title: Challenges and complexities of alpha-synuclein toxicity: new postulates in unfolding the mystery associated with Parkinson's disease.
abstract: The discovery of two missense mutations in alpha-synuclein gene and the identification of the alpha-synuclein as the major component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites have imparted a new direction in understanding Parkinson's disease. Now that alpha-synuclein has been implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders makes it increasingly clear that aggregation of alpha-synuclein is a hallmark feature in neurodegeneration. Although little has been learned about its normal function, alpha-synuclein appears to be associated with membrane phospholipids and may therefore participate in a number of cell signaling pathways. Here, we review the localization, structure, and function of alpha-synuclein and provide a new hypothesis on, (a) the disruption in the membrane binding ability of synuclein which may be the major culprit leading to the alpha-synuclein aggregation and (b) the complexity associated with nuclear localization of alpha-synuclein and its possible binding property to DNA. Further, we postulated the three possible mechanisms of synuclein induced neuronal degeneration in Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Central Food Technological Research Institute, 570013, Mysore, India.
authors.forename: Muralidhar L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Hegde
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Jagannatha Rao
mesh_terms: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein