title: Role of alpha-synuclein protein levels in mitochondrial morphology and cell survival in cell lines.
abstract: α-Synuclein is highly associated with some neurodegeneration and malignancies. Overexpressing wild-type or mutant α-synuclein promotes neuronal death by mitochondrial dysfunction, the underlying mechanisms of which remain poorly defined. It was recently reported that α-synuclein expression could directly lead to mitochondrial fragmentation in vitro and in vivo, which may be due to α-synuclein localization on mitochondria. Here, we applied a double staining method to demonstrate mitochondrial morphogenetic changes in cells overexpressed with α-synuclein. We show that mitochondrial localization of α-synuclein was increased following its overexpression in three distinct cell lines, including HeLa, SH-SY5Y, and PC12 cells, but no alteration in mitochondrial morphology was detected. However, α-synuclein knockdown prevents MPP(+)-induced mitochondrial fragmentation in SH-SY5Y and PC12 cells. These data suggest that α-synuclein protein levels hardly affect mitochondrial morphology in normal cell lines, but may have some influence on that under certain environmental conditions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Neurology of Institute of Integrative Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University Shanghai Medical College, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Wenwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chuanzhen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D015655:1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D015655:1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium; D004298:Dopamine