Control of gene expression for the study of neurodegenerative disorders: a proof-of-principle experimental study

Neurodegenerative disorders are characterised by the progressive disruption of specific neuronal population partly due to the formation of abnormal protein aggregates that interfere with normal cell functions. In Parkinson's disease, the role of abnormal α-synuclein protein aggregates in causing the disease is well established. Mutations in α-synuclein are known to cause familial Parkinson's disease. A quantitative understanding of the dynamics of α-synuclein protein aggregation in wild type and mutant form is however lacking. Here, we explore the feasibility of using a microfluidics-based platform for automatic control of protein expression from a galactose-inducible promoter in yeast, to model and study the human α-synuclein protein.