Functional Amyloids: Where Supramolecular Amyloid Assembly Controls Biological Activity or Generates New Functionality

Functional amyloids are a rapidly expanding class of fibrillar protein structures, with a core cross-β scaffold, where novel and advantageous biological function is generated by the assembly of the amyloid. The growing number of amyloid structures determined at high resolution reveal how this supramolecular template both accommodates a wide variety of amino acid sequences and also imposes selectivity on the assembly process. The amyloid fibril can no longer be considered a generic aggregate, even when associated with disease and loss of function. In functional amyloids the polymeric β-sheet rich structure provides multiple different examples of unique control mechanisms and structures that are finely tuned to deliver assembly or disassembly in response to physiological or environmental cues. Here we review the range of mechanisms at play in natural, functional amyloids, where tight control of amyloidogenicity is achieved by environmental triggers of conformational change, proteolytic generation of amyloidogenic fragments, or heteromeric seeding and amyloid fibril stability. In the amyloid fibril form, activity can be regulated by pH, ligand binding and higher order protofilament or fibril architectures that impact the arrangement of associated domains and amyloid stability. The growing understanding of the molecular basis for the control of structure and functionality delivered by natural amyloids in nearly all life forms should inform the development of therapies for amyloid-associated diseases and guide the design of innovative biomaterials.