ABSTRACT

Amyloid is a fibrous, β-sheet-rich protein aggregate that was discovered over a century ago in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, a large number of degenerative diseases feature amyloid formation. Surprisingly, many recent studies have shown that amyloid also constitutes an important, emerging class of protein fibres that fulfil an array of functions in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. This chapter will introduce functional amyloid and cover background topics including protein folding and aggregation, the structural features of amyloid, mechanisms of amyloid formation, and amyloid as a pathological entity. Thus, this chapter seeks to provide a background and perspective that will be helpful in reading the rest of this book.