Alpha-synuclein
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| Synuclein, alpha (non A4 component of amyloid precursor) | |||||||||||
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 PDB rendering based on 1xq8. | |||||||||||
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| Symbols | SNCA ; PD1; MGC110988; NACP; PARK1; PARK4 | ||||||||||
| External IDs | Template:OMIM5 Template:MGI HomoloGene: 293 | ||||||||||
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| Species | Human | Mouse | |||||||||
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Alpha-synuclein is a synuclein protein of unknown function primarily found in neural tissue, where it is seen mainly in presynaptic terminals. It is predominantly expressed in the neocortex, hippocampus, substantia nigra, thalamus, and cerebellum. It is predominantly a neuronal protein, but can also be found in glial cells.
Recent evidence suggests that alpha-synuclein functions as a molecular chaperone in the formation of SNARE complexes.
Alpha-synuclein is specifically upregulated in a discrete population of presynaptic terminals of the songbird brain during a period of song-acquisition-related synaptic rearrangement.[1]
Normally an unstructured soluble protein, alpha-synuclein can aggregate to form insoluble fibrils in pathological conditions characterized by Lewy bodies, such as Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. Alpha-synuclein is the primary structural component of Lewy body fibrils. In addition, an alpha-synuclein fragment, known as the non-Abeta component (NAC), is found in amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease.
In rare cases of familial forms of Parkinson's disease there is a mutation in the gene coding for alpha-synuclein. Three point mutations have been identified thus far: A53T, A30P and E46K. In addition, triplication of the gene appears to be the cause of Parkinson's disease in another lineage.
Antibodies against alpha-synuclein have replaced antibodies against ubiquitin as the gold standard for immunostaining of Lewy bodies.
See also
References
- ↑ George JM, Jin H, Woods WS, Clayton DF. (1995) Chracterization of a novel protein regulated during the critical period for song learning in the zebra finch. Neuron 15:361-372. PMID 7646890
Further Reading
- Polymeropoulos M, Lavedan C, Leroy E; et al. (1997). "Mutation in the alpha-synuclein gene identified in families with Parkinson's disease". Science. 276 (5321): 2045–7. PMID 9197268.
- Neumann M, Kahle P, Giasson B; et al. (2002). "Misfolded proteinase K-resistant hyperphosphorylated alpha-synuclein in aged transgenic mice with locomotor deterioration and in human alpha-synucleinopathies". J. Clin. Invest. 110 (10): 1429–39. PMID 12438441.
- Sandra Blakeslee: In Folding Proteins, Clues to Many Diseases. In: The New York Times, May 27 2002
- George JM (2001). "The synucleins". Genome Biology. 3 (1): reviews3002.1–3002.6. PMID 11806835.
- Lavedan C (1998). "The synuclein family". Genome Res. 8 (9): 871–80. PMID 9750188.
- Ozawa T, Wakabayashi K, Oyanagi K (2002). "[Recent progress in the research of multiple system atrophy with special references to alpha-synuclein and suprachiasmatic nucleus]". No To Shinkei. 54 (2): 111–7. PMID 11889756.
- Cole NB, Murphy DD (2002). "The cell biology of alpha-synuclein: a sticky problem?". Neuromolecular Med. 1 (2): 95–109. PMID 12025860.
- Iwatsubo T (2002). "[alpha-synuclein and Parkinson's disease]". Seikagaku. 74 (6): 477–82. PMID 12138709.
- Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM (2002). "Parkinson's disease and related synucleinopathies are a new class of nervous system amyloidoses". Neurotoxicology. 23 (4–5): 457–60. PMID 12428717.
- Alves da Costa C (2003). "Recent advances on alpha-synuclein cell biology: functions and dysfunctions". Curr. Mol. Med. 3 (1): 17–24. PMID 12558071.
- Di Rosa G, Puzzo D, Sant'Angelo A; et al. (2004). "Alpha-synuclein: between synaptic function and dysfunction". Histol. Histopathol. 18 (4): 1257–66. PMID 12973692.
- Baptista MJ, Cookson MR, Miller DW (2004). "Parkin and alpha-synuclein: opponent actions in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease". The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry. 10 (1): 63–72. doi:10.1177/1073858403260392. PMID 14987449.
- Kim S, Seo JH, Suh YH (2004). "Alpha-synuclein, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease". Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. 10 Suppl 1: S9–13. doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2003.11.005. PMID 15109581.
- Sidhu A, Wersinger C, Vernier P (2004). "alpha-Synuclein regulation of the dopaminergic transporter: a possible role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease". FEBS Lett. 565 (1–3): 1–5. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2004.03.063. PMID 15135042.
- Vekrellis K, Rideout HJ, Stefanis L (2004). "Neurobiology of alpha-synuclein". Mol. Neurobiol. 30 (1): 1–21. PMID 15247485.
- Chiba-Falek O, Nussbaum RL (2004). "Regulation of alpha-synuclein expression: implications for Parkinson's disease". Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 68: 409–15. PMID 15338643.
- Pankratz N, Foroud T (2005). "Genetics of Parkinson disease". NeuroRx : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics. 1 (2): 235–42. PMID 15717024.
- Singleton AB (2005). "Altered alpha-synuclein homeostasis causing Parkinson's disease: the potential roles of dardarin". Trends Neurosci. 28 (8): 416–21. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2005.05.009. PMID 15955578.
- Lee HG, Zhu X, Takeda A; et al. (2006). "Emerging evidence for the neuroprotective role of alpha-synuclein". Exp. Neurol. 200 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2006.04.024. PMID 16780837.
- Giorgi FS, Bandettini di Poggio A, Battaglia G; et al. (2006). "A short overview on the role of alpha-synuclein and proteasome in experimental models of Parkinson's disease". J. Neural Transm. Suppl. (70): 105–9. PMID 17017516.
External links
- alpha-Synuclein at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)