کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
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2186464 | 1096061 | 2009 | 11 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with the deposition of fibrillar aggregates of the protein α-synuclein (αS) in neurons. Intramolecular contacts between the acidic C-terminal tail of αS and its N-terminal region have been proposed to regulate αS aggregation, and two originally described PD mutations, A30P and A53T, reportedly reduce such contacts. We find that the most recently discovered PD-linked αS mutation E46K, which also accelerates the aggregation of the protein, does not interfere with C-terminal-to-N-terminal contacts and instead enhances such contacts. Furthermore, we do not observe a substantial reduction in such contacts in the two previously characterized mutants. Our results suggest that C-terminal-to-N-terminal contacts in αS are not strongly protective against aggregation, and that the dominant mechanism by which PD-linked mutations facilitate αS aggregation may be altering the physicochemical properties of the protein such as net charge (E46K) and secondary structure propensity (A30P and A53T).
Journal: Journal of Molecular Biology - Volume 388, Issue 5, 22 May 2009, Pages 1022–1032