Mechanisms of the self-assembly of EAK16-family peptides into fibrillar and globular structures: molecular dynamics simulations from nano- to micro-seconds

The self-assembly of EAK16-family peptides in a bulk solution was studied using a combination of all-atom and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. In addition, specified concentrations of EAK16 peptides were induced to form fibrillary or globular assemblies in vitro. The results show that the combination of all-atom molecular dynamics simulations on the single- and double-chain levels and coarse-grained simulations on the many-chain level predicts the experimental observations reasonably well. At neutral pH conditions, EAK16-I and EAK16-II assemble into fibrillary structures, whereas EAK16-IV aggregates into globular assemblies. Mechanisms of the formation of fibrillar and globular assemblies are described using the simulation results.