The physical dimensions of amyloid aggregates control their infective potential as prion particles

Transmissible amyloid particles called prions are associated with infectious prion diseases in mammals and inherited phenotypes in yeast. All amyloid aggregates can give rise to potentially infectious seeds that accelerate their growth. Why some amyloid seeds are highly infectious prion particles while others are less infectious or even inert, is currently not understood. To address this question, we analyzed the suprastructure and dimensions of synthetic amyloid fibrils assembled from the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) prion protein Sup35NM. We then quantified the ability of these particles to induce the [PSI+] prion phenotype in cells. Our results show a striking relationship between the length distribution of the amyloid fibrils and their ability to induce the heritable [PSI+] prion phenotype. Using a simple particle size threshold model to describe transfection activity, we explain how dimensions of amyloid fibrils are able to modulate their infectious potential as prions.