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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Jul 7.
Published in final edited form as: J Am Chem Soc. 2010 Jul 7;132(26):8973–8983. doi: 10.1021/ja1007867

Figure 11. Cartoon schematic of how zinc may influence IAPP aggregation and toxicity.

Figure 11

(A) In the secretory granule, IAPP is prevented from aggregation by the acidic environment and the inhibitory action of insulin. (B) Exocytosis of the secretory granule simultaneously releases IAPP and zinc into the extracellular space. (C) A high local concentration of IAPP near the plasma membrane is prevented from disrupting the β-cell by transient binding to zinc. (D) Zinc dissociates from IAPP at the low equilibrium concentrations found in the extracellular space, however, IAPP is now diluted past the critical concentration for aggregation.