The severe impact of in vivo-like microfluidic flow and the influence of gemini surfactants on amyloid aggregation of hen egg white lysozyme

Abstract

The formation of amyloid plaques is being intensively studied, as this process underlies severe human diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, and the exact mechanism of this specific aggregation has not been resolved yet. The investigation of its formation is accompanied by the search for substances inhibiting this aggregation process. Here we studied the process of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) amyloid aggregation process in bulk solution within a time scale of about a week. We also examined the influence of four dicationic (gemini) surfactants, including 3,3′-[1,6-(2,5-dioxahexane)]bis-(1-dodecylimidazolium) dichloride (oxyC2), as well as selected reference sulfobetaines, on the aggregation process and found that at certain concentrations gemini surfactants remarkably inhibited amyloidogenesis. A microfluidic system was designed to mimic the in vivo-like conditions of flow in order to assess the influence of flow on the amyloid formation process. The flow was found to induce severe amyloid formation in just a few hours of exposition to the conditions which without flow would induce amyloidogenesis within a few days. The results shed light on the mechanisms responsible for the amyloid aggregation process and make an important contribution to understanding of the process.