Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 12, 2025

Studying Pre-formed Fibril Induced α-Synuclein Accumulation in Primary Embryonic Mouse Midbrain Dopamine Neurons
Published on: August 16, 2020
α-Synuclein Drives SNARE-Dependent Tubular Remodeling of Vesicles
1Shandong Laboratory of Yantai Drug Discovery, Bohai Rim Advanced Research Institute for Drug Discovery, Yantai, Shandong 264117, China.
Abstract:
α-Synuclein (α-syn) disrupts synaptic vesicle architecture in Parkinson's disease (PD), yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we identify a previously unrecognized phenomenon in which α-syn (≥20 μM) rapidly induces SNARE-dependent tubular protrusions on highly curved small unilamellar vesicles (∼45 nm in diameter). This process requires functional v- and t-SNAREs, as neither v-SNARE nor t-SNARE alone, nor predocked SNARE complexes or CDV-treated SNARE liposomes, support tubulation. Notably, the familial PD-associated mutations A30P and E46K enhance tubule formation, whereas A53T exhibits minimal activity. Disrupting the α-syn-VAMP2 interaction abolishes tubulation, directly linking this interface to vesicle remodeling. Tubule formation increases with α-syn concentration, impairs SNARE-mediated membrane fusion, and significantly modulates α-syn liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), underscoring its pathological relevance. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which α-syn remodels vesicle architecture, providing deeper insights into synaptic dysfunction in PD.
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
09:33An Optical Assay for Synaptic Vesicle Recycling in Cultured Neurons Overexpressing Presynaptic Proteins
Published on: June 26, 2018
Related Concept Videos
SNAREs and Membrane Fusion
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...
Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...
Overview of Secretory Vesicles
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...
Vesicular Tubular Clusters
With the help of motor proteins such...
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies
Export of Misfolded Proteins out of the ER