Aggregation and properties of α-synuclein and related proteins

alpha-Synuclein has been identified as a component of intracellular fibrillar protein deposits in several neurodegenerative diseases, and two mutant forms have been associated with early onset Parkinson's disease. A fragment of alpha-synuclein has also been identified as the non-Abeta component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid (NAC). Ageing solutions of alpha-synuclein and NAC leads to formation of beta-sheet, detectable by circular dichroism spectroscopy, and aggregation to form amyloid-like fibrils, detectable by electron microscopy. Differences in the rates of aggregation of the fibrils formed by alpha-synuclein and the two mutant proteins are presented. The toxicity of alpha-synuclein and related peptides towards neurons is also discussing in relation to the aetiology of neurodegenerative diseases. Experiments on fragments of NAC have enabled the region of NAC responsible for its aggregation and toxicity to be identified.