Inter-helix distances in lysophospholipid micelle-bound alpha-synuclein from pulsed ESR measurements

We demonstrate the use of pulsed ESR spectroscopy to measure intramolecular distances in the Parkinson's disease-associated protein alpha-synuclein bound to detergent and lysophospholipid micelles. We show that the inter-helical separation between the two helices formed upon binding to micelles is dependent on micelle composition, with micelles formed from longer acyl chains leading to an increased splaying of the two helices. Our data suggest that the topology of alpha-synuclein is not strongly constrained by the linker region between the two helices and instead depends on the geometry of the surface to which the protein is bound.