title: Rapid purification and analysis of alpha-synuclein proteins: C-terminal truncation promotes the conversion of alpha-synuclein into a protease-sensitive form in Escherichia coli.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder and is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and the formation of eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies known as Lewy bodies. Although alpha-synuclein is known to be a pivotal factor implicated in the pathogenesis of PD, its function remains to be elucidated. We used the pGEX expression system to develop a simple and rapid method for purifying alpha-synuclein proteins in suitable forms for biochemical studies of their functions. The wild-type alpha-synuclein protein was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to approx. 80% purity with relatively high yields. We also used this expression system to investigate the expression pattern of the various domains of alpha-synuclein. With the exception of the alpha-synuclein protein that was truncated at amino acid residue 95, all domain constructs of alpha-synuclein were purified at similar levels with relatively high yields. Unexpectedly, removal of amino acid residues 96-140 in the C-terminal acidic region of alpha-synuclein promotes its conversion to a protease-sensitive form during expression and purification in E. coli. Our study suggests a method for generating useful reagents to investigate the molecular mechanism by which alpha-synuclein regulates the pathogenesis of PD.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Molecular Genetics, Catholic Research Institutes of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong, Seocho-ku, Seoul 137-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ju-Youn
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Young-Mo
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Hyo-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Eun-Hye
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Hur
authors.forename: Sun-Joo
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chul
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Byung-Re
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: In-Kyung
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seongman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Hyangshuk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rhim
mesh_terms: D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D005982:Glutathione Transferase