Propagation and aggregation
of alpha synuclein in murine models K. R. WALKER, W. ARIAS, J. BERGER, N. CHIRICHELLA, B. S. NUNEZ, R. SPRINGER, K. CIRILLO, J. SANCHEZ - PADILA, G. TOMBAUGH, A. GHAVAMI, S. RAMBOZ... Abstract / Posters
Propagation and aggregation
of alpha synuclein in murine models S RAMBOZ WASHINGTON A, RAYNEL S, JASON B, NICOLE C, SHEILYN N, KIMBERLY C, KIM C, KENDALL W... Abstract / Posters
The researchers hypothesize that these chaperone proteins may assist in the proper folding
of alpha synuclein, which could prevent it from forming clumps.
Not exact matches
This drug is designed to reduce the build up
of a neural protein in the brain called
alpha -
synuclein that is associated with the disease.
Although one
of the mutations has no effect, the other, which switches one nucleotide from an A to a G, slightly but significantly boosts
alpha -
synuclein production.
For example, in sporadic PD, multiple GWAS point to the
alpha -
synuclein gene (SNCA) as one
of the strongest risk loci in patients» genomes, yet GWAS contain little information regarding the mechanism
of how this gene is dysregulated in sporadic PD patients.
When compared to the enhanced
alpha -
synuclein production in the familial form
of the disease, the modest effect created by the A to G mutation would be sufficient over a lifetime to increase the risk
of PD, according to Soldner.
though the exact cause
of Parkinson's is unknown, evidence points to an accumulation
of alpha -
synuclein, which has been found to be common to all people with the disorder.
The study, published in the October edition
of the journal Neurotherapeutics, found that the drug, AT2101, which has also been studied for Gaucher disease, improved motor function, stopped inflammation in the brain and reduced levels
of alpha -
synuclein, a protein critically involved in Parkinson's.
«More light means an increased level
of alpha -
synuclein, which would be considered a diseased state.»
The team said research will focus on what aspects
of the
alpha -
synuclein protein kill neurons during Parkinson's disease.
«Among them were multiple genes known to predispose individuals to Parkinson's — so we show that various genetic forms
of Parkinson's are directly related to
alpha -
synuclein.
Whether in a yeast cell or in a neuron,
alpha synuclein directly interfered with the rate
of production
of proteins in the cell, and the transport
of proteins between cellular compartments.
To start, they created two ways to systematically map the footprint
of alpha -
synuclein within living cells.
«In the second paper, we created a spatial map
of alpha -
synuclein, cataloging all the proteins in living neurons that were in close proximity to the protein,» explained Chee Yeun Chung, former Whitehead Institute Senior Research Scientist, who co-led both studies with Khurana.
(To do the experiment in a blinded, unbiased manner, the Loyola researchers did not know which types
of alpha -
synuclein were which.)
Moreover, the results showed that many effects
of alpha -
synuclein have been conserved across a billion years
of evolution from yeast to human,» said Khurana, former Visiting Scientist at the Whitehead Institute.
Melki, a protein researcher at the Paris - Saclay Institute
of Neuroscience, is known for his ability to generate distinct types
of alpha -
synuclein.
So they asked collaborator Ronald Melki, PhD, to send them samples
of different types
of alpha -
synuclein.
The mapping was achieved without disturbing the native environment
of the neuron, by tagging
alpha -
synuclein with an enzyme — APEX — that allowed proteins less than 10 nanometers away from
synuclein to be marked with a trackable fingerprint.
Arising from the abnormal buildup
of a protein known as
alpha -
synuclein in the brain, such conditions damage the nerves that control blood pressure and heart rate.
To investigate, scientists at the University
of California at San Diego ran supercomputer simulations using 962,757 processor hours to explore myriad possible shapes that
alpha -
synuclein molecules can take.
«Activation
of these cell receptors appear to prevent brain cells from cleaning out the trash — the toxic buildup
of proteins, such as
alpha -
synuclein, tau and amyloid, common in neurodegenerative diseases,» says the study's senior author, neurologist Charbel Moussa, MBBS, PhD, director
of Georgetown's Laboratory for Dementia and Parkinsonism, and scientific and clinical research director
of the GUMC Translational Neurotherapeutics Program.
