Silkmoth Chorion: A Natural Protective Amyloid - The Functional Fold: Amyloid Structures in Nature - page 55

Chapter 4

Silkmoth Chorion: A Natural
Protective Amyloid

Stavros J. Hamodrakas and Vassiliki A. Iconomidou
Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology,
University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Athens 157 01, Greece
[e-mail], [e-mail]

In this chapter, we review recent evidence on silkmoth chorion
protein synthetic peptide-analogues and on silkmoth chorion itself,
documenting the function of silkmoth chorion, the major component
of the eggshell, a structure with extraordinary physiological and
mechanical properties and a biological analogue of a cholesteric
liquid crystal, as a natural protective amyloid.

4.1 Introduction

Amyloid fibrils are derived from soluble forms of proteins or
peptides that convert, under certain conditions, into ordered fibrillar
aggregates, called amyloid fibrils. Amyloidoses are an intriguing
group of diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's,
type I diabetes, prion diseases, and many others, which may be
caused by protein aggregation and ensued amyloid fibril formation.

1,2

However, in certain cases, living organisms take advantage of the