title: Molecular chaperones, α-synuclein, and neurodegeneration.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a devastating neurological condition that affects about 1 % of people older than 65 years of age. In PD, dopaminergic neurons in the mid-brain slowly accumulate cytoplasmic inclusions (Lewy bodies, LBs) of the protein alpha-synuclein (α-syn) and then gradually lose function and die off. Cell death is thought to be causally linked to the aggregation/fibrillization of α-syn. This review focuses on new findings about the structure of α-syn, about how α-syn cooperates with Hsp70 and Hsp40 chaperones to promote neurotransmitter release, and about cell-to-cell transfer of pathogenic forms of α-syn and how Hsp70 might protect against this disease process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport, Shreveport, LA, USA. switt1@lsuhsc.edu
authors.forename: Stephan N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Witt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D051844:alpha-Synuclein