Researchers at the University
of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine have uncovered a major reason why the Parkinson's - related protein
alpha -
synuclein, a major constituent
of the Lewy bodies that are the pathological hallmark
of Parkinson's disease (PD), is toxic to neurons in the brain.
People whose cells make too much
alpha -
synuclein or make a mutated form
of the protein are at high risk
of developing PD because
of the protein's toxicity, researchers found.
They found that by attaching to a mitochondrial protein called TOM20,
alpha -
synuclein prevented the mitochondria from functioning optimally, which resulted in the production
of less energy and more damaging cellular waste.
In the new study, Dr. Greenamyre and his team — led by coauthors Roberto Di Maio, Ph.D., and Paul Barrett, Ph.D., both
of PIND — used a well - established rodent model
of PD to show exactly how
alpha -
synuclein disrupts mitochondrial function.
In mice infected with the H5N1 virus, deposits
of phosphorylated
alpha -
synuclein (arrows) in dopamine neurons may be a sign
of neurodegeneration.
Degenerating neurons contain large clumps
of a protein called
alpha -
synuclein.
«The effects
of alpha -
synuclein on mitochondria are like making a perfectly good coal - fueled power plant extremely inefficient, so it not only fails to make enough electricity, but also creates too much toxic pollution,» said Dr. Greenamyre.
Yet if you look at people who develop the clinical syndrome
of dementia, especially later in life, yes, they have amyloid in the brain but they also have other pathologic entities — vascular disease; synucleinopathies [insoluble fibrils
of the normally soluble protein,
alpha -
synuclein]; a tauopathy [which is marked by disease - inducing, insoluble tangles
of another protein, tau].
The pathological hallmark
of this disease is the accumulation
of alpha -
synuclein, which in turn leads to cell death and consequently to problems in neurotransmission.
As published this week in Nucleic Acids Research, they have discovered a mechanism that regulates the expression
of alpha -
synuclein, a protein linked to Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy (MSA).
The Penn team also found that patients with this genetic variation had a slower rate
of Parkinson's disease progression, and lower amounts
of alpha -
synuclein in the brain.
The human
alpha -
synuclein protein is made
of 140 amino acids and is encoded by the SNCA gene.
Alpha -
synuclein is a protein that experts know plays a role in the development
of Parkinson's disease.
Alpha -
synuclein is the primary structural component
of Lewy bodies, which are clumps
of protein that develop inside nerve cells in Parkinson's disease and some other disorders.
Scientists have been investigating treatments that could prevent
alpha -
synuclein from becoming malformed, but much
of the research is still in its early stages, Liddle said.
New leads on
alpha -
synuclein could also aid the development
of therapies targeting the protein.
Inside these cells is a protein called
alpha -
synuclein, which is known to go awry and lead to damaging clumps in the brains
of Parkinson's patients, as well as those with Alzheimer's disease.
Clinical and experimental evidence suggests however that
alpha -
synuclein — or abnormal forms
of it — could «jump» from one neuron to another and thus spread between anatomically interconnected regions.
«Protein associated with Parkinson's travels from brain to gut: New laboratory study provides clues on a particular pathway
of «
alpha -
synuclein» diffusion.»
«Some forms
of Parkinson's disease are associated with an overproduction
of alpha -
synuclein.
The study also reveals a preferential route
of alpha -
synuclein transmission via the vagus nerve.
«It shows that transmission
of alpha -
synuclein is not just a matter
of anatomical connections.
Fibers
of the vagus nerve connect the brain to a variety
of internal organs; travelling within these fibers, human
alpha -
synuclein was ultimately able to reach the gastric wall about six months after its initial midbrain expression.
Alpha -
synuclein lesions have also been observed within neurons
of the peripheral nervous system, such as those in the gastric wall.
«Our present approach was to look at this long - distance transmission
of alpha -
synuclein from the opposite perspective, investigating the possibility that
alpha -
synuclein may travel from the brain to the gut.»
With the help
of a tailor - made viral vector they triggered production
of human
alpha -
synuclein in rats.
The virus transferred the blueprint
of the human
alpha -
synuclein gene specifically into neurons
of the midbrain, which then began producing large quantities
of the foreign protein.