unexpected ways. Certain peptides—whether produced by our own body or taken in from food—can resist normal breakdown and start to self-assemble into tiny clusters or fibers. These nanostructures are not harmless: they can disrupt cells and play a role in diseases. In Alzheimer’s disease, for example, amyloid-β peptides adopt different shapes that determine how toxic they are to nerve cells. In gluten-related disorders such as celiac disease, small fragments of gluten proteins also form nanostructures that may act a bit like “non-replicating pathogens.”
By studying how peptides self-assemble, scientists are uncovering new links between brain and gut health, and developing methods to prevent harmful structures from forming. This knowledge not only helps to understand why these diseases develop, but also opens the door to new strategies for therapies that target the very first steps of peptide aggregation.