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Published on: September 28, 2019
Alpha-synuclein oligomerization: a role for lipids?
1Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, 240 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Alpha-Synuclein is a core component of the proteinaceous aggregates observed in several neurodegenerative diseases. A central role of alpha-synuclein in neurodegeneration was demonstrated by the discovery of missense alpha-synuclein mutations in familial Parkinson's disease. However, the specific mechanism by which alpha-synuclein contributes to these diseases remains unclear. A recent study by Sharon et al. linked the presence of specific fatty acids to the appearance of alpha-synuclein oligomers in vivo. alpha-Synuclein oligomers might be a first step in the formation of alpha-synuclein aggregates present in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, although their cytotoxicity remains to be directly demonstrated.
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