Laminin inhibits Aβ42 fibril formation in vitro

In the present study, we investigated whether or not laminin inhibits Aβ42 fibril formation in the same manner as Aβ40. Both a thioflavine-T fluorometric assay and electron microscopy by negative staining demonstrated laminin to have a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on Aβ42 fibril formation. The amyloid fibril formation was inhibited approximately by 70% due to the presence of 1.0 mg/ml laminin co-incubated with 1.0 mg/ml Aβ42 peptide (molar ratio; Aβ42 peptide:laminin=200:1). These results thus suggested that laminin or its derivatives may be effective as therapeutic agents to either prevent or slow down the progression of amyloidogenesis in Alzheimer's disease.