Clues about protein linked to Parkinson’s disease

Washington: A team of researchers has found structural clues about the protein linked to Parkinson’s disease (PD), which ultimately could lead to finding a cure for the degenerative neurological disorder.

The study is by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).

The alpha-synuclein (a-synuclein) protein is commonly found in the healthy human brain even though its function is not clear. The protein has been the subject of substantial Parkinson’s research, however, because it is a major component in the protein clumps found in PD cases.

Unlike most proteins, which are typically rigid and occur in one definitive form, the alpha-synuclein protein can fold and change its structure.

Researchers Tobias S. Ulmer, Ph.D. and Sowmya Bekshe Lokappa, Ph.D. at the Keck School-affiliated Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute have determined that the energy difference between two particular alpha-synuclein structures is less than previously speculated.

“We’re trying to understand the mechanisms of protein folding and misfolding,” Ulmer, the study’s principal investigator and an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, said.

“Then we can say why something is going wrong, which is essential to treating neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s,” he stated.

If proteins misfold, they are repaired or they break down. However, when alpha-synuclein misfolds it aggregates and becomes toxic to surrounding nerve cells, Ulmer explained.

Understanding its folding and finding what causes aberrant folding is therefore key to determining the root cause of the disorder, he added.

ANI

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