Membrane-Accelerated Amyloid-β Aggregation and Formation of Cross-β Sheets

Amyloid- [Formula: see text] aggregates play a causative role in Alzheimer’s disease. These aggregates are a product of the physical environment provided by the basic neuronal membrane, composed of a lipid bilayer. The intrinsic properties of the lipid bilayer allow amyloid- [Formula: see text] peptides to nucleate and form well-ordered cross- [Formula: see text] sheets within the membrane. Here, we correlate the aggregation of the hydrophobic fragment of the amyloid- [Formula: see text] protein, [Formula: see text] , with the hydrophobicity, fluidity, and charge density of a lipid bilayer. We summarize recent biophysical studies of model membranes and relate these to the process of aggregation in physiological systems.