Can Feeding Amyloid Fibrils Trigger Amyloid Formation in C. Elegans?

Abstract: Amyloidosis are diseases caused by misfolded proteins that have transformed into extracellular insoluble amyloid fibrils. One type of amyloidosis is AA amyloidosis caused by AA amyloid and diseases connected are Rheumatoid arthritis and Tuberculosis. C. Elegans is a nematode used as a model organism and in this experiment. They are transgenic and express GFP (green fluorescent protein), a probe that mark the body-wall muscle cells in order to be visible in fluorescence microscopes.  Worms expressing AA45 and AA76 as well as a GFP control were fed with E. Coli OP50 and amyloid AA896 or Lin100. One control group was only fed with OP50. Three different aspects were researched: the size of the worms, their movements and a confocal microscope was used to detect amyloid. Neither the size of the worms nor the movements seemed to be linked to AA amyloid formation. However, amyloid were detected in worms expressing AA45 and AA76 but not in the GFP control when studied through a confocal microscope.  In this research it is shown that worms fed with amyloid fibrils and expressing AA45 or AA76 start forming amyloid in the body-wall muscle. This can be of much help in future research in order to make simpler diagnostical methods which can reduce the time for patients to start treatment and improve chances of survival or living with the disease with less complications.