Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 18, 2025

Interactions with and Membrane Permeabilization of Brain Mitochondria by Amyloid Fibrils
Published on: September 28, 2019
Influence of Lipid Membranes on α-Synuclein Aggregation
Andrii S Kurochka1,2, Dmytro A Yushchenko1,3, Petr Bouř1,2
1Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Prague 166 10, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
α-Synuclein is a neuronal protein involved in synaptic vesicle trafficking. During the course of Parkinson's disease, it aggregates, forming amyloid fibrils that accumulate in the midbrain. This pathological fibrillization process is strongly modulated by physiological interactions of α-synuclein with lipid membranes. However, the detailed mechanism of this effect remains unclear. In this work, we used environment-sensitive fluorescent dyes to study the influence of model lipid membranes on the kinetics of α-synuclein fibrillization. We observed that formation of the fibrils from α-synuclein monomers is strongly delayed even by small amounts of lipids. Furthermore, we found that membrane-bound α-synuclein monomers are not involved in fibril elongation. Hence, presence of lipids slows down fibril growth proportionally to the fraction of membrane-bound protein.
More Related Videos
09:16Exogenous Administration of Microsomes-associated Alpha-synuclein Aggregates to Primary Neurons As a Powerful Cell Model of Fibrils Formation
Published on: June 26, 2018
08:24A Method to Study α-Synuclein Toxicity and Aggregation Using a Humanized Yeast Model
Published on: November 25, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining,...
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
Membrane Fluidity
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with...