alpha-Synuclein at the synaptic gate.
Only doubling or tripling alpha-synuclein expression significantly increases the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. In this issue of Neuron, Nemani et al. show that this modest overexpression of alpha-synuclein does not lead to obvious toxicity in the near term, but impairs glutamate and dopamine release, potentially leading to broad network dysfunction and eventual pathology.
Surmeier
D James
DJ
Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. j-surmeier@northwestern.edu <j-surmeier@northwestern.edu>
D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D020440:Gene Duplication; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D004298:Dopamine