Life on the edge: a link between gene expression levels and aggregation rates of human proteins

We have found that expression levels of human genes in vivo are remarkably anti-correlated with the aggregation rates of the corresponding proteins measured in vitro by experiment. This result indicates that human proteins have evolved to resist aggregation and to function efficiently, but with almost no margin of safety to respond to genetic and environmental factors that decrease their solubility or increase their concentration in vivo. We speculate that this result provides a compelling reason for the existence of disorders that are associated with protein aggregation, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.